2,062,534 is the total number of internally displaced persons in Burkina Faso at the end of March 2023. Internal migration due to conflict has resulted in the displacement of 287,995 children under the age of 15 in the Sahel region, who have fled their villages threatened by armed groups to find themselves without resources in an unfamiliar environment.
Since 2022, the Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergencies (JF-CPiE) project has been operating in the Sahel region to rebuild a stable living environment for these uprooted families.
Our teams currently support almost 7,000 children through child-friendly spaces (CFS), psycho-social follow-up sessions and awareness-raising sessions on children’s rights, positive parenting and hygiene, along with the distribution of dignity kits.
Maïmata
16 years old, from Tongomael
Before taking part in the psychosocial support activities in the child-friendly spaces, I was feeling bad thinking about bad memories when me and my family were chased out of our village. Since I started being involved in the activities of the Joining Forces project, I have left these memories behind. And that’s thanks to the different activities that are carried out at the child friendly space. I have learned a lot of things that I didn’t know. I learned new songs that make me happy, the sensitizations also allow me to live better on a daily basis because they teach us how to live together.
There are also awareness raising activities on hygiene, which allows me to avoid contracting certain diseases. I really appreciated the awareness on menstrual management. It’s a subject that our moms find taboo while we were teenagersand so they never talked about it.
Mariam
42 years old from Bougue
I regularly participate in the sensitization sessions of the Joining Forces project agents at the site. The impact of the project on my life is enormous. The awareness-raising sessions enlighten me on the good practices of living together, social cohesion and how to educate my children for the well-being of all. The awareness-raising sessions also allowed us to learn about the different types of gender-based violence as well as the effective means for denouncing them. Through the project activities, our children attend the Child-Friendly Spaces and have acquired a lot of knowledge in everyday life.
Finally, through the assistance, I received during the lean season when I benefited from fortified flour for my 15-month-old child. This was an important part in the process of his growth and guarding him from malnutrition. I would like to thank the Joining Forces project.
Amadou
15 years old of DJIBO city
I regularly participate in the activities organized by the Joining Forces Project. Since I started frequenting the child friendly space, I have learned a lot to respect the elderly and my peers and to speak up among my peers without fear. I like all the activities that are carried out within the space but preferably the games, which will make me forget the bad memories that led us to leave our village.
Before my parents enrolled me in the child friendly space, I was home alone, I didn’t know where to go or what to do, but since I signed up, I am happier. Of course when I started it was not easy. I was a stranger around many people, but today I feel very comfortable. I’ve made a lot of friends and we often meet to play outside.
When I left my village, Borguindé, at first I had problems making friends, but thanks to the child-friendly space, I overcame this problem. I’ve made friends and my life has improved; I made friends with my classmates and learned to speak other languages.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance
Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance.