Student ADS Villages

ADS Villages:
Goko, Touya and others

A group of students from Ouahigouya formed an association called ADS (Appui au Développement Scolaire) to work in their villages around Ouahigouya. They identified many needs in the villages, especially in the areas of health and education, but they decided to focus their attention on encouraging families and the community to support their children in continuing their education beyond primary school. They observed from their own visits in the villages that students who had achieved basic literacy in primary school, including learning to read and write in French, quickly lost that proficiency if they did not have others with whom to practice, especially in an academic setting.

So the ADS students began to organize awareness activities ("sensibilisation") in the villages. They would work with leaders in a particular village to bring in their student group for a day and conduct entertainment as well as skits and short presentations from the students, invited teachers and community leaders. Typically, the theme of all these activities would be the importance of education, including specifically the education of girls. The culminating activity would usually be a soccer game between the ADS students and youths in the village.

As their teacher and primary sponsor, I was able to attend ADS activities in the villages of Goko and Touya. I am very proud of these students. While school was disrupted during the 2000-2001 school year by strikes and protests, these students chose to use their time to make a contribution to their communities. Solutions to the complex problems facing a country like Burkina Faso surely begin with constructive activities like these, especially from its future citizens and leaders.

Goko

Click on a thumbnail image to see the larger photo.

	<The men of Goko pose with Laciné and Léopold, teachers from the Lycée Yamwaya.
ADS leader, Yacouba, plays the role of the school administrator (seated) in a skit at Goko with Souley, Isso and others.>
	<Dancers at Goko make a special approach to the visitors from Ouahigouya Fall 2001

Touya

	<Children from Touya take interest in the ADS students. ADS leader, Yacouba, makes some remarks with the village leader.>
	The women of Touya watch a skit performed by Rabo, Idrissa and Isso. (See Cathy making some remarks on another page of photos.)

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