It has been a year since we launched the project ‘Cultivating Value: good practices and innovative methods for inclusive and sustainable agro-livestock production’ with funding from the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development (AICS) e la partecipazione di vari partners. During these months, we have pursued the results we set ourselves by trying to improve the managerial and technical capacities, production, processing and transformation of the products of the Bagré farm and livestock enterprise managed by the Burkinabé NGO SAPHE.

We are in Burkina Faso, a country where the majority of the population lives in a state of deep poverty and which suffers from severe instability due to the many changes of government and increasingly rampant terrorism. This is why it is essential to intervene for the conscious development of all productive activities that can bring real benefit to the population, supporting them in the fight against malnutrition and destitution.

In this first year of the project, we had to cope with the state of insecurity in the country, which made the implementation of some activities difficult: terrorist groups in the country had established themselves in the areas surrounding Bagré, preventing direct intervention and monitoring of activities by experienced expatriate staff for the first six months. In the face of this, we had to operate remotely to achieve our first goalsA computerised accounting system was set up to allow all project stakeholders to be aware of the farm’s expenses and revenues; training was started for four professional figures considered essential to improve the management of the agro-livestock farm; and communication of the initiative to sector bodies and institutions was promoted to include the farm in a community network. This commitment prompted the Burkinabe Minister of Agriculture to want to get to know the reality of production by personally visiting agricultural fields.

The photovoltaic systems were connected to power the barn and dairy machinery with free green energy, and the paperwork to start construction of a barn, feed store, wells, living quarters and horizontal silos was completed.

In addition, fields have been divided up for specific crops, all bordered by hedges of indigenous African wild herbs, which will have the fundamental aim of preserving biodiversity, an objective that is also fundamental for the Burkinabé government, which has recently decided to implement strict agricultural policies. During this last year, what had been planned in the very early stages of the project was cultivated: rice, white maize, yellow maize, sesame and bananas, but the harvest was reduced due to the difficult availability of fertilisers.

Unfortunately, over the past year, due to the world geo-political situation, fertiliser production and trade have been drastically reduced. This means – for all those countries suffering from mineral-poor soils – that it is becoming more and more difficult to make the land yield properly. To cope with this situation, in-house production of organic fertilisers such as Bokeshi and Biochor was started using agricultural or animal waste.

In addition to the agricultural land, the Bagré farm also has 70 cows, which, with respect to their breed and peculiarities, are able to offer sufficient production.milk for the packaging of dairy products such as yoghurt and cheese, which are also essential to provide the local population with a varied choice of food.

Of all the production (agricultural and dairy) this past year, 80% was sold, while the remaining 20% was distributed free of charge to the socio-health centres of the Camillian Burkinabé delegation and at the schools in Bagré and Tenkodogo.

In order to make the project long-lasting and rooted in the territory, field activities were also accompanied by the training of personnel working in the companycourses for 25 young local farmers, 10 permanent on the farm and 15 seasonal, focused on theoretical and practical lessons on cultivation techniques, plant cycle, biodiversity and many other topics related to their occupation. The two women who look after the dairy products and the three farmers who supervise the stable were also able to attend training days.

One of the project outcomes is the increase in women’s empowerment in the Bagré Community. To this end, the CSO partner AES-CCC initiated a series of actions that saw the women of the Bagré community at the centre of several initiatives: a database of all the women’s cooperatives operating in the area was created, and from these, women were chosen to participate in training days to strengthen their skills, while others were identified to elaborate the nutrition security plan for the Bagré municipality, which has already been drafted and approved. 18 municipal councillors and 15 women’s associations (about 450 women) were involved in nutrition security policies and the role of women in the sector, of which 30 women were trained on the OHADA law, association life and PO management and the national nutrition plan. A further three groups of women were selected and formed into rice processing cooperatives, and 27 women received training on improving steaming techniques and the use of equipment, with the involvement of a specialised consultant from the National Union of Rice Cooperative Societies of Burkina Faso (UNERIZ).

In this first year, despite many difficulties, we have achieved much of what we set out to do. Our intention in the coming months is to continue working to make the Bagré farm fully productive, giving the local population access to a varied selection of foodstuffs, necessary for the wellbeing and health of every individual.

We will continue to keep you updated on all the steps forward!

This article was produced as part of the project Coltivare Valore: good practices and innovative methods for inclusive and sustainable agro-livestock production AID 012590/08/4 funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency. The Italian Development Cooperation Agency is not responsible for information that is considered erroneous, incomplete, inadequate, defamatory or in any way reprehensible.

Over the past six months, we have kept you constantly updated on developments in the ‘Interior and exterior renovation of the Gbodjè health centre’ project, which has now come to an end.

We are in the economic capital of Benin, Cotonou, a city that – despite representing the heart of the country’s business – sadly continues to be characterised by severe poverty, as does the entire nation. It is therefore essential to support all those activities that aim to improve services for the well-being of citizens, especially those in the most fragile socio-economic conditions.

The Camillian Province of Benin Togo has made this a mission since its foundation, taking concrete action to stand by those who need it most. It was precisely from them that we received this request for funding for the renovation of the Gbodjè Health Centre: a health centre – founded by the Camillians themselves – that takes care of and supports precisely the most destitute.

