Ouagadougou: As part of the implementation of the Résifa project ‘the path to resilience and empowerment of women’, the NGO Helen Keller international (HKI), in collaboration with Léona M. and Harry B On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Helmsley Charitable Trust handed over orange-fleshed sweet potato (PDCO) processing equipment, worth more than 20 million FCFA to the Tougoulou de Léo cooperative society.
The beneficiary of the Résifa project or Kana Kolu in the Nuni language is the Tougoulou cooperative society of Léo, in the Sissili province, Center-West region.
The official handover ceremony of orange-fleshed sweet potato processing equipment, worth more than 20 million CFA francs, took place on Tuesday July 30, 2024, in the ‘city of yams’ in the presence of L HKI NGO and its financial partners as well as local authorities.
Consisting of a large-format gas oven, a dryer, a stainless steel grinder, a 674 liter LG refrigerator, a 1000 VA voltage regulator and a gas fireplace, This donation from the Résifa project
will allow the company to develop and improve income-generating activities (IGA) for the benefit of its members.
The 2nd vice -president of Léo’s special delegation, Moussa Sawadogo, on behalf of the beneficiaries, thanked the NGO for its constant commitment alongside the communities.
For Mr. Sawadogo, with this equipment, the Tougoulou de Léo cooperative will improve its technical capabilities, production and local consumption of sweet potatoes.
The president of the Tougoulou cooperative, Djénéba Zio, told donors that the equipment comes at the right time and will help alleviate the extent of the marketing problem.
Ms. Zio indicated that it will also facilitate the development of networking among stakeholders in the orange-fleshed sweet potato value chain.
‘Our heartfelt cry has been heard by Helen Keller International and we will immediately get to work to live up to this mark of trust,’ she reassured.
The deputy country director of the NGO Helen Keller International, Régina Traoré/Khassanova took the
opportunity to pay tribute to these women dedicated to the development of their commune and their village.
‘Despite the many social, family and climatic difficulties, these fighting women never give up,’ she noted.
Ms. Traoré praised the local authorities as well as all stakeholders for their efforts and their commitment alongside women in the fight against poverty and malnutrition.
For the high commissioner of the province of Sissili, Tewindé Isaac Sia, this equipment meets major challenges in the processing and marketing of PDCO and derived products.
He expressed the recognition of the communities of the seven communes of the province to the NGO Helen Keller International for its efforts made for the benefit of ‘the other half of the sky’.
Mr. Sia also invited the beneficiaries to take good care of the processing equipment made available to them for their well-being.
Source: Burkina Information Agency