Few young people have access to secondary education in Burkina Faso. The reasons are several, but the main one is poverty . Families, especially those who live in rural areas, have very few resources to survive and the post-primary schooling of boys and girls is an expense that they cannot bear. Additionally, most secondary schools are located in cities, making access even more difficult. The search for work, even for children and young people, causes significant internal displacement of the population, especially from rural areas to urban centers, with all the risks that forced migration entails. And the unemployment rate is very high for young people in this African country: more than of unemployed people are under years of age . One of the outlets that young people, but also children, find is to work in the gold mines . The access holes to the mine are small, so a child’s body is ideal for entering it and extracting as much mineral as possible. Working in a gold mine can be one of the hardest jobs in the world for an adult, but if you are also a child.
A mine is no place for a child
Mamoudou worked in a gold mine in Tanllili, a town a few kilometers from Ouahigouya. He left school in second grade. “My life was not easy. He worked with other children with whom we went down into the holes to lift the gold into the mounds of earth. Every day I put my life at risk. Many of my colleagues became ill, injured or even lost their lives.” This young Burkinabe Vietnam WhatsApp Number Data worked tirelessly in the mine against his true desire, which was to train in some profession . Until his brother told him about us. “My brother informed me that an NGO supported young people like me to learn a trade of his choice. So he asked me if he was interested” This is one of the projects we carry out in the northern part of Burkina, specifically in Ouahigouya. We identify young people in extremely vulnerable situations, like Mamamdou or Aminata , and we offer them a way out thanks to technical training . In addition, we provide them with a small financial sum that allows them to cover their most basic needs while the eight-month training lasts.
Without thinking I said yes
I couldn’t stand life in the mine anymore. I just wanted to get out of there. My brother informed Educo of my situation and the NGO’s colleagues managed to get me to. Start training as a carpenter in a workshop under the supervision of a master craftsman. Since my arrival at the workshop I feel good and safer than in the mine. I have learned to make small pieces Australia WhatsApp Number List of furniture such as benches. Tables, chairs or shelves. baa-acd-c-bfc-cffffedjpg I am very satisfied with everything I am learning. Yes “My learning period of eight months is coming to an end. I will ask my master craftsman for an extension to reinforce my knowledge. Then I could open my own workshop ,” the young man tells us, who is very grateful. “Thanks to Educo for the opportunity you have given me to change my life . I appeal to all children like me who still work in gold mines to leave these. Places because a mine is no place for a child: the risk and danger is too much high”.
