Alima, pictured centre left, with some of her family

Alima is part of a family of 14 that lives in the village of Tougouri – her mother and father have 12 children. Alima recently got her primary school leaver’s certificate, and has her sights set on studying medicine at university.

But the torrential rains caused the waters of the village’s dam to flood the area, and have washed away the hectare of farmland in the village that was used to grow crops for families to sell. Now, Alima’s father has lost his main source of income, and the community has lost a major food supply. 

No savings

“I have no savings; everything I earn is invested in food, the children’s school fees and healthcare. I’m afraid for the future of this village, which lives mainly off of the land that’s irrigated by the dam waters, growing rice and vegetables. But now, all the water is going away after the dam burst its banks,” said Talato, Alima’s father.

What’s more, they’ve lost 3 of the houses they lived in, just like many other members of the community.

Before the floods, Talato had asked at the local secondary school for Alima, who was born with 1 arm, to be enrolled.

Food for the family

But that was before the floods. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to find the money for

Many of the houses in Tougouri were destroyed by the floods

tuition fees for 1 at university, 6 in secondary school and 3 in primary school. If one thing is certain, it’s that he’ll need financial support to do it – with 12 young mouths to feed, Alima’s parents must first find food for the family.

Plan in Burkina Faso still needs an additional 840,000US$ to carry out its flood relief activities.

Please make a donation today, via Plan's international donation site or Plan Germany's emergency appeal (in German)