On August 11, 2020, Solidar Suisse and its partners in the Centre-Est region took up residence at the premises of the Association Solidarité Action Faire Face (ASAFF) in the town of Tenkodogo. Objective: to continue raising awareness and building the resilience of the population at a time when barriers are loosening. Participants from Zabré, Koupelo, Yargo, Bitou, Ouargaye and Tenkodogo expressed their genuine satisfaction at this initiative, which was a great success for them and for all the people of the Centre-Est region.
ONGOING TRAINING, THE SECRET OF A GOOD PRESENTER
The coronavirus, this tiny virus which is causing concern, will not pass through the Centre-Est region”. These were the strong words of Valentin Sibiri ILBOUDO, Deputy Coordinator of Solidar Suisse Burkina Faso, at the start of the training workshop on good practices to adopt in the face of coronavirus disease. The tone is set. The audience was riveted. After the usual introductions, Mr. Yamba Louis NIKIEMA, Head of the Education Division at Solidar Suisse, and one of the day’s trainers, outlined the main points of the training course.
THE PARTICIPATIVE APPROACH, A PEDAGOGY OF ACTION
The day’s trainers combined a participatory approach, i.e. “making do” and “making say”, to better address the training themes and include all participants in the exchanges. To gauge each participant’s level of knowledge about the disease, each was asked to say what they knew about this coronavirus. “It’s a global pandemic that leaves no one indifferent, because it’s easily contagious”, “It’s a disease that manifests itself through fever and cough”, “If we’re not careful, it will wreak havoc in Burkina Faso. The disease is not over, and we must not relax our efforts to raise awareness”, etc., were just some of the arguments put forward by the presenters, who were clearly highly motivated to acquire new knowledge. Participants were given a presentation on health information (most frequent, less frequent and serious symptoms), national and international statistics, and management methods to protect themselves and their loved ones.
In addition, the local context was strongly evoked by the trainer to enable a better understanding by the participants and, above all, to be able to convey the awareness-raising messages to the target audience, while being prepared for any questions that might be raised during the village events. Practical exercises and awareness-raising simulations were submitted to the participants to enable the trainer to correct any errors. Following this feedback, the day’s co-trainer, Ms Micheline OUAMEGA, Head of the Decent Work Division at Solidar Suisse, reminded participants of the need to report on the project’s actions, hence the importance of data collection. She distributed and explained the data collection tools, and invited the facilitators to show great commitment and enthusiasm in their facilitation work, so that people have access to quality information for their own protection and that of their community, so that ultimately, behavioral change through respect for barrier gestures is achieved.
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“If we’re not careful there will be much devastation devastation in Burkina Faso. The disease is not over and and we must not relax awareness”. |
a reality. There was a real sense of satisfaction in the room. For Colette SALOUKOU of the Réseau africain des jeunes contre le SIDA (RAJS) Ouargaye, Lembi Bertrand KONABOURE of the Paglayiri association in Zabré, Ousmane ZOUNGRANA of the Association pour le développement local de Kourittenga (ADLK) Koupéla and Pauline BAMBARA of ASAFF Tenkodogo, the training was most welcome. They all expressed their satisfaction at having been equipped to raise awareness of the coronavirus.
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PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR DENSELY POPULATED AREAS IN THE CENTRAL EAST
Several dozen hand-washing devices, soap boxes, picture boxes, scrollers, posters… This is the batch of materials estimated at 25 million CFA francs laid out in the grounds of the governorate of the Centre-Est region this afternoon of August 11, 2020. It was the Governor of the region himself, Mr Antoine OUEDRAOGO, who received the donors, headed by Valentin ILBOUDO, Deputy Coordinator of Solidar Suisse Burkina Faso and Mrs Micheline OUAMEGA, Head of the Decent Work Division of Solidar Suisse. The Governor thanked Solidar Suisse, on behalf of the Burkina Faso government and the beneficiaries, for this important batch of equipment. For him, despite the fact that the disease is clearly on the decline in Burkina Faso, “people still need to observe the barrier measures laid down by the health authorities” in order to avoid a second wave of contamination. He referred to a recent invitation from the Prime Minister to all regional governors to redouble their efforts to prevent the spread of the disease in Burkina Faso, in view of the rising number of cases of contamination. The beneficiaries also expressed their thanks to
Solidar Suisse and its partners for this donation, which comes at a time when caution against Covid-19 must be the order of the day. Abbé Pascal KYELEM, representing Monseigneur Prosper KONTIEBO, bishop of the diocese of Tenkodogo, and representing the Catholic community of the Centre-Est region, was keen to point out that the Church is not on the sidelines in the fight against the corona virus. For this reason, he urged the population to strictly comply with all sanitary measures to keep this disease out of Burkina Faso.
.… the “Covid-19 resilience support project in Burkina Faso” covers six (6) regions and aims to improve the resilience of particularly vulnerable populations …
The “Projet d’appui à la résilience des populations face à la Covid-19 au Burkina Faso” covers six (6) regions, and aims to improve the resilience of particularly vulnerable populations in rural and peri-urban areas to the Covid-19 pandemic. It aims to increase people’s knowledge of how the disease is transmitted, and of the barriers to be observed both individually and collectively. The Tenkodogo training and equipment handover ceremony follows similar activities in the Hauts-Bassins and Plateau Central regions.