Real progressWith the support of Plan, children and adults inBurkina Faso are working together to developtheir communities and claim their right to abetter future. And real progress is being made.Last year, our work included:

• Giving 215,000 children the chance to beproperly equipped for lessons byproviding them with school supplies

• Protecting young infants frompotentially life-threatening malaria by distributing bed-nets impregnated with insecticide to expectant mothers and their children

• Enabling 1,552 rural women to participate in savings schemes, so theycould take out loans to start small businesses

• Working with UNICEF and the government of Burkina Faso on a campaignto register the births of 19,000 children, giving them an identity and aplace in society.

Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effortcombining the hard work and determination ofcommunities, children, volunteers, staff, and partnerorganisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity andcommitment that allows us to continue to help childrenin 49 of the poorest countries in the world.

So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!

Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035

BFA

A community is shown how to erect a bed-net:vital to the prevention of malaria

p

Challenge and change in Burkina FasoThis year, the long period of drought finally broke in Burkina Faso, but the heavy rainsthat followed caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country. There was alsoa major outbreak of meningitis, and we thank all those sponsors who made a specialdonation to save children’s lives from this killer disease.

Aside from our emergency work, Plan is working with vulnerable families in BurkinaFaso to provide their children with better health services, quality education, clean waterand sanitation and to protect them from HIV/AIDS.

Communities are leading the way in development planning, and their children’s voicesare heard in every project we work on together. “Communities are responsible for their

own development.” explains Fritz Foster, Plan’sCountry Director. “Their children and young people need to be partof that process.”

In this Country Progress Report wehighlight one successful project wherecommunities are now taking charge oflife’s most basic necessity: clean water.

Burkina Faso country factsPopulation: 13.2 million

Capital: Ouagadougou

UN Human Development Indexranking: 174th (of 177 countries)

People without clean drinking water: 39%

Children engaged in child labour: 57%

Children attending primary school: 32%

(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office) Country ProgressReport 2007

Burkina Faso

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Client name:File name:

Date:Size:

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0407100647PLAN0407_Burkina Faso05.12.07210x443.5mm FOLD TO A54 Client proof: 4

Any enquiries please contact:Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.comm: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150

Size (Prod) Colours(Prod) Art (A/D) Copy (C/W) Content (Acc.)

146.5mm FLAP 148.5mm BACK 148.5mm FRONT

Building new schools is part of our work to improve education in Burkina Faso

p

Real progressWith the support of Plan, children and adults inBurkina Faso are working together to developtheir communities and claim their right to abetter future. And real progress is being made.Last year, our work included:

• Giving 215,000 children the chance to beproperly equipped for lessons byproviding them with school supplies

• Protecting young infants frompotentially life-threatening malaria by distributing bed-nets impregnated with insecticide to expectant mothers and their children

• Enabling 1,552 rural women to participate in savings schemes, so theycould take out loans to start small businesses

• Working with UNICEF and the government of Burkina Faso on a campaignto register the births of 19,000 children, giving them an identity and aplace in society.

Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effortcombining the hard work and determination ofcommunities, children, volunteers, staff, and partnerorganisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity andcommitment that allows us to continue to help childrenin 49 of the poorest countries in the world.

So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!

Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035

BFA

A community is shown how to erect a bed-net:vital to the prevention of malaria

p

Challenge and change in Burkina FasoThis year, the long period of drought finally broke in Burkina Faso, but the heavy rainsthat followed caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country. There was alsoa major outbreak of meningitis, and we thank all those sponsors who made a specialdonation to save children’s lives from this killer disease.

Aside from our emergency work, Plan is working with vulnerable families in BurkinaFaso to provide their children with better health services, quality education, clean waterand sanitation and to protect them from HIV/AIDS.

Communities are leading the way in development planning, and their children’s voicesare heard in every project we work on together. “Communities are responsible for their

own development.” explains Fritz Foster, Plan’sCountry Director. “Their children and young people need to be partof that process.”

In this Country Progress Report wehighlight one successful project wherecommunities are now taking charge oflife’s most basic necessity: clean water.

