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10 March 2011
U.S. Welcomes Burkina Faso Students to Washington
Washington — The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) welcomed two sixth-grade students from Burkina Faso to celebrate International Women’s Day in Washington and have a chance to see the inner workings of the United States government.
For Aissatou Hamidou Diallo and Fatimata Yanta, their visit included an opportunity to meet first lady Michelle Obama at the White House. The girls are top students in MCC’s BRIGHT II program, which is designed to promote long-term economic growth and poverty reduction by focusing on increasing girls’ primary school enrollment and completion rates.
MCC Chief Executive Officer Daniel Yohannes told America.gov that less than half of Burkina Faso’s young girls attend school, often because they are expected to stay home to help with household chores. He said the BRIGHT II program is designed to remove gender barriers to girls’ education while also meeting the needs of their families.
“The project provides playgrounds and day care centers so that girls with child care responsibilities can attend schools where their younger siblings can be cared for; it provides clean water and a meal, meeting basic needs that many families struggle with daily,” Yohannes said in a March 8 interview.
Diallo said her mother, grandmother and village elders worked to enroll her at the BRIGHT II School, despite her father’s wish for her to stay at home to care for the family’s goats.
“My father would often say to me that if I would just stay home for a few days they would cross my name off of that list and I wouldn’t have to go to school tomorrow. I would tell him, ‘OK, papa, I’ll go just today, and we’ll see about tomorrow.’ And then the next day I would say the same thing. That’s how I finished my first two years without missing any days,” Diallo said during remarks at the White House International Women’s Day reception.
She introduced the first lady, who praised Diallo and girls like her serving as “peacemakers and ambassadors and community leaders here in America and around the world.”
“We as a nation benefit from every girl whose potential is fulfilled, from every woman whose talent is tapped,” Obama said, adding that countries across the globe are more prosperous and peaceful “when women are equal and have the rights and opportunities they deserve.”
Diallo, the first in her family to attend school, says she is proud to know how to read, write and do math.
“When I finish school, I want to become a doctor. I will show my brothers and friends that school is important and useful,” she said.
Diallo said before the BRIGHT II School came to her village, the closest school was four hours from her home. Now, it’s just a five-minute walk. And Yanta, who walks 45 minutes to and from school each day, said she is grateful to attend because many of her female friends don’t have the opportunity to get an education.
The BRIGHT II program, administered by MCC in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), accommodates students in grades 4–6. It builds on MCC’s initial BRIGHT program, designed for students in grades 1–3, seeking to expand the 132 recently constructed schools in rural villages that have the lowest rates for girls’ primary school enrollment. MCC signed the five-year, $480 million agreement with the government of Burkina Faso in July 2008.
The schools serve 13,000 girls and 9,000 boys, and Yohannes said MCC is committed to ensuring that gender is considered in all stages of work with partner countries at both policy and project levels.
“Gender inequality is a significant constraint to economic growth and poverty reduction. Until both men and women are equal champions, we will not be able to unlock the full potential of millions of women and girls around the world,” Yohannes said.
He commended Diallo and Yanta for their achievements in school and praised Madeleine Ouangraoua Sorgo, who accompanied the girls on their trip, for the “profound role” she has played in shaping her nation, calling it an example of the success women can have when given the chance. Sorgo is a Burkina Faso Millennium Challenge Account board member and a leading advocate for women in her country.
Sorgo, Diallo and Yanta are taking part in a week of events celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. They are scheduled to meet with MCC leaders, participate in a panel discussion on gender equity in international development and share their educational experiences with local students.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
