Training on vermicompost production and livestock management
Our Nepal NGO partner, BBP-Pariwar, has updated us about the current political unrest in Nepal. Gen Z- led protests began after a social media ban but grew into a broader movement against corruption ,nepotism and high youth unemployment. The demonstrations spread across major cities, resulting in casualties which cost the lives of 24 youths and injured hundreds.
Damage was done to vehicles, government buildings and other public and private property. Businesses and transportation services were disrupted for several days.
The Prime Minister, Home Minister and most of the ministers and local government representatives resigned A curfew was imposed nationwide in major cities restricting movement and public gatherings that has affected daily life, transport, and access to essential services.
Although the situation is gradually stabilizing, it remains sensitive and could indirectly affect our current project in the Ramechap district.
However, to date BBP-Pariwar has recently conducted livestock management education including proper husbandry and shelter construction, worm composting and biofertilizer preparation training sessions with four community groups of women farmers.
Earlier this year training for financial record keeping, kitchen garden support, waste water collection using plastic ponds and starting home nurseries to grow fodder for livestock was undertaken. Despite the political unrest delivery of goats to some of the participants is scheduled in the coming days.
Ultimately the project will enhance sustainable agricultural productivity, environmental resilience, and overall well-being of women farmers and their communities
by Judy Gray with information from Rébéka Tankoano
Displaced villagers attending a sensitization session on how to recognize and prevent malnutrition
Rural families in eastern Burkina Faso have been forced to relocate to the town of Fada to escape violence between insurgents and the army. World Neighbours Canada’s local partner organization, APDC, continues to support these families with new approaches. Rébéka Tankoano, project coordinator with APDC, recently sent us a report to provide an update about current activities. Here are a few excerpts from her report:
“In addition to setting up new revenue-generating enterprises, the APDC team continued to strengthen the capacities of beneficiaries through regular monitoring and follow-up. This monitoring enabled them to understand how the enterprises were progressing and to encourage beneficiaries (both old and new) to further strengthen their activities. During these visits, the team provided practical advice to beneficiaries based on the difficulties encountered by some women, especially those selling soap. The APDC team suggested that these women learn other activities that are more profitable than soap selling. During our follow-up visits between January and June 2025, some of these beneficiaries impressed us with their transition to peanut processing and marketing. We should point out that their learning was facilitated by a few former beneficiaries, such as Touampoa Thiombiano. It is clear that the average profit from a one day of peanut products’ sales is greater than 1,500 francs (about $4 Canadian, decent daily earnings) for each beneficiary.”
Rébéka also shared comments from some of the entrepreneurs:
Dabini Lamoudi (previously making and selling soap but now has a peanut processing enterprise): “I am happy with this activity. It is more profitable than soap-making, and I am supporting my family. Touampoa trained me, and I have already trained three other women who have also started their own businesses and are supporting their families.”
Thiombiano Koagli (peanut processing enterprise): “My dream has finally come true. I’m so happy with this business. It’s profitable, I have loyal customers, and I’m training other women who are already in this business. Thank you so much to APDC and its partners.”
Onadia Anne-Marie (peanut processing enterprise): “At first, I had some problems with the peanut paste, so that slowed me down a bit, but now I have got the hang of it, and I am doing well. “
Yonli Namouno (preparing and selling local foods): “Because beans and cereals are so expensive, I don’t cook every day, but I also make dolo (a traditional beer) and sell it regularly. Overall, things are going well. I’m able to pay for condiments, water, etc.”
Veronique Dabini sharing the results of her peanut processing enterprise with APDC field worker, Noula Miyieba.
Rébéka is very candid with the information in her reports, and she includes comments that explain the difficulties that some women are facing. These include the rising cost of cereals or other inputs, illness in the family, difficulty accessing firewood that is required for cooking, and the difficulty in finding transportation to get to a market from the outskirts of Fada.