Burkina Faso country factsPopulation: 13.2 million

Capital: Ouagadougou

UN Human Development Indexranking: 174th (of 177 countries)

People without clean drinking water: 39%

Children engaged in child labour: 57%

Children attending primary school: 32%

(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office) Country ProgressReport 2007

Burkina Faso

Admagic No:Bright No:

Client name:File name:

Date:Size:

Studio proof:

0407100647PLAN0407_Burkina Faso05.12.07210x443.5mm FOLD TO A54 Client proof: 4

Any enquiries please contact:Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.comm: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150

Size (Prod) Colours(Prod) Art (A/D) Copy (C/W) Content (Acc.)

146.5mm FLAP 148.5mm BACK 148.5mm FRONT

Building new schools is part of our work to improve education in Burkina Faso

p

one of Burkina Faso’s biggest killers ofchildren under five.

Determined to succeedThe villagers in Silome Banawa weredetermined to protect their children –so determined in fact that they decidedto start a fund towards installing aborehole. The men were each asked to contribute 1,500 West AfricanCommunauté Financière d’AfriqueFrancs (or CFA, the local currency), and the women 1,000 CFA. Within notime, they had saved over 100,000 CFA(around £100), an enormous sum in acountry where over a fifth of the peoplelive on less than 50 pence a day.

After putting the money in the nearestcommunity bank, the villagersapproached Plan to help them drill theborehole and learn how to maintain it.With our support, they began byelecting a water managementcommittee; a group of local men andwomen who would manage the projectand ensure the borehole would be keptin good working order.

Then, work began in earnest. With Plansupplying technical expertise andmaterials and with funding and helpprovided by the community, a borehole

was sunk in a place where the wholevillage would be able to reach it easily.The sides of the borehole wereconstructed so that cattle could alsodrink there, helping to keep the animalsaway from the water used by families.

Since the villagers own their newborehole, it is their responsibility toservice it. Poussy hopes his training inbasic maintenance, supported by Plan,will be enough to cover most minorfaults, but to fund any further work, the water management committeecollects a small fee of 50 West AfricanCFA (about 5 pence) from each villagerat the end of every month.

Changing livesNow they’re no longer forced to drinkdirty river water, the children are farless vulnerable to diseases likediarrhoea. They’re spending more time in the classroom, learning the skills they will need to build theircommunity’s future.

The women too, have learned just howlife-changing easy access to clean watercan be. Their daily trek to the river isover. Now, they are free to spend moretime with their children, or cultivatingtheir crops, or even starting small

148.5mm INSIDE 148.5mm INSIDE 146.5mm INSIDE

Poussy has a responsible job in hiscommunity – he’s in charge of keepingthe borehole in good repair. “Onceevery three months, I do the necessarymaintenance work on the pump,” hesays, “and I make sure it is functional.”

It’s a role he takes seriously. He knowsthe borehole is a precious lifeline tofamilies in Silome Banawa, andparticularly their children.

Life in this small, rural community is verydifferent today from how it was beforethe community drilled the borehole.Although the Silome Banawa area enjoysrelatively high rainfall compared to therest of the country, water safe enough todrink, cook with and bathe in was inextremely short supply.

The borehole is a precious lifelineto families in Silome Banawa, andparticularly their children.

Traditionally, the women in the villagewould walk over three miles a day tofetch water from the river. “They knew

that the river water was not drinkable,”recalls Amie, 18, “but they had nochoice, because there was no cleanwater in the village and in its immediateenvironment.”

Disastrously, every drop of river waterthe children drank put them at risk offalling seriously ill with waterbornediseases. Noelie is 12 and remembersvividly: “The children used to bathewith river water, and were also drinkingthat water. They had skin diseases,stomach-ache and diarrhoea.”Diarrhoea, although minor in the UK, is

businesses. In time, these willbring them extra income tospend on their children’seducation, or to buy medicineswhen they are ill.

