Women’s Vocational Training Center offers courses, support for work placement

(MissionNewswire) The Women’s Vocational Training Center, located in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, trains more than 300 young women each year in specializations like tailoring, hairstyling, fabric design and pattern making, computer maintenance, and secretarial work. The center, which provides inclusive, equitable and quality education, receives funding from Bosco Global.

Recently, the cutting-tailoring and hairstyling workshops were equipped with supplies, and the spaces for theoretical-practical courses were expanded. Refresher courses were also provided for the center’s teaching staff. In addition, students in extremely vulnerable situations were provided with the necessary kits to carry out their courses of study.

Father Joseph Basson, director of the center, said, “There are many student stories that have touched my heart. One young woman pedaled 25 kilometers every day to get to the center to take classes, never arriving late. Today, she has achieved her dream of owning her own sewing workshop.”

The Women’s Vocational Training Center was developed to address the precarious situation experienced by many women and girls. It includes literacy courses, support for work placement, and education in values and time management. The main objective of the project is to train women and girls so they can work and earn an income while breaking free from a life of poverty.

Salesian missionaries have been working in Burkina Faso since March 1993. Missionaries first began their work in Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest city in the country. They settled in a neighborhood known as Ouezzin, an expanding area of the city. The nearby area is crossed by several rivers. On those riverbanks, crops are cultivated then sold in the city and exported to the city of Ouagadougou. Salesian missionaries provide education and social development services designed to create a sense of family among the most vulnerable children and those most at risk of social exclusion.

According to the World Bank, more than 46 percent of the country’s population lives in poverty on less than $1.25 per day. Burkina Faso has suffered from several serious droughts that have driven up food prices, affecting the country’s food supply and causing malnutrition among the poorest residents and children. Up until the 1980s, the country also dealt with devastating military coups.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Burkina Faso – Salesian Women’s Vocational Training Center in Ouagadougou trains 300 young women each year

Salesian Missions – Burkina Faso

World Bank – Burkina Faso