Stitching hope: empowering displaced women in the Sahel

In the Sahel—a region contending with significant issues including insecurity, population displacement, and poverty—the Community-Based Recovery and Stabilization Project for the Sahel (PCRSS) serves as an ambitious regional initiative aimed at enhancing the resilience of local communities and vulnerable populations.

The governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, in collaboration with international partners such as the World Bank, are implementing this project as part of a coordinated effort to address the ongoing crises affecting the region.

The project has received $352.5 million in funding and is intended to establish an emergency response, support economic recovery, strengthen peace, and enhance security. The long-term goal is to improve community resilience in the areas of Liptako-Gourma that are most at risk.

In Burkina Faso, the project contributes to providing responses to the needs of communities in all sectors of activity. In the socio-economic sector, it supports women and young people to, among other things, set up or revive income- generating activities through training and the provision of appropriate equipment.

Learning to sew up your future

Safiatou Ouédraogo, a second-year learner at the Centre d'éducation de base non formelle (CEBNF) in Ouahigouya in the north of the country, still remembers the learning conditions of the previous year: “There were 10 to 12 of us on the same sewing machine. We had to wait two weeks to be able to practice.”

With 85 new sewing machines from the project, only three or four students share each one, making learning more effective and fostering greater independence.

In Boussouma, located in the Centre-North region, 37 learners previously shared three older machines. The addition of 50 new machines has significantly altered the situation.

Facilities designed with communities

The equipment, which includes sewing machines, irons, tables, tape measures, fabrics, and scissors, was provided following community consultations. These items address the needs identified by the beneficiaries, who include internally displaced people and members of vulnerable host communities.

Claire Ouédraogo of the Korsimoro Center, located in the Center-North region, is planning ahead: “Upon completion of my training, I intend to establish my own workshop. My objectives are to achieve success, secure a livelihood, and ensure my long-term self-sufficiency.”

Valuable support for centers

The project's support has proven advantageous for managers of centers like Ambroise Korgo in the CEBNF in Korsimoro. Previously, the facilities relied on equipment dating back to 1995, which had become outdated and costly to maintain. Through the project, it has been possible to modernize and replace this obsolete machinery.

An adaptable, inclusive approach

Certain municipalities have provided equipment for the centers, while others have chosen to offer direct support to individuals. In Djibo in the north, 140 people, including men and women who are displaced or considered vulnerable, received sewing machines. Although many of them had prior tailoring training, they lost their assets when they left due to insecurity.

Since May 2022, 337 sewing kits have been distributed at a total cost of about 15,000,000 FCFA. A concrete gesture to give hope and means of action to those who wish to rebuild their lives.

At the core of stabilization

The PCRSS-Burkina Faso is aligned with the Burkina Government's Stabilization and Development Action Plan and supports specific objective SO 3.5 of pillar 2, which focuses on addressing the humanitarian crisis.

The project, which runs until December 31, 2026, covers the Centre-Nord, Nord and Sahel regions, with an integrated regional approach.

On February 19, 2025, in Kougoussi in the center-north of the country, a sentence resonated with force: "The PCRSS has given hope to the populations to live". Delivered by Colonel-Major Blaise Ouédraogo, Governor of the Centre-North region, these words sum up the profound impact of the project.

This project is not limited to delivering sewing machines or distributing kits. It stitches the seeds of resilience, where all seemed lost. By providing practical tools, designed with and for communities, it empowers displaced women to dream again, to rebuild their lives and build a dignified future. Behind each machine, there is a hand that learns, a voice that rises, a life that takes shape again. The project thus contributes to the building of a stronger, more united, and profoundly human Sahel.