Ouagadougou: The NGO Help-Burkina held a closing workshop on Thursday for its “Soonr©” BFA59 project, marking the culmination of four years of work supporting internally displaced persons, returnees, and host communities in the Yaadga and Kouils© regions. The project’s achievements and results were presented, and the completed infrastructure was officially handed over to the authorities of the two regions where the project was implemented.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the “Soonr©” project was launched in August 2021 by Help-Burkina to ensure livelihoods and strengthen the resilience of internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host communities in the face of the crisis. The project, which concluded after four years of implementation, was funded with 2,951,806,500 FCFA by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The workshop, organized by the Help-Burkina project team, aimed to present a summary of the results obtained in the ten intervention communes to the top regional officials and to officially hand over the twenty completed infrastructures to the competent authorities for the benefit of the beneficiary communes.
At the opening of the proceedings, the High Commissioner of the province of Yatenga, representing the Governor of the Yaadga region, Tass©r© Nacoulma, commended Help-Burkina for its ongoing commitment and actions in favor of displaced persons during the humanitarian crisis affecting certain regions.
“This accountability initiative undertaken by the NGO Help through the Soonr© project allows stakeholders to see firsthand the achievements and results obtained, to proceed with the handover of the infrastructure, to draw the necessary lessons and to engage in collective reflection on the sustainability of the impacts and the prospects for the future,” stated the governor’s representative.
The workshop featured a documentary film showcasing the project’s achievements in both regions. In his summary presentation, the Country Director of Help-Burkina, Serge Alfred S©dogo, highlighted the results achieved across several areas, including the construction of 800 semi-permanent shelters and the issuance of 17,228 civil registration documents with institutional support.
Mr. S©dogo also noted the upgrading of 50 health facilities, the construction of drinking water supply systems, the drilling of 27 boreholes, the building of 800 latrines, and the promotion of good hygiene and sanitation practices. The project also focused on strengthening and diversifying economic livelihoods for displaced persons through a technical package benefiting 2,100 producers.
At the project’s closing date, the Soonr© project reported a 97% financial execution rate and a 100% physical execution rate, with an overall target of 739,660 beneficiaries reached.
The project’s implementing partners, including APIL, FNGN, decentralized technical services, and the High Commissioners of Bam, Sanmatenga, and Yatenga, expressed satisfaction with Help-Burkina’s project management approach, which allowed for overcoming challenges and effectively reallocating resources for greater impact.