Having already benefited from the Giving for Change programme, the Association pour le Développement sans Frontière (Association for Development without Borders) is now taking its turn to help half a dozen associations in the northern region. Since March 2022, six associations have been involved in this programme, with the aim of encouraging inclusive social change led by communities to promote endogenous development.
"The Giving for Change programme has taught us that we don't have to wait for outside funding. On the basis of the four training sessions received, the Youth Association for the Development and Protection of the Environment (AJDPE) has set up a reforestation project in three schools in the northern region, where pupils suffer from a lack of trees during break times", confides the Chairman of AJDPE, Aboubakar OUEDRAOGO. In the North, rain is scarce and the vegetation desert-like. To set up this project in record time, Aboubacar OUEDRAOGO states that the association is applying the support mobilisation technique advocated by the Giving for Change. "With the support of the pupils, we set up nurseries in each school, and the members of the the AJDPE have been planted. Technical assistance from the Environment Department will be required for reforestation as soon as the wet season is well under way. After that, the parents and the school will be responsible for the upkeep and protection of the seedlings through protective grills", he explains.
Ramata Diallo/Ouédraogo is President of the association Agir pour l'éducation pluridimensionnelle (APEPD), one of the
civil society organisation working in the Nord region. Enthusiastic about the new skills acquired since the start of the programme, Ms Diallo sees the programme as a solution to the difficulties faced by a young association like the one she coordinates in raising financial resources. "Thanks to the Giving for changeI know now that no one is going to change things for us. If we want to have an impact on our community, we have to rely on ourselves first before outside help. In the past, we even had difficulty setting up our projects, because we are a young association that will be recognised in 2021. But between now and the start of the new school year, we plan to carry out projects to help children whose families have been displaced, and to help girls manage their menstrual periods", says Mrs Diallo. The members of the association Agir pour l'éducation pluridimensionnelle (Acting for multidimensional education) are convinced that development is not possible without women, and that respect for human rights is non-negotiable, and intend to make the right to education a reality in the Nord region. The leaders of these two civil society associations, which are beneficiaries of the Giving for Change programme in the Northern Region, have no shortage of proposals for improving the impact of the programme. "If the time devoted to the various themes could be lengthened, it would enable us to assimilate them better", they plead. Ramata Diallo. Aboubacar OUEDRAOGO for his part, is calling on those in charge of the programme to step up training for other civil society players, because they need practical support. "We are currently taking theoretical courses, and I hope that they will support us in practice so that we can achieve our objectives", he maintains.
The testimonies of the leaders of 2nd generation associations reveal that the communities of practice have understood the importance of the the dynamics of local giving to change community life. So what can we say about the action of the programme leader in the region of
the association for development without borders. The Director of Economic Action for the Nord Regional Council, Alban Michel OUEDRAOGO speaks of it with gratitude and pride. "The contribution of the association Développement Sans Frontières (ADSF) on the ground is positive. It's a structure that works alongside local authorities to boost development. I had the opportunity to attend an organised meeting of the sons and daughters of the region that the ADSF helped to set up. ADSF was able to see the challenges facing the region and succeeded in mobilising its sons and daughters to support the work of the local authorities," says Mr Ouédraogo. Because of insecurity, the northern region is seeing an influx of people from the villages to the regional capitals. The capacity of local authorities to manage this humanitarian situation is proving inadequate. The Director of Economic Action, whose department is responsible for monitoring policies at local level, goes on to say that ADSF has fully understood the concept of decentralisation, because it took the regional council, as a local authority, as its point of entry when it wanted to develop the programme in the region. "ADSF is well aware of the needs of the region, and we urge it to continue to provide support to people who are no longer in their localities of origin, so that they don't feel abandoned," says Mr Ouédraogo.
The coordinator of the Association pour le Développement Sans Frontières (Association for Development Without Borders) was full of praise and encouragement, Salif SODRE welcome them with humility. ADSF has been working in the field since 1992, providing education, vocational training and support for rural development, and has built more than 30 schools, CEGs and a vocational training centre in the northern region. The association has also helped to get many children into school. However, this record of achievement does not blind us to the fact that MR SODRE difficulties in mobilising resources. "With the global economic crisis, COVID and more recently the war in Ukraine, resources are scarce. That's why the programme has given us a new dynamic to mobilise resources internally, and it's comforting to know that the community can contribute something. For example, to award prizes to the best students at the end of the year, we have managed to mobilise small resources from supporters over the past two years", he explains. From now on, ADSF and the vocational training players in the North region will be responsible for recruiting a consultant to monitor the support programme.
YE Nadège - SIDWAYA
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