Poussy believes the project haschanged the entire community.“Plan’s approach, which consistsof trusting the beneficiaries withresponsibilities, is verypractical,” he says. Planning andmanaging the water project withPlan has given Silome Banawa valuableexperience in identifying problems,working as a team, raising funds,commissioning labour and puttingsolutions in place that will last forgenerations to come.

“Plan’s approach, which consistsin trusting the beneficiaries withresponsibilities, is very practical.”

Such collaboration is the foundation of all Plan’s work with vulnerablecommunities. We know that familiesand their children want to take chargeof their own development, and with the right support and training they aredetermined to achieve their goals.

In Silome Banawa, the new boreholehas given the villagers far more thanclean water. It’s given them more timeto spend with their families or in thefields. Most importantly, it’s given themhealthier, stronger children – their hopefor a better future.

Some names have been changed for privacy and childprotection reasons.

The community takes responsibility for maintaining the new borehole

p

Working together for safer waterStanding beside the new borehole in Silome Banawa, south-west BurkinaFaso, Poussy Bila is a happy man. Looking around his village, the children arehealthy and the women no longer have to walk miles in search of clean water.

Collecting water is now much easier, and the water from theborehole is clean and safe

p

one of Burkina Faso’s biggest killers ofchildren under five.

Determined to succeedThe villagers in Silome Banawa weredetermined to protect their children –so determined in fact that they decidedto start a fund towards installing aborehole. The men were each asked to contribute 1,500 West AfricanCommunauté Financière d’AfriqueFrancs (or CFA, the local currency), and the women 1,000 CFA. Within notime, they had saved over 100,000 CFA(around £100), an enormous sum in acountry where over a fifth of the peoplelive on less than 50 pence a day.

After putting the money in the nearestcommunity bank, the villagersapproached Plan to help them drill theborehole and learn how to maintain it.With our support, they began byelecting a water managementcommittee; a group of local men andwomen who would manage the projectand ensure the borehole would be keptin good working order.

Then, work began in earnest. With Plansupplying technical expertise andmaterials and with funding and helpprovided by the community, a borehole

was sunk in a place where the wholevillage would be able to reach it easily.The sides of the borehole wereconstructed so that cattle could alsodrink there, helping to keep the animalsaway from the water used by families.

Since the villagers own their newborehole, it is their responsibility toservice it. Poussy hopes his training inbasic maintenance, supported by Plan,will be enough to cover most minorfaults, but to fund any further work, the water management committeecollects a small fee of 50 West AfricanCFA (about 5 pence) from each villagerat the end of every month.

Changing livesNow they’re no longer forced to drinkdirty river water, the children are farless vulnerable to diseases likediarrhoea. They’re spending more time in the classroom, learning the skills they will need to build theircommunity’s future.

The women too, have learned just howlife-changing easy access to clean watercan be. Their daily trek to the river isover. Now, they are free to spend moretime with their children, or cultivatingtheir crops, or even starting small

148.5mm INSIDE 148.5mm INSIDE 146.5mm INSIDE

Poussy has a responsible job in hiscommunity – he’s in charge of keepingthe borehole in good repair. “Onceevery three months, I do the necessarymaintenance work on the pump,” hesays, “and I make sure it is functional.”

It’s a role he takes seriously. He knowsthe borehole is a precious lifeline tofamilies in Silome Banawa, andparticularly their children.

Life in this small, rural community is verydifferent today from how it was beforethe community drilled the borehole.Although the Silome Banawa area enjoysrelatively high rainfall compared to therest of the country, water safe enough todrink, cook with and bathe in was inextremely short supply.

The borehole is a precious lifelineto families in Silome Banawa, andparticularly their children.

Traditionally, the women in the villagewould walk over three miles a day tofetch water from the river. “They knew

that the river water was not drinkable,”recalls Amie, 18, “but they had nochoice, because there was no cleanwater in the village and in its immediateenvironment.”

Disastrously, every drop of river waterthe children drank put them at risk offalling seriously ill with waterbornediseases. Noelie is 12 and remembersvividly: “The children used to bathewith river water, and were also drinkingthat water. They had skin diseases,stomach-ache and diarrhoea.”Diarrhoea, although minor in the UK, is

businesses. In time, these willbring them extra income tospend on their children’seducation, or to buy medicineswhen they are ill.

