Driven by Determination: Tata and Lydie's Journey towards Success

Standing by her bicycle with a smile on her face, Tata radiates determination as she heads to the local market. In her bags: cakes, soap, and a few pairs of shoes she hopes to sell.

Beyond appearances, Tata is one of those women firmly committed to succeeding despite the many challenges they face. "We first received theoretical training that helped us build confidence and acquire the skills needed to start a business. At the end of the training, I felt a real change within me. I had become a new person—more confident and determined", she says.

Tata is part of a group of young women supported through the YES KIRE Project, implemented by World Vision. This project aims to strengthen sustainable livelihoods and life skills for 1,500 young people from displaced and host communities in the peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou and Boromo (Burkina Faso).

Driven by her passion for baking, Tata chose to learn this trade. Today, she produces and sells cakes to support her family. "I had a lot of difficulties getting around", she says. "Then the project team told me I had been selected to receive a bicycle. My joy was immense! Because beyond the bike, it meant my business would take off."

This bicycle, provided through World Vision's Gift Catalog, has truly transformed Tata’s daily life. She can now travel longer distances to sell her products and has even expanded her business to include soap and shoes. She is even more delighted to have received, along with the bicycle, training on its maintenance and a complete repair kit.

Thanks to this project, young women graduates receive tangible support: equipment to start their businesses and means of transport to facilitate their activities. By focusing on girls as the main participants, the project helps reduce their vulnerability to violence, early marriage, trafficking, and exploitation in a challenging security context.

A few kilometres away, in a suburban neighbourhood of Ouagadougou, Lydie is pursuing another dream: becoming a seamstress. Passionate about sewing for two years, she did not have the means to open her own workshop.

Thanks to the Gift Catalog, Lydie received a complete sewing kit, including a sewing machine, tables, threads, needles, fabrics, pagnes, and many other accessories.

"I was trained in sewing and I sew well. But for two years, I worked as an employee in a workshop," she explains. "We also received training on the ‘Youth Ready’ approach, which completely changed my outlook on life and helped me better understand entrepreneurship and business management. Two months ago, I received my kit, which I set up at home. Today, thanks to this machine, I earn an income that allows me to support my parents and my daughter."

Silvain Kabré, Project Manager at World Vision shares that this additional support from the Gift Catalog has enabled us to have a greater impact on participants’ lives. "Fifty young women and men received sewing kits, and another 100 benefited from bicycles to facilitate their participation and the development of their entrepreneurial activities", he says.

Today, Tata and Lydie see the future differently. Driven by hope, confidence, and determination, they are paving their way to success.