Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso: Protecting Childhood in a Time of Crisis

Explore Burkina Faso:

Learn how children are facing the trauma of conflict, displacement, and school closures — and how community efforts are helping them hold onto hope.

The Situation for Children in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a nation of deep cultural pride and communal resilience, but recent years have brought a wave of violence, poverty, and disruption that has shaken the lives of millions — especially children. These are the three most urgent challenges they face today:

Violent Conflict and Displacement

Armed groups and regional instability have displaced over 2 million people in Burkina Faso, with more than half of them being children. Many have lost their homes, family members, and access to schooling.

Widespread School Closures

Due to insecurity, over 6,000 schools have been closed in recent years. This leaves hundreds of thousands of children without a safe place to learn or a routine to ground their lives.

Psychological Trauma and Lack of Mental Health Support

Children affected by violence, loss, and displacement often carry invisible wounds. Yet in much of Burkina Faso, there is little to no access to trained counselors or trauma-informed care for youth.

Despite these challenges, Burkina Faso’s children remain full of hope, dreaming of education, health, and opportunities for a better tomorrow.

Key Contributor #1: Keoogo

Supporting Displaced and Vulnerable Youth in Crisis Zones

In communities destabilized by conflict, Keoogo is stepping in to protect the most vulnerable: orphaned and displaced children. Based in Ouagadougou, the organization provides shelter, healthcare, and trauma care to children living on the streets or in displacement.

Keoogo’s social workers help children find family or foster care, while others enroll in transitional learning centers and begin psychological recovery. The organization also runs emergency response programs for youth at risk of trafficking and exploitation.

For children who have lost everything, Keoogo offers something vital — a soft landing, and a second chance.

Key Contributor #2: Fondation KIMI

Healing Childhood Trauma Through Art and Safe Expression

In the aftermath of violence and upheaval, Fondation KIMI provides creative trauma healing programs for children who can’t yet speak their pain. Through art therapy, play, music, and storytelling, children are given tools to process loss, fear, and grief.

Their trauma-informed facilitators work in displacement camps and local shelters, offering consistent emotional support in places where no formal mental health care exists. Activities are designed around safety, expression, and emotional resilience.

For many children, it’s their first time being asked what they feel — and being told it’s okay to feel it.

Key Event #1: Mobile School Caravan – Sahel Region

Bringing Classrooms to Displaced Children

In 2023, a partnership between local educators and humanitarian groups launched the Mobile School Caravan, delivering pop-up classrooms to children in conflict-affected villages. Classrooms were made of collapsible tents, whiteboards strapped to donkeys, and backpacks filled with lessons.

In dusty fields outside displacement camps, children gathered around teachers eager to write their names again. Some hadn’t held a pencil in over two years.

The caravan now travels to multiple provinces, offering literacy, math, and emotional learning. For many, it’s not just school — it’s the first step back to feeling like a child again.

Key Event #2: Children’s Day of Peace – Kaya Camp

Restoring Joy and Normalcy Through Celebration

In a displacement camp outside Kaya, Burkina Faso, hundreds of children gathered in 2024 for a remarkable event: Children’s Day of Peace. Organized by youth volunteers and local artists, the day featured singing, dancing, storytelling, and peace-themed murals created by the children themselves.

Each activity was designed to help kids reconnect with joy and reclaim their childhood, even if only for a day. Parents watched with quiet emotion as their children smiled freely — some for the first time in months.

What began as a small community event became a symbol of resistance: joy, in the face of violence.

Top Grassroot Nonprofits Across Burkina Faso