Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been engaged in the fight against terrorism, which causes loss of human life for both civilians and the army. This phenomenon and its corollaries cause the percentage of widows to increase day by day. We were with Mrs. Issoufou on April 19, 2023, widow of a soldier who fell at the front on December 3, 2019.
Many are the FDS who fall for the cause of the fatherland. From now on, the responsibility for the family falls on the widows. These must roll up their sleeves, go through winds and tides to come true. This is how Noélie Issoufou/Somda, widow and mother of one child, has been involved in the sale of natural juice since 2016. Today, she manages to meet the needs of her family, even after the death of her husband with the income from his business.
We meet her on the morning of April 19, 2023 at her home, located in Sarfalao, in sector 17 of Bobo. Barely through the front door, our eyes first land on four refrigerators. They are used to store and package natural juices, yoghurt and lady Issoufou gapal before marketing. She welcomes us in the courtyard and invites us to take a seat in the living room. It is there, after the salamalecs, that she explains a bit about her career in the sale of juice.
Noélie Issoufou tells us that in addition to selling juice, she often organizes training sessions on how to make yoghurt and gapal. However, she says she encounters difficulties in the exercise of this profession. But the main difficulty remains the high cost of the ingredients. ” The bag of sugar that we paid at 12,000 FCFA is today at 32,500 FCFA”, she says. She lets us know that she has the help of the army and that she manages to evacuate her productions. “As I am a soldier’s widow, the army often helps us and with the income from my productions, thanks to God I can feed my family and cover my expenses,” she admits. Noélie informs us that she is training in another complementary field in addition to the sale of juices at the Ouezzin Coulibaly camp.
This training takes place in several areas. It is initiated by an NGO and has been funded by the government since November 2022 with the aim of helping the widows of soldiers who have fallen in defense of the homeland. The training covers sewing, hairdressing, baking and cooking. On this occasion, Noélie opted for the circle of cooking and pastry, because she plans to develop a project in these areas after her apprenticeship. “In the future, I want to open a restaurant where I can sell my juices, cook and bake and also employ the girls who will be able to do the same thing tomorrow in return”, does she let us hear.
Yéli Valentine KAM
Norrockom Edwige KAM/Interns
