Ouedraogo, Emil

Emil was about 11 at the time of our visit in January 2012.  He is not an orphan – both of his parents are still living, but under the circumstances, we found this to be a vulnerable case.  Emil’s father is not able to use his hands and therefore cannot help his family farm to make a living.  They have 3 children, Emil being the youngest.  He is in the 5th grade.  The oldest, Benoit has left the family in search of gold, but he does visit from time to time.  The 3rd is a girl named Denise who is in the 7th grade this year.   

Emil and his family live within Yako, in what’s known as Sector 2.  Their home is a mud-brick hut in poor condition with no windows.  A previous home fell because they were not able to maintain it. 

Emil’s mother farms with the help of Emil and Denise.  They sell what they can of their crop in order to pay school fees.  This year, we paid Emil’s school fees when the school Director came to us asking for help for the family.

The family also has a couple pigs which they attempt to raise in order to sell them off to pay the more expensive high school fees.