Poussy believes the project haschanged the entire community.“Plan’s approach, which consistsof trusting the beneficiaries withresponsibilities, is verypractical,” he says. Planning andmanaging the water project withPlan has given Silome Banawa valuableexperience in identifying problems,working as a team, raising funds,commissioning labour and puttingsolutions in place that will last forgenerations to come.

“Plan’s approach, which consistsin trusting the beneficiaries withresponsibilities, is very practical.”

Such collaboration is the foundation of all Plan’s work with vulnerablecommunities. We know that familiesand their children want to take chargeof their own development, and with the right support and training they aredetermined to achieve their goals.

In Silome Banawa, the new boreholehas given the villagers far more thanclean water. It’s given them more timeto spend with their families or in thefields. Most importantly, it’s given themhealthier, stronger children – their hopefor a better future.

Some names have been changed for privacy and childprotection reasons.

The community takes responsibility for maintaining the new borehole

p

Working together for safer waterStanding beside the new borehole in Silome Banawa, south-west BurkinaFaso, Poussy Bila is a happy man. Looking around his village, the children arehealthy and the women no longer have to walk miles in search of clean water.

Collecting water is now much easier, and the water from theborehole is clean and safe

p

one of Burkina Faso’s biggest killers ofchildren under five.

Determined to succeedThe villagers in Silome Banawa weredetermined to protect their children –so determined in fact that they decidedto start a fund towards installing aborehole. The men were each asked to contribute 1,500 West AfricanCommunauté Financière d’AfriqueFrancs (or CFA, the local currency), and the women 1,000 CFA. Within notime, they had saved over 100,000 CFA(around £100), an enormous sum in acountry where over a fifth of the peoplelive on less than 50 pence a day.

After putting the money in the nearestcommunity bank, the villagersapproached Plan to help them drill theborehole and learn how to maintain it.With our support, they began byelecting a water managementcommittee; a group of local men andwomen who would manage the projectand ensure the borehole would be keptin good working order.

Then, work began in earnest. With Plansupplying technical expertise andmaterials and with funding and helpprovided by the community, a borehole

was sunk in a place where the wholevillage would be able to reach it easily.The sides of the borehole wereconstructed so that cattle could alsodrink there, helping to keep the animalsaway from the water used by families.

Since the villagers own their newborehole, it is their responsibility toservice it. Poussy hopes his training inbasic maintenance, supported by Plan,will be enough to cover most minorfaults, but to fund any further work, the water management committeecollects a small fee of 50 West AfricanCFA (about 5 pence) from each villagerat the end of every month.

Changing livesNow they’re no longer forced to drinkdirty river water, the children are farless vulnerable to diseases likediarrhoea. They’re spending more time in the classroom, learning the skills they will need to build theircommunity’s future.

The women too, have learned just howlife-changing easy access to clean watercan be. Their daily trek to the river isover. Now, they are free to spend moretime with their children, or cultivatingtheir crops, or even starting small

148.5mm INSIDE 148.5mm INSIDE 146.5mm INSIDE

Poussy has a responsible job in hiscommunity – he’s in charge of keepingthe borehole in good repair. “Onceevery three months, I do the necessarymaintenance work on the pump,” hesays, “and I make sure it is functional.”

It’s a role he takes seriously. He knowsthe borehole is a precious lifeline tofamilies in Silome Banawa, andparticularly their children.

Life in this small, rural community is verydifferent today from how it was beforethe community drilled the borehole.Although the Silome Banawa area enjoysrelatively high rainfall compared to therest of the country, water safe enough todrink, cook with and bathe in was inextremely short supply.

The borehole is a precious lifelineto families in Silome Banawa, andparticularly their children.

Traditionally, the women in the villagewould walk over three miles a day tofetch water from the river. “They knew

that the river water was not drinkable,”recalls Amie, 18, “but they had nochoice, because there was no cleanwater in the village and in its immediateenvironment.”

