Women make a special visit to share how their lives have changed

It’s incredibly uplifting when a Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC)-assisted community graduates from our support, moving confidently into a positive future they can sustain. So, imagine what it’s like when — a year later — those same people visit you to share their joy for how their lives have changed.

That’s what happened for Jeremie Ouangrawa, our country director in Burkina, who was thrilled when women from the village of Kougri paid him a surprise visit. They’d travelled 55 km to express their gratitude for a village-savings-and-loan (VSL) project that’s changed their lives.

“You can imagine my joy and emotion to hear six women, representing their community and testifying to the impact of VSL in their families and their own lives,” said Ouangrawa. “I was highly impressed by the way they clearly articulated the impact.”

What was even more impressive was what these women have accomplished — 66 groups, representing 1,149 women, have saved nearly $270,000 and loaned nearly $150,000 within their groups since 2014. And, that was after contributing weekly to their group savings.

Thanks to training sessions originally initiated by CCFC, the women are:

• running successful small businesses — such as market gardening, small trade
• paying for their children’s education and healthcare needs (without help)
• buying bicycles for themselves to help with family chores or for their children’s journey to school
• saving between $10 and $15 per month (a significant amount in their context)
• building strong networks

Some are even becoming local town-council representatives.

A meeting CCFC’s Ouagadougou office that could have lasted just 30 minutes, turned into two hours of sharing and learning. “It was simply amazing,” notes Jeremie.

It’s all thanks to our generous supporters’ commitment to creating brighter futures for children, their families and entire communities.

Learn more about how you can help, today.

About Children Believe

Children Believe works globally to empower children to dream fearlessly, stand up for what they believe in — and be heard. For 60+ years, we’ve brought together brave young dreamers, caring supporters and partners, and unabashed idealists. Together, we’re driven by a common belief: creating access to education — inside and outside of classrooms — is the most powerful tool children can use to change their world.