Vocational training

The project aimed to construct a vocational training college to enable French GSCE holders (boys and girls) to access professional training. The project’s main goal was for the students to acquire a profession and to earn a living in the region, in a variety of fields (agriculture, sewing, livestock breeding, computing, masonry and secretarial skills). The college was to be built in the same grounds as the school so as to benefit from the existing infrastructure.

 
The construction and finishing touches to the vocational training college were completed in 2013. In addition to the classrooms, the centre also housed an infirmary, established following an additional request from the local authorities, a library that was immediately operational and a computer room. The opening of the school was delayed due to special requests from the local administration for additional, and costly, equipment. The required material was purchased following a subsequent fundraising effort by the association in 2015. The political crisis in October 2015 further delayed the official authorisation to open, now planned for 2016. In September 2016, 120 students will be enrolled at the centre and begin their classes in administration, accounting, structural engineering, masonry and construction, taught by seven full-time trainers.

The Swiss association La Boule de Neige was founded in 2001. It aims to cater to the needs of the inhabitants of the Kompienga region in Burkina Faso. After funding agricultural projects, it became involved in educational programs to tackle the lack of opportunities available after primary school.