We are helping the childcare assistants that we have trained over the past few months in Burkina Faso to develop their micro-crèches. One of the challenges is to make this new form of childcare known, to inform and convince Burkinabé parents of the importance of taking good care of their children from an early age, but also to allow the emancipation of women. To carry out this mission, we recently created and broadcast 10 spots on popular radio stations in Burkina Faso.
Excerpt: Since the birth of her baby, Alima can no longer come to the markets as much as she needs to sell her Benga (traditional dish). She plans to take her oldest daughter out of school to help her take care of her.
Interview with Arnaud Tougma, our Early Childhood Project Manager in Burkina Faso
Better care for children, emancipation of women: can you tell us more about the objectives behind these radio spots?
In recent years, we have created the profession of maternal assistant in Burkina Faso and have trained nearly 300 women to practice it. This represents a real opportunity for the little ones to be cared for in good conditions, protected and awake, but also for the emancipation of women and girls in our country.
This training not only offers a diploma and income to women who were in difficulty, but at the same time, allows other women and girls to be "freed" from the care of their youngest children to work and continue school. Indeed, many women find it difficult to get or keep a job because they don't know how to care for their children and sometimes rely on their older daughters, to the detriment of their education.
But the profession is still little known: the challenge now is to make this mode of care known and to reassure parents in order to develop the activity of our childcare assistants.
What are these radio spots about and why?
To identify the topics of greatest concern to parents of young children and the main information channels they use, we conducted a field survey of 300 Burkinabes last December.
One of the results was that radio is the second most consulted media after television. This is why we produced, with the National Radio and Television (RTB) and broadcast on Radio Savane, 10 awareness-raising spots, 4 to 5 minutes long, in Mooré (the country's most widely spoken language) and in French in the first quarter of 2022.
In accordance with the expectations expressed in the survey, we address topics such as childhood diseases, breastfeeding and dietary diversification in children, but also the role of the father and the mother in education, the emancipation of women and the availability of new forms of care.
Excerpt: Varouti does not understand what is expected of him as a father. "All I know is that the woman takes care of the children and the man fetches the food brought in."
Would you like to continue this awareness raising through radio?
Yes, we are currently thinking about a recurring radio show format that takes into account parents' concerns and provides expert answers. To be continued in 2022!
> Learn more about the training and support project for childminders
