Project description (PDF version)
Construction of Secure Lodgings for Young Women Students at Yako (Burkina Faso)
Aim of Project
To ensure the personal safety and wellbeing of the girl students of the provincial and communal high schools in the commune of Yako, by providing them with decent lodgings and supervision in a community dormitory, where, safe from sexual abuse or aggression, they may complete their education.
Long Term Goal of Project
To ensure that young women in Yako, Passore Province, Burkina Faso, can take their proper place in society and become agents of change for progress, by enabling them to pursue their secondary education in safe and decent conditions.
Background
The town of Yako is situated at 109 kms north-west from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Only 36% of girl children attend primary, and less than 15% attend secondary school. The situation is partly due to socio-cultural factors but also to the lack of supervised boarding facilities for secondary school students, many of whom live a long way from the schools and so cannot return home every night.
When unable to find a foster family in which to place their daughters, some parents rent very cheap lodgings which often lack basic facilities and electricity and where there is no adult supervision. Girls have been found attempting to study under street lights for want of electric light in the lodgings. They have been molested or raped. Thus, many girls are forced to abandon their studies for lack of decent care, unwanted pregnancy, or AIDS.
Project Description
Plans have been drawn up for the construction of secure dormitory accommodation for 60 girls who are secondary school students in Yako. This will include:
- 3 dormitories of 20 beds each;
- sanitations;
- a refectory;
- a kitchen.
The accommodation will open into the compound of the recently completed orphanage whose construction was overseen by members of the Emmaüs Foundation in Geneva and supported by the Palais Wilson Rotary Club, Geneva. The accommodation will share electricity supply and water (from a well) with the orphanage, so as to reduce costs.
The organization responsible for the above project is the Association for the Safety of Women and Orphans in Passore (ASFO/P), in association with Solidarity and Mutual Aid in the Sahel/Sahara (SEMUS). This association has worked successfully with the Emmaüs Foundation in the construction of an orphanage.
Our private association Burkina Faso Girls‘ Hostel Association (AMAB) was created on 16 March 2009 in Geneva to support this project.
Planning for the project
As soon as the funds have been collected, the project will proceed as follows:
- The Association for the Safety of Women and Orphans in Passore (ASFO/P) will set up a Management board to carry out the project.
- The Association for Solidarity and Mutual Aid in the Sahel/Sahara (SEMUS) will ensure the technical supervision (offers of construction, choice of constructors, supervision of work).
- The works will be carried out by local firms.
- The time necessary for the construction will be between 5 and 6 months.
- The Management board will regularly survey and evaluate the work. Periodical reports will be established.
The ceremony of the laying of the foundation stone has taken place on 25 September 2012 in the presence of our President Very Rev. Dr. William McComish.
Other supporting Organizations and Associations:
In Burkina Faso:
- Association for the Safety of Women and Orphans in Passore (ASFO/P).
- Association for Solidarity and Mutual Aid in the Sahel/Sahara (SEMUS).
In Switzerland:
- Rotary Club Genève – Palais Wilson.
- The “Fonds Mécenat SIG”, Geneva.
- The “Foundation Enfants d’Ailleurs”, Nyon.
Budget of the construction costs
| Details of the construction costs |
FCFA |
| Construction of the ground floor (20-bed dormitory, common infrastructure, etc.) |
53.481.271 |
| Reserve for unforeseen events (2% of 53.481.271) |
1.069.625 |
| Intermediary total (free tax) |
54.550.896 |
| Planning, supervision and technical monitoring (5% of 54.550.896) |
2.727.544 |
| Sub-total ground floor (free tax) |
57.278.440 |
| VAT 18% of 57.278.440 |
10.310.119 |
| Total ground-floor (tax included) |
67.588.559 |
| Construction of the 1st floor (2 dormitories of 20 beds = 40 beds) |
29.763.094 |
| Reserve for unforeseen events (2% of 29.763.094) |
595.262 |
| Intermediary total (free tax) |
30.358.356 |
| Planning, supervision and technical monitoring (5% of 30.358.356) |
1.517.918 |
| Sub-total 1st floor (free tax) |
31.876.274 |
| VAT 18% of 31.876.274 |
5.737.729 |
| Total 1st floor (tax included) |
37.614.003 |
| Grand total of the project (ground floor and 1st floor) |
105.202.562 |
| At the exchange rate of 30.11.2012: 1 CHF = 540.001 FCFA, this amount corresponds to CHF |
|
| Donations received |
CHF |
| Contribution SEMUS (3’854’936 FCFA) |
7’139 |
| Contribution Rotary Club Genève – Palais Wilson |
38’140 |
| Contribution « Fonds Mécenat SIG », Genève |
10’000 |
| Contribution Fondation Enfants d’Ailleurs, Nyon |
30’000 |
| Various donors |
86’196 |
| Support of the City of Geneva (subsidy) |
41’400 |
| Total of donations received |
212’875 |
For further information, please refer to:
Burkina Faso Girls‘ Hostel Association www.amab.ch
c/o Very Rev. Dr. William McComish Postal account with PostFinance: n° 10-181147-5
President IBAN: CH09 0900 0000 1018 1147 5
25, rue Sautter BIC: POFICHBEXXX
CH-1205 Geneva
Very Rev. Dr. William McComish (President), former Dean of St. Peter’s cathedral in Geneva; +41 79 456 05 25;
Mr. Christian Lenz (Vice-president AMAB), Attorney-at-law; +41 22 593 88 00; .
C. Lenz / 12 June 2013