THE TEAM

Peace Corps Volunteer*
The Village of Takalédougou,
Burkina Faso

THE CHALLENGE

Burkina Faso, a landlocked West African nation, suffers from severe poverty, low literacy, high infant and maternal mortality and death from preventable infectious diseases. In 2008, I moved to Burkina Faso and became the first Peace Corps Volunteer to live in Takalédougou, a southwestern village of ~500 people who live without electricity and running water. Between the village and fields of sugar cane lay a paved road with a toll booth that slows vehicles down while women approach car windows to sell mangoes.

As my relationships grew within the community, I learned that many of the women selling mangoes, desperate to earn a living wage, were engaged in a prostitution ring led by members of village leadership. While I would face security risks in the village if I reported these actions to the police, I wanted to do something that would empower these young women to earn money fairly without resorting to prostitution.

THE APPROACH

A microfinance group was a viable approach, but I had to shape it in a way that that ensured the community had the will and the means to support it after I left. I executed this project with the following ideas in mind:

• Do as the villagers: I began selling mangoes with the women to build empathy and earn their trust.

• Recruit “positive deviants” within the community: I looked for entrepreneurial, business-savvy women who could serve as role models, mobilizers and leaders for this microfinance group. 

• Instill ownership and accountability: The women themselves determined roles and responsibilities, contributions and terms. I simply asked the questions. 

• Provide education and tools: From bookkeeping to soap making, I facilitated trainings that enabled women to start and grow their businesses.

THE OUTCOME

When I left Takalédougou at the end of 2010, Association Gongnonmon was made up of 30 members and circulated approximately $150 in loans, a sizable amount for women who were typically earning one dollar per day. 

In January 2018, nine years after the microfinance group was formed, I received a USB key from my village. In it contained photos and video from a party they had thrown celebrating nine years together! Currently, the group holds over 50 members and is now circulating over $1,000 in loans.