Economic Emancipation for 70 Women in Burkina Faso

Economic independence is a cornerstone of women's empowerment. Encouraging women to participate in the formal workforce is necessary for a more free and just society. With respect to the local group "Wend-Songda" there is very little to encourage. Women declare themselves ready and waiting for nothing more than starting capital.

Rural areas often lack access to formal financial institutions, making it difficult for rural entrepreneurs to access the capital they need to start or grow their businesses. Empowering rural individuals to start their business will foster economic growth at the grassroots level. Together with this, providing women access to credit can enhance their economic independence, improve their social status, and contribute to gender equality.

For this reason the Guardavanti team has no doubt, we will support this project until the necessary amount is reached. We are confident that our readers equally support the importance of being financially independent for a woman.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Marco

for

Wend-Songda and the Guardavanti team

In Burkina Faso, women are heavily dependent on men in economical terms, although agricultural activities are mainly carried out by women.
The village of Dodougou, which is located and about 30 km south of Bobo-Dioulasso, now has more than 1,600 inhabitants, whose main activity is agriculture.
The women of Dodougou to help support their families need certain and steady income. Lack of capital, even small capital, prevents the pursuit, as well as diversification, of income-generating activities.

The project came about at the request of the local women's group Wend-Songda, which advocated for the women of Dodougou and their difficulties in starting income-producing activities due to lack of funds.
As a result, a small training and microcredit scheme was designed, which will over time be managed by the group itself. The women who will participate will be able to generate/increase their income, increasing their autonomy, empowerment, self-awareness and consequently authority in the family. Joint training together with husbands will ensure understanding, respect and empowerment within the family.

Training sessions will begin before the first loan, and will continue throughout the duration of the project to ensure implementation of the concepts learned, to support the women, strengthen their intentions and discover any problems early. Self-help peer groups will also be established and will work together for the duration of the project.

The women of "Wend-Songda" are still waiting, ready to take a step forward and kick-off as soon as enough funds are collected.  

Please, spread the word among family and friends!

Thanks for your attention and support,

Marco

The joint journey between GuardAvanti and Wend-Songda has never stopped. The trust that binds us together allows us to move forward, although there is still a long way to go.

We firmly believe in this project, just as we firmly believe in a world that allows women, whatever their environment is, to affirm and emancipate themselves economically.
Wend-Songda's promoting force makes us believe that it only takes little to change the direction of the village of Dodougou. There has been some progress; and we keep collecting every cent, keeping the funds bounded until we have enough to start the project.

In an economic period, as difficult as the one we are experiencing, with ongoing inflation due to global disorders, only solidarity and commitment to each other can bring us forward. The Russo-Ukrainian war and its consequence, such as the unbeliavable increase of food prices, is having a strong impact also in Burkina Faso. In 2023, we consider this project even more relevant to generate new income and help the village.

Thank you for your support

Sincerely,
Marco
for
Wend-Songda and the GuardAvanti team

When we look back at when we started this fundraising, upon request of the grassroot women group Wend Songda, the world seems another one. So many unpredictable, global disruptions happened, that nothing is the same anymore.

During the pandemic all efforts of donors where focused on the Covid emergency; when the world started breathing again, in Burkina Faso unrests in some parts of the country caused a big internal movement of people: many families that looked for safe places to live, relocated to the village of Dodougou, with the consequence that the well, that we built in 2019, was not sufficient anymore for the needs of all the inhabitants. Wend Songda then asked us to restore an old well in the outskirts of the village, so the fundraising effort was diverted to this small project; thanks to many donors, now the village has enought water for the need of everyone. 

The outbreak of war in Ukraina, had and has as a consequence, the unbeliavable increase of food prices, in particular wheat, rice, maize: nowadays, many families can't afford anymore to buy the very base of their meals, in Burkina Faso.  
So, now more than ever, this project is vital for the very survival of many families in Dodougou: with some little capital to invest in small economic activities, the women (mothers) of the group Wend Songda could raise the small money needed to sustain their children.

Again, very understandably, the efforts of many donors - especially in Europe - are concentrated in the Ukrainian refugees crisis. But we really hope that, even little by little, the funding of this project can reach soon the amount needed to start it.

Please spread the word!

Thanks for your attention and continuous support

Licia

on behalf of all the Wend Songda women and the Guardavanti team

In January we shared with you the stressing situation in which the Dodougou village found itself.
3 years ago we started a project to dig a well in this village, where lack of water was a vital problem.

The well solved the village's problems for several months. But last fall the situation worsened: many refugee families - especially women and children - came and settled in the village because of the serious unrest in the north of the country.

Due to the urgency of the situation the local group of women "Wend-Songda", beneficiary of this microcredit project, asked us to divert our efforts in fundraising for few months.
In February we began the rehabilitation of an old abandoned well: a hand pump was installed, the cement base built, and the water is now coming out in abundance!

Where a few months ago there was only earth and stones today water gushes.
The support of so many precious donors, has served to bring water, life, joy to the entire village of Dodougou.

Happily, we can now get back to focusing on this Economic Emancipation project that requires a stronger effort. Please, spread the word among family and friends!

Thanks for following us.

Sincerely,
Marco
for
Wend-Songda and the Guardavanti's team