Despite these issues, and the uncertainty these families face daily, APDC continues to provide support and advice, and organize educational sessions on hygiene and how to prepare nutritious meals. The APDC employees are trusted and well-respected by the growing number of internally displaced refugees; and these women are very appreciative of the opportunities they have been offered.
Ronald Emanuel Guevara Maldonado is a 16 year old young man from the community of Las Olivas, Concepción de María village, Langue municipality, Valle, Honduras. He is the son of a single mother, Itzela Maldonado and comes from a family of farmers. He faced difficulties continuing secondary education due to economic limitations and thought he would only work in agriculture to meet his family’s needs. However, with a lot of discipline and self-confidence, he achieved both goals and graduated as a Bachelor in Science and Humanities in 2023 in Isletas Abajo community.
Motivated by a desire to learn a job, he accepted an invitation from the Vice-president of the Women’s Network, Aricelda Rodríguez, who told him about an opportunity to participate in a training program sponsored by Vecinos Honduras and facilitated by the Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional (INFOP). With the support and encouragement of his mother, he met the requirements to start the Basic Welding technical training program
Of the 28 young people who began the training in January 2024, some did not complete the program for various reasons, including migration to the USA; however, his interest in learning led him to complete the train in Basic Welding and additionally in computing and electricity because he was aware that there are few opportunities for training like the one offered by Vecinos Honduras with support from World Neighbours Canada, as a way to improve his living conditions.
In January 2025, with his mother’s support, he acquired basic tools to put into practice what he learned by setting up a workshop in his mother’s home, where he now fabricates all kinds of metal structures.
Ronald Emanuel is an example of personal growth and inspiration to other young people, telling them, “Motivate yourselves to study. And if you don’t have the opportunity, learn a trade so you can move forward in our country, without straying from our family.”
The Ramón Villeda Morales School, located in the highest area of the Isletas community, in municipality of Langue, Valle; receives 25 boys, 19 girls, and 3 teachers every day. Some walk up to 45 minutes daily to reach the educational center
The school has been neglected by the State for a long time, as several government administrations have passed without providing support. Every day, the children faced unfavorable sanitary conditions due to a collapsed communal latrine without water, damaged bathroom doors, poor hygiene, and the lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities, putting the health of children and teachers at risk of infections, illnesses, injuries and contributing to school dropout and absenteeism
In response to this situation, together with the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), the teachers began to seek help from the local government, but their requests were not attended to. Carlos Mejía, the School Director, mentioned that after many years of waiting for support to improve the bathrooms and water collection system, he received the news that Vecinos Honduras was willing to collaborate on building bathrooms and a water storage tank to improve the conditions of the school. Thus, efforts to carry out the project began. He spoke with community organizations and gained the community’s support to work on this project; within days, work started, successfully constructing sanitation facilities, the base of a Rotoplast tank for rainwater collection and installing sinks. The community contributed with hand labor and local materials for the construction
The installation of a bathroom door and other improvements planned by the parents’ initiative were not completed because these upgrades coincided with the end of the school year, and many parents were engaged in temporary work at a melon exporting company or migrated temporarily to other regions of the country for seasonal coffee harvesting jobs. However, they committed to completing these improvements in the first weeks of May 2025
The change is positive, improving the health and safety conditions of children and teachers. The children, parents and teachers appreciate the support provided by Vecinos Honduras and WNCS to their educational center, convinced that united efforts create greater possibilities for achieving better conditions
Children deserve the very best!
Check out this short video made by a community volunteer working with Vecinos Honduras. It shows the changes and the effects small improvements can make in the lives of students.
by Judy Gray, with information from Rebeka Tankoano
Over the past 2 months, World Neighbours Canada’s partner organization in Burkina Faso, APDC, has been able to train 12 more women in income-generating activities thanks to a donation from the QSI International School in Benin. Eight women were trained in the processing and marketing of groundnuts (peanuts) and another four in fattening and raising 2 pigs. The women and their families have been displaced from their farms by an armed conflict; they are living in the town of Fada and trying to find ways to survive.
