Delwende began this project and the campaign “Educate a woman and you’ll save a town” in 1997.
In the secondary school “María Rosa Molas”, in Dedougou, there are 352 young girls aged between 11 and 23 years old studying. The students are distributed in classes of approximately 50 students per class, which cover the whole secondary school education.
There are 30 people working here in total; two nuns (Sisters of Consolación), who manage the centre and teach as well as 28 locals, which is very beneficial for the local community.
The school has two dining halls and a library accessible to all living in the area, and not only school students.
This project is an important part of a strategy set up by Delwende , along with the Consolación Sisters to educate and promote young women in Burkina Faso, as a means of economic and social development.
Dedougou (en clase)
Dedougou (diplomas fin de curso)
Dedougou (estudiando)
Dedougou (entrega premios)
Dedougou (limpiando recinto)
Dedougou (clase de Informatica)
Dedougou (entrando a clase)
The situation of young women in Burkina Faso is very worrying. The customs and cultural practices promote marriage at an early age and social isolation of women marginalises their social role, which often confines them to poverty and caring for a large number of children. The Burkina Faso society gives more value to the education of males, which creates more obstacles to the parity of both sexes.
“Maria Rosa Molas” is a private school that is partially financed by those families who are able to pay the school fees (there is a variable number of scholars who are fully subsidised). Their contribution is not enough to pay for the minimum level of quality education. In order to convince families to send girls to school, it is absolutely necessary to reduce their educational costs to be less than schooling a boy. The running and the maintenance of the school are only possible thanks to Delwende contributions and other subsidies that are given to the school.
Due to the instability of local roads and transport systems in the region, access to the school for girls living in the surrounding areas and other villages is very difficult. The school has therefore extended in 2013 its facilities to offer boarding to girls with less resources living in these areas.
Project actions
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 1999 | Collaboration with the school by providing study books and granting scholarships to some students. |
| 2000 | School equipment. |
| 2005 | Provided the school with a library, accessible to teachers and students. Furthermore, computers and other IT equipment were donated. |
| 2006 | Purchased books for the library and for certain students, as well as material for the Laboratory. |
| 2007 | Purchased an oscilloscope for the Laboratory. |
| 2009 | Equipped the new school classrooms. |
| 2010 and 2011 | Built an extension with Boarding facilities, a canteen, classrooms and furnished them. |
| 2012 | Provided new computers. |
| 2015 | Installation of solar panels and arrangements for secondary school. |
| 2015 | Help to build a computer classroom. |
| 2016 | School infrastructure: Construction of surrounding wire and internet wiring at school. |
| 2017 | Painting of classrooms and provision of furniture for the computer classroom. |
| 2018 | Installation of new solar panels. |
| 2019 | Extension of the boarding school bathrooms. |
| 2020 | Paving of the sports court. Elevation of the closure wall. |
| 2022 | Expansion of the Center’s latrines. |
| 2000 to 2023 | Provided wide ranging financial support during the year to the running of the school paying wages to teachers and other expenses of the secondary school, the Lab equipment and other materials and basic services. |
| 2023 | Reinforce the boundary wall with posts and barbed wire. |
| 2024 | Included in the 2024 budget and pending collection for: Support to the running of the School. |