Over the past year, we have taken concrete action in Burkina Faso to strengthen the skills of nursery assistants, improve childcare and support women's autonomy.
2024 highlights for better care for children under 3 :
Support for childminders
We have continued to support and train childcare assistants to improve childcare and help crèches achieve financial stability.
In May, 40 childminders took part in a nutrition training course co-organized with the French Ministry of Health.
In July, a 3-day training course on the use of WhatsApp and Facebook for professional purposes enabled 50 childminders to raise the profile of their crèches and exchange ideas with parents.
In December, we delivered equipment to help new childminders launch their crèches.
And our coaches Inès and Raicha pay monthly visits to the 37 crèches we monitor to observe their practices and advise them.
"During a visit, I noticed that a crèche was not very clean. I asked the following question: if the Ministry's agents, as part of their monitoring and supervision mission, were to make an unscheduled visit, what could they accuse you of? The childminder immediately noted that her crèche needed to be cleaned, and that hygiene was a priority for the children's health. This was an opportunity to remind her that cleanliness also instills confidence in parents and contributes to the children's comfort. Inès, quality coach.
"For example, I found that one childminder was mixing her family expenses with her day-nursery expenses. I made her aware of the importance of separating them, so she could understand her company's biggest expenses, think about alternatives and check that she was actually earning money from her business". Raicha, business management coach
Involving local players and supporting women's autonomy
We organized meetings with local councillors, influential local figures and members of the authorities to raise awareness of the importance of crèches and highlight the decisive role played by men in the success of childminders' businesses. In particular, we worked on managing family and neighborhood conflicts.
It would take too long to describe all our activities to protect and educate children, but also to empower women. In 2024, we also worked with our partners to ensure that more children went to nursery school, in establishments ready to provide them with the best.
You'll be able to find out all about it in detail in our 2024 Activity Report in a few months' time!
