Images of the ceremony
One hundred and thirty two new school complexes built and equipped between 2006 and 2007 by the BRIGHT (Burkinabč Response to Increase Girls’ Chances to Succeed) project were handed over to Burkina Faso’s Minister of Education last October 3Oth, in the village of Katchari, Northern region. The BRIGHT project is the threshold program funded by the Millenium Challenge Corporation through the USAID (United States Agency for International development) in Burkina Faso to support education, especially girls’ enrolment in school. Its implementation was trusted in the hands of a consortium of Non governmental organizations led by Plan Burkina Faso. Each complex consists of 3 classrooms, 3 lodgings for teachers, a borehole, and 2 separate blocs of 3 latrines for boys and girls.
“I feel happy today to be in Katchari to announce that BRIGHT has fulfilled its mission; it has fulfilled it very well… In the 10 provinces chosen for the implementation of the project stand 132 equipped school complexes identical to this one”. This statement was made by the United States Ambassador in Burkina Faso, Mme Jeannine Jackson, to mark officially the completion of the BRIGHT threshold project.
Soon, on the same sites, all these 3 classroom schools will be normalized to a complete cycle 6 classroom schools. The MCC approved a $28 million grant included in the Burkina Compact, to support the construction of 132 additional school blocs. This information was officially released by John Hewko, the MCC Vice President who attended the handover ceremony at the school of Katchari.
On behalf of her peers, the president of the Students Mothers Association promised to enroll and maintain their children in school “We will do everything in our capacity to see that all our children go to school”. For the children, especially girls in these communities where there were previously no schools but household work and early and forced marriage, a big leap forward had been made thanks to the BRIGHT project. One of the children, Diallo, a female 4th grader thanked the generous benefactors for giving girls the opportunity to go to school and repeated the slogan of the girl’s education campaign to parents: “Zero girls at home”. Her invitation has come at the appropriate time, because the lack of schools which was the situation in the 132 selected communities is now a resolved issue. Solidly standing on concrete in these communities are: 396 classrooms, 396 teachers’ lodgings, 264 separated blocs of 3 latrines for girls and boys, 132 boreholes with hand pump, 10 bisongos or nursery schools.
All these complexes were constructed by Plan Burkina Faso and the Catholic Relief Services, while another NGO, the Forum for African Women Educationalists was responsible for the social mobilisation. A local association, Tin Tua trained students’ mothers in literacy modules. Thanks to all these integrated activities, 17,164 children consisting of 9,282 girls and 7,882 boys attended school in the 2007-2008 school year. For the same school year, the BRIGHT schools recorded an attendance rate of 95% and a dropout rate of 1.34% among girls. A retention rate of 84.4% has also been achieved in these schools from 2006 to 2008.
Initially, the project had a budget of US $13 million dollars, but at its completion, the budget swelled to 17 millions because the prices of building material rose in the meantime; some the sites were not accessible in the rainy season, and there were more children in the classrooms than expected.
The handing over ceremony which was attended by Plan West Africa Regional Director John Challoner and the Plan USA Program Management Director Winnie K. Tay was marked with happiness, pride and delight. “It is with real delight that I see this progress with my own eyes”, Mr. John Hewko said, while Plan Country Director Dr. Mahamadou Tounkara confided: “ I would like to tell you all that I feel happy and proud to be with you… because we are witnesses of the realization of what seemed a dream some time ago”.
The Minister of Basic Education expressed her gratitude to the American Government and underlined that the success of the project has reinforced Burkina Faso on the path to educational development: “With the BRIGHT Project, and taking into account its current success, I think that we are experiencing the start of some genuine and dynamic boosting of education, and I can foresee some beautiful results coming up”.
She thanked the implementing partners, stressing that their commitment and devotion were unique and did not only enable thousands of children to go to school, but as a threshold program, helped Burkina Faso to pass its test of eligibility to the MCC compact. She further indicated that agreements were signed last July in Washington, granting a total amount of $ 481 millions to Burkina Faso to implement other projects related to land, agriculture and road infrastructures and of course to Education.
Images of the ceremony
F.K.T.
