The challenges of life on the moveSince the majority of families rely on farming for their livelihood, seasonal or permanent 'migration' is a way of life for many families. This can result in children missing school for months at a time, and sometimes families that Plan has worked with permanently leaving their communities.
Seasonal migrationSeasonal migration is a way of life for the inhabitants of the village of Soukoundougou in the Bam province. Their homes are situated quite far from the fertile land, and walking long distances every day is difficult, especially for women and children.
It is easier, therefore, for people to settle temporarily in their fields for several months and return home at the end of the harvest, bringing with them all their crops.
The place where a community settles temporarily is called 'Pouroogo' which means 'houses of fields'. As soon as the first rains fall, families move and set up a temporary 'crop settlement community'. Everybody except the old people, leave for the fields where crop settlements will be built just for a few months.
There you find a wide variety of huts and houses. Everybody there is active, and involved in the farming, men, women and healthy young people will work hard, ploughing, sowing and harvesting. Younger children look after their siblings while their mothers work. At this time of the year, only a few people will be found in the village, mostly disabled or those people who care for the old.
After the rainy season, the farmers return from the settlements with their crops and once again the village becomes alive and all the community are once again united.
Long term migrationInsufficient rainfalls, together with the rapid decline of the quality of the farm land, can result in the mass movements of people in search of new and fertile farming land.
This usually happens after a number of consecutive years of bad harvests. These mass population shifts are more frequent from the Northern to the South-western areas, where the lands are more fertile and there is a more regular annual rainfall. These shifts can last up to several years and is almost a rural exodus.
The impact on Plan's workThis migration presents a challenge to Plan as it makes communications difficult and education inconsistent for the child. As children are on the move effective correspondence may prove difficult. Plan is involved in developing these rural communities to provide them with adequate educational facilities that help to ensure these children receive the best possible education, facilities and support. Often families will return to the village one day. One village chief told us: 'Those who go away stay in touch with the friends and relatives who stay in the village, they do not forget their roots.'
It is important for Plan to work with the community for the long term, building a sustainable livelihood for the familes left behind, and those who may return one day.
|
|
