Despite various literacy campaigns by state government, development aid partners and civil society (NGO's, farmer's union) the illiteracy rate in Burkina Faso is high (approx. 74%). The illiteracy rate in women is even more alarming: 88% are illiterate which excludes them from the written word and the disadvantages that are part of it. The extent of this problem can be read on the illiteracy statistics from the UNO, which you find here.

The focus of our work is social justice and concrete improvement of living standard of girls and orphans.

The enrolment rate of girls in our province only is 14, 5% whereas 42,3% of the boys get the chance to go to school. This large gap demands specific measures to improve the situations of the girls especially due to the fact that women in their roll as a mother, the centre of family life determine the upbringing of their children.

As we have already mentioned 74% of the people in Burkina cannot read and write and even 88% of the women have no access to the written word.

Studies have shown that benefit of educating women regarding their versatile rolls that they play in different areas of creating a social network is exceptionally high. This especially effect birth, health care, improvement of production and productivity, upbringing to citizens, environmental care, etc…

The participation of women in decision – making processes is not only a necessity on all levels but a prerequisite for the improvement of the socioeconomic development. Women play such an important roll in developing countries like Burkina Faso that the following conclusion was made, “To bring up a man means to bring up a individual, however to bring up a woman means to bring up a nation.”

We think that without the other half of heaven, meaning women (and girls), every development will stay hypothetical. At the beginning of the 21 st century that announced as the age of globalisation, has proven that reading and writing, the education of boys and especially of girls is essential so that they are equipped with the necessary know–how for a responsible and effective contribution in the fight against poverty und social marginalisation.

On account of these considerations NEEED promotes girl and orphan school attendance that momentarily are strongest put at disadvantage and desperately need our help.

  The prerequisites for the development of our country and higher literacy rate are:

- the creation of school buildings

- clean drinking water

- health care

Therefore NEEED's made it there assignment to build schools, dig wells and to improve infrastructure in villages by buying grain mills for example. These steps support the positive consequences of spreading reading and writing by improving the living standards of the people .