At the beginning of March, we appealed to your generosity to support 15 young single mothers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. We have since launched activities alongside them to help them learn a trade, earn a living and look after their children.
10 of these girls are currently undergoing training. We pay them a monthly grant of 30,000 FCFA (around 45 euros) for the duration of their training. 8 of them would like to start their own micro-enterprise at the end of their course.
The 5 other young mothers have already set up their own businesses in areas such as hairdressing, catering, make-up, sewing and nail services. We support them by subsidizing their business rent, the purchase of professional equipment and working capital.
What's more, they all receive financial assistance for 8 months to look after their children with the childminders we coach.
Arnaud, our project manager, helps them to build their career plans and advocates their cause to local partners and institutions so that they receive more support.
But there's another problem holding these young mothers back: some are not registered, and neither are their children. This concerns 5 girls out of the 15, and 10 children out of the whole group. Without papers, they are invisible to the authorities, which also prevents their children from going to school. Our team is therefore working with the civil registry to regularize their situation in Ouagadougou, even if this takes time, as declarations should normally be made in the town of birth.
Thank you for the support you have given these young women, so that they can become more independent and ensure a better future for their children.
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