We at Salute e Sviluppo welcomed the project with enthusiasm and are very happy to be able to announce its many achievements: no less than two observation rooms, a sampling room, a new shower room and a small emergency room have been built. In addition, the drug distribution room, the laboratory and a waiting area for patients were renovated.

In just a few months, we have been able to contribute to a substantial renovation of the facility, which is now ready to welcome all those who need it, and provide medical examinations and appropriate treatment.

The project that saw us at the forefront of supporting the elderly of the Acomba community in the Huancavelica region of Peru has recently come to an end. In synergy with the Asociación Corazones & Manos Solidarias San Francisco, we decided last year to inaugurate the ‘Equipped Outpatient Clinic for Huancavelica – for the benefit of the underprivileged in the third age’, consisting of the purchase of medicines, supplements, nutritional supplements and hygiene items for the clinic.

The region of Huancavelica is one of the poorest in the whole of Peru, and it is mainly the elderly who suffer: in most cases their children have emigrated to the big cities in search of work, leaving their parents and grandparents alone. The Asociación Corazones & Manos Solidarias has asked for help in equipping the outpatient clinic, which for a symbolic price – necessary to make the project continuous over time – will provide the 120 members of the community with what they need.

We are happy to have had the opportunity to inaugurate and complete this project that will improve the living conditions of the most fragile, providing them not only with concrete help in terms of basic necessities, but also with moral support that will help them not to feel so alone.

It is now a year since we announced the start of the ‘Projet d’humanisation de la Maison d’Arret et de Correction de Ouagadougou (MACO)’, the largest prison in the capital of Burkina Faso. We decided to inaugurate the activity following a report from the Camillian fathers of the prison chaplaincy, who notified us of the urgent need to intervene to humane the treatment of inmates, confined in a precarious facility, where overcrowding is only the most obvious problem.

It immediately seemed to us to be a project in which it was important to invest, considering prison – not only a place to serve one’s sentence – but also, and above all, a place in which to begin a re-educational path that could lead to reintegration into society in a fruitful manner. It is therefore crucial that prisoners not only have the opportunity to embark on this path, but that they do so while fully enjoying their inviolable human rights.

Now, at the end of the project, we can say that it has been a success: in recent months – thanks to funding from Salute e Sviluppo – it has been possible to provide prisoners with very important community and social experiences, a Christmas lunch and an Easter lunch were organised, more than 2,300 bags containing food and hygiene kits were packed, which were then distributed to prisoners who are more than others living in poverty, and finally, drugs and medicines were purchased for the San Camillo Hospital, useful for the treatment of those suffering from particular diseases.

Improving the living conditions of those in difficulty is a primary goal of ours in any sphere, and we are very happy that this project has achieved its goals and has given so many inmates of the MACO the opportunity to positively face their path within the prison structure.

Not long ago we told you about theIstituto Privé de Santé Saint Camille de Lellis (IPSCA) in Ouagadougou, a nursing study centre that has established itself on the country’s health scene for the high specialisation it offers its students, who come not only from Burkina Faso, but also from as many as 12 other African nations. The last project we were involved in involved the installation of solar panels, an activity that we completed and which gave the Institute the opportunity to take advantage of numerous benefits both economically and in terms of sustainability.

Now we at Health and Development have decided to inaugurate a new activity: ‘Creation of a crèche for female students/mothers and a health point within the IPSCA’. There are currently as many as 25 female students who have recently given birth or are expecting a child and, in the absence of concrete help, would be forced to abandon their studies, unable to reconcile caring for their child with continuing their education. To cope with this difficulty and to prevent most of them from being forced into this choice, we decided to support the construction of a crèche – within the school itself – dedicated to the children of female students. Thanks to this project, the IPSCA would confirm itself as a school centre at the forefront – not only by Burkinabé standards, but internationally – in terms of inclusiveness and support for its students.

In addition to the construction of the kindergarten, it was also decided to set up a small health point needed by the school to provide first aid to all sick students.

We at Health and Development are very happy to be able to support this project over the next six months, which is in line with our mission to improve the living conditions of the most fragile, in this case especially female students, by giving them the opportunity to continue their studies, further their education and be able to aspire to secure employment that in turn gives them the opportunity to increase their health capacities in a country that continues to suffer from precarious conditions.

We will keep you updated on all developments!

Just a few months ago, we inaugurated two projects in favour of Snehadaan Hospital in India, the first concerning the purchase of an ambulance and dialysis equipment, the second the construction of a rainwater well and the installation of a wastewater treatment plant.

Now, just a few months later, both projects are finished and we at Health and Development are happy to announce that all the goals have been achieved: both the ambulance and the dialysis equipment have been purchased, the well has been built, and the system has been installed and is now up and running.

Thanks to these interventions, Snehadaan Hospital will be able to grow and be even more state-of-the-art and able to meet the needs of the citizens of the Bangalore region. This health centre has only been open for a few months, but has already proved to be a centre of excellence for the treatment of many diseases, and we at Health and Development are happy to have contributed to its further improvement.

Our synergy with the Sneha Charitable Trust, the initiator of these initiatives, does not end with these projects, but rather aims to be even closer, in the hope of being able to carry out even more activities with the aim of enhancing the accommodation and healthcare capacity of Snehadaan Hospital.