Programmes

Association Burkina-Canada currently runs two programmes. Our core "Access to Education" programme aims to improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children by creating educational opportunities in Burkina Faso.

The second related programme, entitled "Penfriends", consists of a cultural exchange programme between Canadian and Burkinabè youths. Towards this goal, we have partnered up in the past with Toujours Ensemble and Macdonald High School and currently work with Murielle-Dumont elementary school in Pierrefonds, Québec. The exchange programme promotes understanding and forges greater ties between participating students of the two countries.

Access to Education

Parameters
  • During the 2008-2009 academic year, ABC sponsored the formal education of 20 youths in Burkina Faso. Ten girls and ten boys received ABC support, among whom 14 attended primary school and 6 attended high school.
  • In 2009-2010, 12 girls and 12 boys from Léo (13 in elementary school, 11 in high school) attended school with ABC’s support.
  • In 2010-2011, 30 youths (15 girls and 15 boys) from Léo received ABC’s support. Fifteen of them attended elementary school and 15 attended high school.
  • Rejoicing in having completed three successful years of the programme, ABC continues to sponsor 30 students at elementary (16 students) and high school (14 students) levels whilst renewing its commitment to gender equality.

Provisions

The programme takes a holistic approach to education, understanding that merely paying for children’s school fees is often insufficient to ensure their academic success. Besides paying for tuition, ABC purchases uniforms for the high school students it sponsors and two sets of clothes for the elementary school students. Importantly, ABC provides a quality lunchtime meal to all the sponsored students. Children also receive a school bag and a full set of school supplies including workbooks, textbooks, mathematical instruments, binders, pens, pencils, and a sharpener and eraser.

Monitoring of academic performance

ABC’s field coordinator periodically meets with the students’ teachers and principals. He also reviews the sponsored students’ report cards and meets with the students’ guardians when necessary.

The students’ school performance is monitored on a trimester basis, when the teachers are asked to submit an assessment form for each participating child.

Selection of Children

ABC sponsors orphans and vulnerable children in the town of Léo who are in financial need and whom the ABC field coordinator believes have enough encouragement and drive to benefit from the schooling. We strive to develop a long-term relationship with each child and therefore seek to support children who are likely to remain in school for a number of years. For these reasons, the following criteria are among those used to select our candidates: family situation, household resources, guardian support, intellectual potential and motivation, history of school attendance and performance.

Penfriends

The penfriends programme consists of letter exchanges between Canadian and Burkinabè students. Classes from a Canadian (Montreal-based) elementary or high school are paired with those at the same grade level in Léo, Burkina Faso.

The themes of the exchange programme are designed to encourage Canadian and Burkinabè students to discover their own home and region, and to promote an understanding of what life can be like for young people on a distant continent. Youths participating in the programme learn important skills associated with writing and communication. Besides letters, we encourage the children’s creativity by promoting the exchange of drawings and/or photos.

In the 2011-2012 school year, letters are exchanged between 78 forth grade students in Léo and those from Murielle-Dumont elementary school in Pierrefonds, Québec.