Ongoing projects from 2024 to 2026
Specifications:
- Vicariate: Saint François Coll Vicariate | 2025–2026
- Sector: Education – Africa (7 communities)
- Implemented by: Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation
The African communities where this program is implemented—located in rural and peri-urban areas of Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Benin, and Burkina Faso—share structural challenges that limit sustained access to education. These challenges have been documented by international organizations and reflect a persistent issue across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Limited access to education
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, 20% of children aged 6–11, 33% of young people aged 12–14, and nearly 60% of adolescents aged 15–17 are out of school.
- The region has the highest levels of learning poverty, with approximately 90% of ten-year-old children unable to read and understand a simple text.
- School-related costs such as tuition, uniforms, educational materials, and transportation prevent thousands of children from remaining in school. Poverty and school dropout
- Most families depend on subsistence agriculture, informal trade, or precarious employment.
- Educational expenses place a heavy burden on households already struggling to meet their basic needs.
Gender inequality and child marriage
- In West and Central Africa, 41% of girls marry before the age of 18, interrupting their education.
- More than 125 million African girls have been forced into child marriage, a practice that remains common in many rural communities.
Inadequate school infrastructure
- Schools are often overcrowded, lack educational resources, and have limited access to basic services.
- Orphanhood, single-parent households, and internal migration further undermine educational continuity.
The project
Each year, Anunciata Solidarity Foundation (FASOL) supports African communities accompanied by the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation in order to guarantee access to education, school retention, and academic success for children and young people living in poverty.
The program provides scholarships adapted to each local context, covering all or part of:
- School tuition fees (public schools, private schools, or educational centers managed by the Sisters).
- Educational materials, uniforms, backpacks, and footwear.
- School meals or boarding school expenses.
- Transportation and weekly travel costs.
- Boarding accommodation in communities with educational centers such as Bembéréké, Bonoua, and Sinendé.
The Sisters are responsible for the selection, accompaniment, and follow-up of each scholarship recipient, ensuring proper use of resources and personalized support.
General objective:
- Guarantee access to education for vulnerable children and adolescents.
- Reduce school dropout caused by poverty, child labor, or forced marriage.
- Promote gender equality, with a particular focus on girls’ school retention.
- Provide real opportunities for advancement to families with limited financial resources.
- Foster education as a means of individual and community transformation.
Direct beneficiaries: 116 students during the 2025–2026 academic year
Total project budget (2025–2026): €22,203.67
The budget is distributed among the communities of Abidjan, Bonoua, Bembéréké, Kpakpamé, Kombissiri, Ruli, and Sinendé, according to the specific needs and circumstances of each location.