Abdoulaye Ilboudo is 21 and lives in the town of Boussé, Burkina Faso. He participates in Solidar Suisse’s training project and hopes to become a baker. This is his story.
«Together with my 4 brothers and sisters I grew up under very poor conditions. I cannot say that I had a happy childhood. Often, since we were so poor, we only had one meal a day. We didn’t even have enough clothing for all of us. My father was a peasant and had no other income.
I went to school up to the first year of high school. I was the first in my family to get so far. However, I also had to quit since my parents couldn’t afford to finance further education.
When I left school I decide to work in a gold mine. I had heard that one could earn well there. I was 16 and worked hard with long days. We used cyanide to separate the gold from the rest of the rock. I knew that working with these chemicals was very dangerous and that I was risking my life.
Recently I quit my job in the mine. I didn’t earn as much as I expected. My workday went from 7 AM to 6 PM and my boss paid me only 10,000 F (16CHF) at the end of the month. With this salary I coudn’t even pay for water to take a shower once a week, let alone to help support my parents. Now I am unemployed again and impoverished. I don’t even have enough money to feed myself.»
Future as a baker
«With the training made possible by Solidar Suisse I hope to find a better job and a way out of poverty. I need more material support to start a bakery. It is my dream to become a baker and earn enough money for myself and my family.»
Solidar Suisse finances schooling and vocational training in Burkina Faso to create promising job perspectives for young people.