This project is supported by the L'OCCITANE Foundation.
Context
Since 2000, Burkina Faso has been committed to ensuring access to quality education for all children (EFA). The education sector monitoring indicators show a good trend in the level of gross enrollment rates and equitable access of girls and boys to school. For the 2018-2019 school year, the gross enrollment ratio (GER) was 89.5% (89.9% for girls) in primary education and 50.6% (54.2% for girls) in lower secondary education, compared with 44% and 14% respectively in 2000. Despite this progress, the country still had 52.1% of primary school-age children and 50.3 % of secondary school-age adolescents who did not attend school in 2014. Projections estimate more than 3 million children out of school in 2021, and more than 50 percent of children aged 6 to 16 are concerned. The majority of these out-of-school children are girls who live in rural areas and come from poor families.
In addition, the insecurity facing the country and the internal displacement of populations are straining social services in general and the education system in particular. Thus, in July 2021, the education system recorded 2,244 schools closed, affecting 305,000 students according to OCHA (the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). The prolonged school break following the closure of schools linked to the COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in children dropping out of school with little chance of returning to school. In response to this situation of educational disruption, the government has implemented a national schooling strategy for students in areas with strong security challenges 2019-2024, to offer alternative local or remote educational services mainly by radio. These devices do not, however, make it possible to cover all out-of-school children, especially girls.
Supported Project
From 2021 to 2025, the L'OCCITANE Foundation is once again making a commitment to UNICEF to support the education of children in the Centre-Ouest region of Burkina Faso. The main aim of this 5-year project is to promote the access, completion and success in school for children in vulnerable situations.
Concretly, the L'Occitane Foundation's donation helps cover the schooling-related costs (such as tuition fees, school supplies, food support, means of transportation, solar lamps, accommodation in shelters for girls in difficult situations with their families, academic support...). The project enables the implementation of activities seeking to improve girls' schooling environment by setting up menstruation management systems, raising awareness of gender-based violence, training teachers in child- and gender-sensitive pedagogy, and supporting the care of victims of gender-based violence. It also acts to raise the awareness of gender-based violences and social practices that are detrimental to girls’ education and success at school, such as early marriages and pregnancy, excessive domestic work, etc. Finally, the project implements activities that will allow girls to increase their everyday skills and knowledge (responsibility for early marriages and pregnancies, management of household chores, speaking out, leadership, etc.).
In order to take into account the migration crisis that the country is currently facing, the project will place special emphasis on the recruitment of girls from displaced families.
Some Figures
Budget 840,856 euros
Goal 1,000 children supported
Results
Year 1 (2021-2022) 500 girls accompanied
Year 2 (2022-2023) 141 girls accompanied
Year 3 (2023-2024) 1,000 beneficiaries
The Foundation has been the partner of UNICEF* on its education projects for a long time. You can have more information about the history of the partnership here.
*UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.