Disastrously, every drop of river waterthe children drank put them at risk offalling seriously ill with waterbornediseases. Noelie is 12 and remembersvividly: “The children used to bathewith river water, and were also drinkingthat water. They had skin diseases,stomach-ache and diarrhoea.”Diarrhoea, although minor in the UK, is

businesses. In time, these willbring them extra income tospend on their children’seducation, or to buy medicineswhen they are ill.

Poussy believes the project haschanged the entire community.“Plan’s approach, which consistsof trusting the beneficiaries withresponsibilities, is verypractical,” he says. Planning andmanaging the water project withPlan has given Silome Banawa valuableexperience in identifying problems,working as a team, raising funds,commissioning labour and puttingsolutions in place that will last forgenerations to come.

“Plan’s approach, which consistsin trusting the beneficiaries withresponsibilities, is very practical.”

Such collaboration is the foundation of all Plan’s work with vulnerablecommunities. We know that familiesand their children want to take chargeof their own development, and with the right support and training they aredetermined to achieve their goals.

In Silome Banawa, the new boreholehas given the villagers far more thanclean water. It’s given them more timeto spend with their families or in thefields. Most importantly, it’s given themhealthier, stronger children – their hopefor a better future.

Some names have been changed for privacy and childprotection reasons.

The community takes responsibility for maintaining the new borehole

p

Working together for safer waterStanding beside the new borehole in Silome Banawa, south-west BurkinaFaso, Poussy Bila is a happy man. Looking around his village, the children arehealthy and the women no longer have to walk miles in search of clean water.

Collecting water is now much easier, and the water from theborehole is clean and safe

p

Real progressWith the support of Plan, children and adults inBurkina Faso are working together to developtheir communities and claim their right to abetter future. And real progress is being made.Last year, our work included:

• Giving 215,000 children the chance to beproperly equipped for lessons byproviding them with school supplies

• Protecting young infants frompotentially life-threatening malaria by distributing bed-nets impregnated with insecticide to expectant mothers and their children

• Enabling 1,552 rural women to participate in savings schemes, so theycould take out loans to start small businesses

• Working with UNICEF and the government of Burkina Faso on a campaignto register the births of 19,000 children, giving them an identity and aplace in society.

Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effortcombining the hard work and determination ofcommunities, children, volunteers, staff, and partnerorganisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity andcommitment that allows us to continue to help childrenin 49 of the poorest countries in the world.

So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!

Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035

BFA

A community is shown how to erect a bed-net:vital to the prevention of malaria

p

Challenge and change in Burkina FasoThis year, the long period of drought finally broke in Burkina Faso, but the heavy rainsthat followed caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country. There was alsoa major outbreak of meningitis, and we thank all those sponsors who made a specialdonation to save children’s lives from this killer disease.

Aside from our emergency work, Plan is working with vulnerable families in BurkinaFaso to provide their children with better health services, quality education, clean waterand sanitation and to protect them from HIV/AIDS.

Communities are leading the way in development planning, and their children’s voicesare heard in every project we work on together. “Communities are responsible for their

own development.” explains Fritz Foster, Plan’sCountry Director. “Their children and young people need to be partof that process.”

In this Country Progress Report wehighlight one successful project wherecommunities are now taking charge oflife’s most basic necessity: clean water.

Burkina Faso country factsPopulation: 13.2 million

Capital: Ouagadougou

UN Human Development Indexranking: 174th (of 177 countries)

People without clean drinking water: 39%

Children engaged in child labour: 57%

Children attending primary school: 32%

(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office) Country ProgressReport 2007

Burkina Faso

Admagic No:Bright No:

Client name:File name:

Date:Size:

Studio proof:

0407100647PLAN0407_Burkina Faso05.12.07210x443.5mm FOLD TO A54 Client proof: 4

Any enquiries please contact:Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.comm: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150

Size (Prod) Colours(Prod) Art (A/D) Copy (C/W) Content (Acc.)

146.5mm FLAP 148.5mm BACK 148.5mm FRONT

Building new schools is part of our work to improve education in Burkina Faso

p