October 2006

Update to the Global Board

Epicenter strategy

During this third quarter 2006, THP-Burkina Faso has been working in twelve epicenters that are in various stages of evolution within the four phases:

• Two epicenters are in phase one;

• One epicenter in phase two;

• Five epicenters are in phase three; and

• Five epicenters are in phase four, which is the stage where the people in these epicenters are poised to achieve self-reliance.

These twelve epicenters serve a population of close to 200,000 people in a cluster of 153 large villages.

The epicenter strategy continues to have a profound impact on the lives of our village partners, as well as on the local and national governments in Burkina.  THP-Burkina has continued mobilizing the grassroots populations of the twelve epicenters, to create their own leadership, work together on their respective communal lands to produce more and diversified food with a view to achieve food security and end hunger and poverty. In addition, THP Burkina has increased its support to our partners by providing our partners access to technology, training, education, health care and credit for increased income-generating activities that support and motivate the grassroots people to take decisive actions for their self-reliance.

Vision, Commitment and Action Workshop: Animator Training

During this third quarter of 2006, the VCA workshops have reached an additional 2,000 people, most of whom are women.  As a result, some 150 new animators were selected to go and work in their respective villages with our grassroots partners to empower their self-reliance.

Food security

Because Burkina Faso is situated close to the Sahara Desert, it is challenged by an almost chronic shortage of water for irrigation or human consumption. This is one of the reasons why almost every year Burkina Faso is deemed a food-deficit country.

To overcome these difficult circumstances, THP-Burkina is mobilizing the rural populations in the twelve epicenters to counter food insecurity through increased and diversified food production. The villagers work together on their communal lands to ensure their food security at all times for better nutrition and to store part of the surplus in their food banks.

Food Banks

The food banks at the epicenters are the best and most effective way to protect the population from chronic food insecurity and hunger during the lean season. They ensure the availability of food to the villagers all year around. Each food bank is managed by a committee of the epicenter composed of an equal number of men and women responsible for gathering and bringing the food produced in the communal gardens to the epicenter food bank.

THP-Burkina reports that in this third quarter our partners will produce enough maize, millet and sorghum to store a supply large enough to enable the population to have access to food for the rest of this year.

Rural Credit Banks

In addition to food production, THP-Burkina continues to support income-generating activities, especially for women, through the credit program to enable them generate income and savings for their families.  By the end of last year, THP-Burkina has added two additional women-led rural banks that have been officially recognized by the government of Burkina Faso as official financial institutions. There are now four such rural banks in Burkina Faso.  Theses rural banks, managed by women under the supervision of the government banking institution, enable our partners to have access to credit on a permanent basis.

Education and Adult Literacy

Adult literacy classes continue to grow and THP-Burkina Faso has expanded its functional adult literacy program to more than 55 centers where over 6,000 people, both men and women, are taking literacy classes in their local languages.  Women, in particular, are so proud of being literate, capable of reading information and writing their names when they receive loans, able to track their accounts in their rural banks, and record their credit, their savings and the profit they make in the market.

Health and Hygiene

An important indicator in the achievement of the MDGs is the reduction of the infant mortality rate. THP-Burkina carries out a health and hygiene program in the heath clinics in each epicenter, with a focus on protecting women’s health, especially reducing maternal mortality and improving children’s nutrition.  To support its work, THP-Burkina continues to train mid-wives and TBAs (Traditional Birth Attendants) to work in the epicenters and outlying villages. The midwives and the TBAs help many women to safely deliver their babies; and they provide the mothers with useful training in family planning, child nutrition and hygiene.

THP-Burkina works in partnership with local governments to ensure that each epicenter is provided with a professional medical officer, especially during this season where there is an outbreak of meningitis.  Pharmacies attached to the clinics at the epicenters are supplied by the local government with the basic drugs needed to combat the most prevalent diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, meningitis and typhoid. THP Burkina is also engaged in activities designed to promote good hygiene, prevent water-borne diseases, and to provide safe drinking water in partnership with local governments.

Reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS

During this quarter, the HIV/AIDS training program in all 12 epicenters has expanded. This program is based on “HIV/AIDS & Gender Inequality” workshop.  In each epicenter; THP-Burkina has trained dozens of specialized HIV/AIDS Animators who are using THP’s manual to educate our rural partners about the role of gender inequality as the driving force of the spread of HIV/AIDS. THP-Burkina reports on the impact that this workshop has made in changing the behavior of our partners, particularly the males who now accept their responsibility to practice safe sex. As a result, the level of infections has dramatically dropped in all of our epicenters.