AGR beneficiaries trained in peanut processing and marketing – with needed equipment (provided)
Rebeka Tankoano recently provided a report on the training sessions. Here are excerpts from her report about the groundnut training:
“This training session took place from 10 to 12 March 2025 in Fada for eight very poor internally displaced women. With the aim of promoting the expertise of former beneficiaries of WNC/APDC support, we asked Touampoa Thiombiano to accompany these new beneficiaries in learning how to process and market groundnuts. An expert in the field, Touampoa was able to pass on her know-how to these new beneficiaries, who are now equipped to improve their conditions thanks to this activity. From equipment to production techniques and inputs, Touampoa spared no effort to explain all the conditions necessary for processing groundnuts into different products. Over the course of the three days, the women learned how to process groundnuts into a number of products, including biscuits, oil and paste (peanut butter). One of their major concerns during their discussions was managing customers and controlling the market. With Touampoa’s expertise, she explained a number of issues to consider: product quality, respect for customers, trust and meeting deadlines, which will help them to better control the market and build customer loyalty. Thiombiano also encouraged them to work hard and courageously to achieve greater success. At the end of the training, each beneficiary received a kit containing equipment and inputs for starting up their enterprise.”
Here is the reaction of one of the beneficiaries, Lamoudi Ouali:
“I’m very happy to have had the chance to be trained for this activity, I’ve learnt a lot and I’m very grateful to the donors. I’m really encouraged to see that our trainer has also been a beneficiary like us and that she’s done really well. I’m also happy for all the support and all the materials received. I’m going to work well like Touampoa and succeed in my business. I’m thinking a lot about my friends who would also like to receive help to do activities to support their families.”
Processing peanuts – making peanut oil and biscuits; supervised by Mme Taouampoa
What a joy it was to read that one of the women, Touampoa Thiombiano, who herself had been a beneficiary a year ago, learning how to process and then market groundnuts, was able to act as the trainer for the new group of 8 women who were preparing to implement the activity. Beginning as a learner, Touampoa has become a teacher and is willing to share her experience and expertise with others!
APDC continues to impress us with the results they are able to achieve, given the difficult conditions they work in; along with their ability to adapt and modify the ways the training is offered.
In this time of global uncertainty we wanted to share a story from our project in Honduras, to help remind us of the power of community and how we in Canada can help support capacity building, strengthen communities, and improve the health of children through even small improvements. This story features one of a number of projects we are supporting this year.
Carlos Roberto Mejía, a 39-year-old teacher, is in charge of the direction of the “Ramón Villeda Morales School” in the remote community of Isletas Abajo, outside of Langue, Honduras. He has been at the educational center for two years and every day he travels by motorcycle and then on foot from his home in Langue to the educational center. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the school. He doesn’t mind the effort because it is part of his daily exercise.
The school has been forgotten by the State for a long time. Numerous government administrations have come and gone but no support materialized. As a result of this neglect, the educational center had a collapsed common latrine, putting the health of children and teachers at risk. The school and the Parents’ Association (APF) petitioned the local government to address this risk, but their requests were not answered.
Carlos said that after so many years of waiting for someone to provide support for the improvement of the bathrooms and water collection, he was excited to receive the news that Vecinos Honduras was willing to collaborate in the construction of bathrooms and water storage tank in order to improve the conditions of his educational center. That is how Vecinos Honduras, supported by World Neighbours Canada, began efforts to carry out the project.
Carlos talked with community organizations and obtained support from the community to work on this project. In only a matter of days the work began. Community members provided their labour and quickly they managed to build toilets, a base for the Rotoplast tank rainwater collection and installed sinks. The change is positive, improving health and safety conditions for children and teachers
The children, parents and teachers, are grateful for the support provided to help improve the hygiene of their educational center. They believe that the union of forces creates greater possibilities to achieve better conditions
Our partner organization in Burkina Faso, APDC has faced increasing challenges in addressing poverty in Fada province in the eastern part of the country. Most of the villagers from ADPC’s program area have had to leave their homes because of armed conflict, and they are now internally displaced persons living in the outskirts of Fada town. Despite very difficult conditions, APDC employees continue to pursue development work. Over the past year, they have assisted 35 women to set up small personal enterprises – processing local products and then selling them in local markets. APDC also holds awareness sessions to emphasize the importance of hygiene, how to avoid malnutrition and how to prepare more nutritious meals. Small steps, but big impacts! You will have read about this work in recent articles and in our fall newsletter.
