(traduction en français ci-dessous)
Tuesday morning, we were with a group of widows in Moukassa, 5km away from Koudougou, they have chosen for their Solidarity Group the poetic name of 'Mary who Dries your Tears'… it speaks to me, I can feel a bit soapy these days … Thanks to microcredit, they go about with their small businesses, selling doughnuts or dolo**, breeding chicken. The Solidarity Group is a new family for these eighty women, whose widowhood has often excluded from their community.
The next day, sitting under a mango tree, we are witnessing the meeting of another Solidarity Group, consisting of eleven men and three women this time. They will need a loan to buy cereals, not Kellogg's Corn Flakes, but 75 small bags of red millet, white millet, peanuts and corn, this will cost 10,000 FCFA* a bag It may then be sold between 13,500 FCFA and 20,000 CFA francs in April…
At the moment in Burkina Faso, while we are waiting for harvest and because it’s Ramadan, the price of cereals is shooting up by as much as 20% in Ouagadougou, and rice has become a luxury for most… This is also where these speculative games lead…
7km away from Moukassa, in another small village, under a shea tree this time, we meet the Solidarity Group Tikwende. All there is to eat here at the moment is a bowl of porridge in the evening, fortunately there are some leaves and edible roots to grind and add to the meager rations. In the morning, the left-overs go to the youngest ones, the oldest make do with a bowl of dolo and 'each
to their own' for the rest of the day, they say, laughing. At lunchtime, they will have to scavenge for a little something alone. The women are struggling enough to fill the pot once a day in the evening and feeding families of 10 to 15 people. The cellars are not quite empty yet - there is still a little something, but they must keep it to sell and in a few days be able to pay the fee to send the children to school.
In the Mouhoun region, people do not have enough food. The first crops of the season, peanuts and corn, were good, the rains have been regular since August and the availability of edible leaves helps local people to feed themselves during the lean period.
But sustainable solutions are difficult to find and the problem recurs every year, of course, we can encourage the processing of cereals for added value… Can all the initiatives like the sale of cereals at a su
bsidized price, cereal banks, and of course microcredit really make a difference? Shouldn’t we just give up? Of course not, because the women of 'Tikwende' or 'Mary Dries your Tears' keep their heads up and fight daily, and even in this most difficult time, they insist on giving their visitors a few eggs, as a gift ; what else to do but swallow your tears, thank them and take example.
The sun goes down, four small shepherds in a line are returning from the fields, the first one carrying her little sister on her the back while pulling a goat, the last one can’t be more than three year old, and he is dragging behind him a stubborn little kid.
The next day, sitting under a mango tree, we are witnessing the meeting of another Solidarity Group, consisting of eleven men and three women this time. They will need a loan to buy cereals, not Kellogg's Corn Flakes, but 75 small bags of red millet, white millet, peanuts and corn, this will cost 10,000 FCFA* a bag It may then be sold between 13,500 FCFA and 20,000 CFA francs in April…
At the moment in Burkina Faso, while we are waiting for harvest and because it’s Ramadan, the price of cereals is shooting up by as much as 20% in Ouagadougou, and rice has become a luxury for most… This is also where these speculative games lead…
7km away from Moukassa, in another small village, under a shea tree this time, we meet the Solidarity Group Tikwende. All there is to eat here at the moment is a bowl of porridge in the evening, fortunately there are some leaves and edible roots to grind and add to the meager rations. In the morning, the left-overs go to the youngest ones, the oldest make do with a bowl of dolo and 'each
to their own' for the rest of the day, they say, laughing. At lunchtime, they will have to scavenge for a little something alone. The women are struggling enough to fill the pot once a day in the evening and feeding families of 10 to 15 people. The cellars are not quite empty yet - there is still a little something, but they must keep it to sell and in a few days be able to pay the fee to send the children to school.In the Mouhoun region, people do not have enough food. The first crops of the season, peanuts and corn, were good, the rains have been regular since August and the availability of edible leaves helps local people to feed themselves during the lean period.
But sustainable solutions are difficult to find and the problem recurs every year, of course, we can encourage the processing of cereals for added value… Can all the initiatives like the sale of cereals at a su
bsidized price, cereal banks, and of course microcredit really make a difference? Shouldn’t we just give up? Of course not, because the women of 'Tikwende' or 'Mary Dries your Tears' keep their heads up and fight daily, and even in this most difficult time, they insist on giving their visitors a few eggs, as a gift ; what else to do but swallow your tears, thank them and take example.The sun goes down, four small shepherds in a line are returning from the fields, the first one carrying her little sister on her the back while pulling a goat, the last one can’t be more than three year old, and he is dragging behind him a stubborn little kid.
For more information on Solidarity Groups: http://www.entrepreneursdumonde.org/blog/westafrica/2008_06_01_archive.html
** Dolo, local millet beer
* Eur 1 = 656 FCFA
** Dolo, local millet beer
* Eur 1 = 656 FCFA
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