Ganzourgou: The NGO CREDO, in partnership with Children Believe, organized a competition in Zorgho to raise awareness about child migration to gold mining sites. The goal was to allow students themselves to express, through their own words, the dangers associated with this practice and to raise awareness in their community. Three winners were awarded prizes on Friday, May 30, 2025, at the end of this competition.

According to Burkina Information Agency, combating the migration of children to gold mining sites is the major objective set by the NGO CREDO, in partnership with Children Believe, through a series of awareness-raising activities in Ganzourgou. Following the press caravans, the strategy evolved towards the direct involvement of children in the fight.

This is how an awareness-raising message writing competition was launched for students from several secondary schools in its intervention area. A total of six schools took part in the initiative, namely the Zorgho Provincial High School, the Naba Koulga Municipal High School in Zorgho, the Municipal High School, the Saint-Pierre Private High School, the Sainte Marie Private High School, and the Kanr© General Education College. Forty-seven applications were received.

Participants were asked to produce a powerful message, a quarter-page A4 format, focused on the fight against child gold mining. According to CREDO program manager Kiswendsida Innocent Gansaor©, the aim was to explore children’s perceptions of the phenomenon and the solutions they propose in their own words.

The jury, chaired by Mathieu Lompo, School Guidance Counselor at the Provincial Directorate of Secondary Education and Technical and Vocational Training, spent more than four hours evaluating the productions, as the overall quality was so high. Ultimately, three messages were selected:

1st Prize: Philom¨ne ‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡¬°lodie Wendpagnangd© Kabor© from Saint Pierre de Zorgho High School – She received a tablet worth 80,000 FCFA. Very proud, she praised the initiative and recalled that “the fruits of gold panning are instantaneous but not lasting, unlike school, which is a real asset.”

Second Prize: Gloria Innocente Sawadogo of Lyc©e Sainte Marie de Zorgho – She also won a tablet, valued at 60,000 CFA francs. Her message highlighted the dangers of gold panning for children, urging her classmates to focus on their studies.

3rd Prize: Darius Doussa from Naaba Koulga High School in Zorgho – He received a scholarship of 50,000 CFA francs. Delighted with his award, he stated that his participation helped him improve his writing skills and better reach his classmates with his messages.

The jury particularly praised the originality and depth of the messages. “It’s the students themselves who experience the realities on the ground. Their direct involvement in this activity gives the messages a unique impact,” emphasized Mathieu Lompo, who hopes this initiative will be replicated in other locations.

The three best messages will be recorded and broadcast in June on local radio stations and social media, in order to reach a wider audience and raise awareness.

Mr. Gansaor© thanked the provincial directorates responsible for humanitarian action and secondary education for their involvement in the event. He congratulated the winners and envisioned a second, more successful edition.

According to him, this is a new step in their fight for child protection, with the credo: “Wealth is in the head, not in the hole.”