Since 2018 it has been impossible to travel to Burkina Faso to meet with the APDC team in Fada, because of security concerns. However, the latest and most exciting communication with staff occurred in late November, when my husband Peter and I travelled to the West African country of Benin. Although the northern region of Benin is not safe to travel in, the southern area and the major city of Cotonou on the coast are stable and easy to visit. As Peter and I have friends who are currently teaching in Cotonou, we took the opportunity to visit them AND meet with 3 employees of APDC. Charles, Koanari and Hortense were able to travel by bus (a 24-hour journey!) to Cotonou and meet with us over a period of three days. What a treat to spend time in face-to-face meetings! Zoom conversations certainly fill a need, but nothing replaces in-person meetings with partners whom we now consider our friends.
The meetings were very useful and provided the opportunity to discuss in greater detail the effects of the recent displacement of villagers. It is almost impossible for us to comprehend the conditions that many of the villagers now live in and the enormous struggles they face; however the staff continue to hope that peace will return to their homeland. Koanari and Hortense had never travelled outside Burkina Faso before and had never seen the ocean. Watching them joyfully dip their feet and hands (with shoes on!) into the warm salt water was magical for them and for us. Two bottles of salt water were filled, to take back home! We visited a beach one morning and spent the better part of an hour paddling at the ocean’s edge and then returned that evening to enjoy a meal at a beach restaurant – and, of course, wander the shoreline as the sun slowly set. We have fabulous memories, and many photos of that most unique experience!
We also had very positive reactions to the presentations to middle school and high school students at the QSI International School of Benin where our friends teach. The students and teachers were very interested to learn how a small organization has been able to carry out development work in times of great hardship, dealing with a high level of terrorist activity but finding a way to work with villagers who have been forced to leave their homes and are now internally displaced persons. After school one afternoon we were also able to host a roundtable discussion with several school support workers to learn about their involvement – mostly on a voluntary basis – with rural development organizations in Benin. We were excited to be part of sharing experiences between organizations in the two countries, as well as sharing the work of World Neighbours Canada.
Groundswell International has recently held their annual Field to Film Festival, showcasing creative short films as part of their Youth Storytellers’ program.
“Last Friday, we had the privilege of showcasing the creative short films of Youth Storytellers from 9 countries and hearing our young panelists’ inspiring words, giving us hope for the future of agriculture,” states information on an email sent out by Groundswell.
Groundswell International is a network of NGO partners working in the Global South.
“We connect smallholder farmers and organizations across 11 countries in West Africa, the Americas and South Asia to generate and scale ecological farming solutions,” states the Groundswell website.
Their mission is to strengthen communities to build healthy farming and food systems from the ground up—systems driven by the people and for the people who feed the world.
Bruce Petch, president (volunteer) of World Neighbours Canada was pleased to see some sights familiar to World Neighbours Canada represented in the films.
“Note that one of the films done in Honduras and the film done in Nepal were produced by our own partner organizations, Vecinos Honduras and BBP-Pariwar respectively,” he said.
Our all-volunteer organization depends on your support to help people struggling with poverty in Burkina Faso, Honduras and Nepal. Thank you, and best wishes from World Neighbours Canada!
Have you received your copy of our Fall 2024 Newsletter in the mail? In case it didn’t get to you before the Canada Post strike, you can download a copy below.
We need help increasing our subscriber base. Do you know anyone who might like to receive our news, either by email or regular post? Please spread the word, or reach out to us and we can add to our list.
