SOS Schools in Burkina Faso

SOS Nursery School Dafra, Bobo-Dioulasso

The SOS Nursery School opened this year on the 1st of October with 200 children of whom 47 are SOS children. The rest are children with difficulties from the immediate neighborhood community. There has been an increase as compared to last year’s intake figure which was 188 of whom 44 were SOS children.

This year, the nursery school organised many educational activities such as visits to tourist centers and monuments, general cleaning, organization of Christmas party for children etc. All these activities are aimed at stimulating children and consolidating their relations with the neighborhood community.

In addition to these activities, the teaching staff participated in in-service training courses organised by the Direction of the children’s section of the Ministry of Social Welfare and National Solidarity.

Two new facilities have been added to the existing ones which are the the sandpit and a field for motor activities.

SOS School Dafra, Bobo-Dioulasso

The SOS School Dafra, Bobo-Dioulasso was first opened during the 2004-2005 school year, with around 300 pupils with 12 classes  It is planned to extend this to include an SOS Secondary School with eight classes. .

For the current year 2006-2007, the school has 12 classrooms in the Primary section with 513 pupils (consisting of 240 girls and 273 boys), and six classrooms in the secondary section from Sixième to Quatrième (the first four years of high school) with 228 pupils (126 girls and 102 boys).

The total number of pupils of the Primary and Secondary sections is 741. The girls are 366 and the boys 375. The majority of them eat at the school canteen where 500 dishes are served daily. Also, the pupils have scholarships offered this year by the school’s SOS National Association.

There were a few prizes at the end of the year. One of our CM1 (last but one year of primary school) pupils was awarded a prize at the Olympiades Nationales (national competitive exam for excellence). Another, a girl in Sixième was awarded the bronze medal at the Africa Athletics championships organised in Ouagadougou during the holidays.
As for the school results, they are as follows:

81.48 per cent passed to go to senior classes in the Primary section where the percentage of success at the exam (CEP) was 96.49 per cent. For the Secondary section, 49.56 per cent were promoted to seniors forms.

SOS Nursery School Ouagadougou

There were 103 children in the Ouagadougou SOS Nursery school. Eight were SOS children, 13 were children of the staff and 82 are children from the poor neighbouring community.

Since the beginning, the number of children has always been on the increase, so that there is no more room to recruit newcomers.

On the whole, the progress the children have made on the physical, emotional and cognitive levels is remarkable. Through our daily pedagogical activities with the children (sensory-motor and language skills) our excursions, birthday celebrations, the children learn a lot. They have no integration problems and find it easy to start Primary schooling.

The difference between our children and those not yet enrolled or those who have not been able to go to school, is the acquisition of basic knowledge of hygiene, neatness, order and tidiness.

Apart from our exchange programs with other preschool institutions in Ouagadougou, our Nursery school does not have any relations with other typical institutions in the country.

On the internal level, we take advantage of the absence of the children during the holidays to carry out repair work. In the course of 2006-2007, all the open air games were updated and painted, the floors of the three classrooms were renovated and work on the roof is awaiting execution.

With funds made available by the institution, the monitors have provided the school with a public address system and some recreational facilities.

Due to the growing demand for enrolment and the fact that the intake capacity is full, we would like to end by expressing our wish to see the Ouagadougou  SOS Nursery School grow to be able to recruit more children to enable us to better assume our mission as educators, teachers and social workers.

SOS Primary School Ouagadougou

The SOS Primary School was opened in 1997 and has 225 pupils in six classes. There is also an SOS Nursery School for about 100 children.

The total number of pupils in the SOS Primary School of Ouagadougou in 2006-2007 was 223 as against 224 the previous year. Out of the total, 30 were SOS children, 61 on scholarship and 120 day pupils.

The rate of success improved significantly; 96 per cent as against 87.89 per cent. That is an increase of 9.11 per cent.

In addition to the official teaching program, the school was able to organize excursions, educational outings and undertook various socio-educational, cultural and sporting activities for the stimulation and complete formation of the children.

During the holidays, the school organised classes for the children from the SOS Children’s Village to help them catch up and for those with learning difficulties.

At the end of the school year, deserving pupils received prizes as a token of encouragement for the others to persevere.

The school is a great asset for everybody else because of the quality of its services, of its premises and its participation in the SOS Village community activities. The neighboring community, on their part, get involved in the socio-educational, cultural and sporting activities of the school (weeding the school compound, charity fetes), cultural days, etc.

As in the other schools, the curriculum in the SOS Primary School is based on the official syllabus of the Ministry of Elementary Education. But as a school which aspires to excellent results, extra classes are organised using new teaching methods and practices for the benefit of the pupils.

In order to reduce the number of school drop-outs, the school has adopted a methodology adapted to the individual child. Each child is treated according to his/her specific needs.