On Thursday July 11, a ceremony was held in the town of Kaya to hand over installation kits to fifty internally displaced teenagers (ADI). The ceremony was held at the end of a year’s literacy and training courses for the learners in various trades: cut and sew, plumbing, aesthetic hairdressing, saponification, weaving-dyeing and beading.
Forced to leave their home villages because of the dire security situation, these young teenagers have been living in the town of Kaya for several years, facing a host of difficulties: food, health, education, etc.
The need to address educational issues in this new context has led the government to adopt a number of initiatives, including: the national strategy for the enrolment of pupils in high-security zones, the national strategy for education in emergency situations (SN ESU) and the national strategy for the development of non-formal education in emergency situations (SNDENF). However, these various initiatives developed by the government do not take into account the specific needs of internally displaced teenagers, who find themselves in a vulnerable situation and exposed to all forms of vices and the danger of being recruited into armed groups.
To counter this, Solidar Suisse, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages (MENAPLN) and in partnership with the National Secretariat for Catholic Education (SNEC), has developed an education/training approach for internally displaced adolescents (EFADI). This approach is in line with the Ministry of Education’s triptych of basic education, vocational training and socio-economic integration. Over a period of six months, internally displaced teenagers benefited from courses in literacy in the Moore language, oral French, financial education, entrepreneurship, peace education (interculturality and non-violent communication) and psychosocial support. They also benefited from practical training in saponification and beadwork. At the end of this stage, the learners were placed in a practical apprenticeship with master craftsmen. This six-month internship enabled learners to move into the trades of their choice, notably hairdressing, cutting and sewing, weaving and plumbing. After the practical training course, the fifty learners judged suitable each received a set-up kit to practise the trade of their choice on their own account.
At a cost of around 10 million FCFA, this endowment of installation kits marks the end of training for pilot beneficiaries of the EFADI approach. “This training is an opportunity for you ADIs to improve your living conditions. You no longer have the right to be poor,” saidAbbé Hyacinthe OUEDRAOGO, National Secretary of Catholic Education in Burkina Faso.
Pascal ZAONGO, Head of the Education Project at Solidar Suisse, the initiator of the approach, expressed his satisfaction at seeing the first cohort of the EFADI approach graduate. It is the materialization of an idea that has become a reality. He also invited the beneficiaries to make good use of the material they received, to become role models who will inspire support for the continuation of the approach for the benefit of other ADIs.
As for Odette SAWADOGO, spokesperson for the beneficiaries, originally from the commune of Basnéré (Sanmatenga province), “we are grateful to the initiators of the EFADI approach who, through the training and materials received, are offering us an opportunity to carry out an income-generating activity to improve our living conditions. We have come out of this training enriched socially, financially and professionally. As a reminder, this EFADI approach is being developed as part of the education project entitled “Reinforcement of the quality of bi-plurilingual education through interculturality and non-violent communication, and the assurance of favorable conditions for the education/training of pupils and adolescents in Burkina Faso”, implemented in partnership with the Secrétariat national de l’éducation catholique (SNEC).
The project is supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
