FROM DREAM TO REALITY
Katia Van Weel’s involvement in schools for girls in Burkina Faso began in 1995, when she was awarded 15,000 francs by taking part in the Swiss Television (TSR) show, "Le rêve de vos vingt ans” (literally: ‘Your dream at 20’). Her idea was to build a school for African girls, who would otherwise not have access to any education.

With the help of a local organisation, her project quickly took shape. She was offered a piece of land by the Kamboincé village head, a village some 15 km from Ouagadougou, and a few months later, a cheerful pink building had been completed, using traditional methods. In December 1996, exactly one year after the TSR show, the new centre - "A school to learn, a school to create" – was officially opened.

A local teacher was taken on to teach the girls in their own language, Moré, to write and do basic maths. Later, he also taught them French. The girls learned traditional skills such as batik and weaving and they were also made aware of food hygiene and household management principles.

The girls left the school in June 2001, having been given a good training. They could then be placed in small craft co-operatives, and so provide support for their respective families.

Katia’s determination to provide the girls of Burkina Faso with an education was recognised in several awards and prizes, among them, the "Prix d'encouragement Albert Schweitzer", awarded in September 2000 in Gunsbach (Alsace, France) by the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Foundation. Then, at the beginning of 2001, she was given two awards by the government of Burkina Faso: the first by the Ministry of Social Action, which selected the centre from the best in several countries; the second, by the Teaching Ministry, thanks to which the school was able to speed up its training in French, within a period of two months.

But the dream did not end there! At the end of 2001, a second school opened its doors in Sakoula, right in the bush, and also some fifteen kilometres from Ouagadougou. In addition to teaching, girls practise farming here. A third school was then built in Bilinga, in the north, and a fourth in Pissy, in the suburbs of Ouagadougou.

Most recently, in Summer 2004, the Katia van Weel Foundation took on the construction of a fifth school in Tavoussé, also in the north and close to the border with Mali. This was opened amidst great celebration in February 2005.

Each of these projects has been made possible through the generosity of supporters. The people who buy Katia’s two books or the “Scenes from Africa” calendar, which is published each year by her photographer parents, also contribute to the teaching of the girls born in Burkina Faso, the "country of the honest men".

SCHOOLS
Kamboincé
Katia van Weel opened her first school "Yam Wekre” (literally – “the knowledge which comes to the light") in Kamboincé, close to Ouagadougou, in December 1996 - exactly one year after she received the prize of 15,000 francs from the Swiss Television Show, "Le Rêve de vos vingt ans”. In just one year, Katia had managed to raise the remainder of the funds required through appeals for donations and also by putting on shows throughout Switzerland and nearby France.
Since then, forty girls have been fully trained. Taught in their own language, Moré, as well as in French, they also acquired a number of craft skills. Several girls then chose to set themselves up in small co-operatives to make use of their new skills and to earn a living from them. Today, some twenty students, aged from eleven to fifteen, are being trained in this school.

Sakoula
Opened in 2000 and also near the capital, the school in Sakoula follows the same model as Kamboincé. About twenty girls are given an education and are trained in local crafts (sewing, batik, macramé...). To complete their training, they must also find the means to sell their work and make a living from it. In this village, as in Kamboincé, we found that there was a new partnership with the girls’ parents, a kind of association, involving them more in their daughters’ training needs.

Bilinga
In Bilinga, to the north of the country, the parents were actively involved right from the initial building of the school in 2002. The villagers have contributed hugely to the girls' school, for example, by equipping the library, by setting up a kitchen for the pupils and by building a better fireplace which uses less firewood, a very sparse commodity in the area. The girls also seem very keen to take the opportunity to go to school: their progress is astonishing and delights both the teaching staff and the parents, as well as my partners there! In 2004, five pupils were even selected to join the normal state schooling system. The remaining 23 seem particularly motivated by these model pupils!

Pissy
The fourth center, in Pissy, in the suburbs of Ouagadougou, should not be left out: the two buildings accommodate six classes of more than one hundred pupils who follow all levels of compulsory schooling in decent facilities. Another thing to be proud of is that girls now take up more than 50% of the places in this school! After this building work, and to complete the project, we hope to sink a well in the building and build latrines in the near future and, later, build a nursery classroom. The foundation didn't build this centre, but it has supported it since 2002, when it became aware of the very poor state it was in.

Tavoussé
Built in the north, towards Ouahigouya, the school of Tavoussé was opened in February 2005. Following the model shown in the Bilinga school, the parents of prospective pupils organised themselves into an association. They were particularly helpful during the construction of the building, filled as they were with enthusiasm for providing the girls of the village with an education. Some twenty-five pupils are now being trained.

NEWS
Katia van Weel went to Burkina Faso last February, accompanied by her parents and seven donors, to officially open the fifth school in the village of Tavoussé. Everyone took the opportunity to visit the four other centres. Arend van Weel, Katia's father, went back to the "Country of the honest men" in June to ensure that the achievements were being maintained.

"In Kamboincé and Sakoula, the first two schools, the girls continue their education and at the same time, they improve their skills in sewing, batik and macramé. We attended a village fair which they organised in the village of Kamboincé on the day of the local market, to enable them to sell their products and so recoup some of their training expenses.

In Bilinga, to the north of the country, the girls have completed remarkable work in sewing: they make clothes to sell to the inhabitants of surrounding villages. The pupils are motivated and prove it to us with their good results at school. The inhabitants are happy to have such a school in their village and are very interested to see how the girls’ knowledge is developing.

The fourth centre in Pissy, in the suburbs of Ouagadougou, accommodates more than 560 pupils in six classes. Latrines will be built soon beside the buildings – a much-needed addition to this establishment. Then, the drilling of a well will make it possible for the pupils to have drinking water within the school enclosure. This project is still at the planning stage, because we want to ask parents of pupils to contribute towards the cost, however tiny this contribution may be.

In Tavoussé, in the north, close to the Malian border, we opened our fifth school last February. All the inhabitants of the village were present, as well as representatives from the local, political and other authorities. The 40 prospective pupils were there: we had brought a school bag for each of them. Children from the village put on a small show, which demonstrated the importance of providing education for girls as well as boys. Each one of us planted a fruit tree around the centre. The fruit will be useful for the pupils’ kitchens. We finished the day with a football match: the village of Bilinga versus Tavoussé. The purpose of this meeting was also to twin these two villages which are only some 40 kilometres away from each other.

I was really touched by this latest opening - the fifth since “Le reve de mes vingt ans” and I thought of you, my supporters, without whose assistance I could never have brought my dream to reality. Your help is, as always, invaluable to me!"

Katia van Weel

CONTACT
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Marie-Hélène JACUT
TEMENOS HEADQUARTERS
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1205 GENEVE / Switzerland
E-mail address: mhjacut@temenos.com