In a difficult economic and social climate, civic-mindedness is more necessary than ever before.

In the framework of the town’s sustainable development undertakings, one of the objectives (n° 9) of its “Agenda 21” places the emphasis on the promotion of ethics and solidarity with developing countries.

Limoges actively contributes to the international fight against poverty:

• For more than 10 years this solidarity has been demonstrated with regard to the rural commune of Pabré in Burkina Faso, as part of a decentralised cooperation partnership.

A great many development projects are carried out in order to improve the living conditions of the population. The main areas of intervention are as follows:

• water and sewerage,
• education and schooling,
• and more recently, support for the municipal departments.

The town also commits on a case-by-case basis to emergency humanitarian causes.

This was the case in Sri Lanka following the tsunami of December 2004, whereby an exceptional subsidy from the town of Limoges was set up to help the affected populations.

Burkina Faso is located in the heart of West Africa. This country regularly suffers from drought and has little in the way of natural resources. More than 80% of the population is illiterate and the child mortality rate is among the highest in the world.

The rural commune of Pabré has around 30,000 inhabitants, spread between 21 villages. 22 km north of Ouagadougou, Pabré is one of the six rural communes of the Centre region in the province of Kadiogo.

Pabré was officially made a commune on 1st January 2007, in the wake of the decentralisation process instigated in Burkina. The Mayor, Anatole DOAMBA, is thus in his first term of office.

History:

Since the first bonds of friendship and exchange were formed in the 1980s, the partnership has gradually been structured with the aim of contributing to the concerted, sustainable local development of Pabré.

A first sustainable development aid agreement was signed on 13 February 1999 between the two communes, leading to the completion of projects in various fields (access to water, schooling and agricultural development, mainly).

Decentralised cooperation is a dynamic, ever-changing action. Our cooperation has gradually adapted to the new institutional arrangements that Burkina Faso is experiencing today. For example, following the decentralisation process, the newly-created communes have had to take on new competences transferred from the State (health, primary education, drinking water supply, etc).

In order to help Pabré manage these new competences, a new partnership agreement was signed in April 2009.

The aim is now to support our young partner commune in its efforts to strengthen its capacities and to set up the basic services. Limoges can offer all its experience in this field and rely on the skills of its municipal administration department.

Access to water and sewerage networks:

A major strategic focus in the fight against poverty, access to water is the first step towards sustainable development. In rural Burkina Faso, the drinking water access rate is 60%, while the sewerage access rate is 10%. [2005 data]

Access to water is therefore the main problem identified by the inhabitants of Pabré. It constitutes the City of Limoges’ main field of intervention:

• Access to drinking water:

The City of Limoges has financed the creation, renovation and maintenance of boreholes in the villages of the commune (municipal area) and in the vicinity of schools, while supporting the establishment of village management committees. Hygiene training courses have also been delivered in schools.

Today, with a view to helping the commune manage and maintain all of the hydraulic structures in its area, the City of Limoges is helping the Pabré municipal council to establish a municipal water department (recruitment of a technician, training, etc.).

As a sign of solidarity between the residents of Limoges and the inhabitants of Pabré, the City of Limoges has decided to apply the principle of the Loi Oudin, which authorises the use of up to 1% of the resources of the ancillary water and sewerage budget to finance actions in these fields. The City has thus committed 0.5% of its ancillary water budget and is offering Pabré the expertise of its Water Department engineers.

• Management of water resources for agriculture: Zibako Dam project (2005-2008)

Drought is one of the major problems in Burkina Faso. Water cannot be conserved after the rainy season (June to August), which poses problems for the development of agriculture.

At the request of market gardeners and livestock breeders in the commune of Pabré, the City of Limoges has jointly financed the renovation of a 405,000 m³ reservoir in the village of Zibako. This dam allows for the conservation of water collected during the rainy season, thus making commercial vegetable production possible throughout the whole year. Improvements carried out downstream of the dam have allowed for the creation and irrigation of plots of arable land on the one hand and access points to water for livestock on the other.

Small farmers and livestock breeders have benefitted from training in vegetable growing and livestock rearing, delivered by a local organisation. Now they are aware of agri-ecological practices, the villagers can ensure the long-term future of the site while protecting the environment.

All in all, around a hundred farmers and livestock breeders from the village of Zibako have benefitted directly from this development and the project has also indirectly affected another 7,000 people in a dozen neighbouring villages.

For this project, the City of Limoges has obtained joint financing from the MAEE and the European Union (in the framework of the “ACP-EU Water Facility” call for proposals). The total budget amounts to approximately €400,000.

Distinction: “Twinning for Development” competition

Thanks to the Zibako dam renovation project, carried out over 3 years from 2005 to 2008 and jointly financed by the European Commission, the commune of Pabré and the City of Limoges were awarded the first prize in the “Twinning for Development” competition organised by the European Commission. This project has been presented as a benchmark in the field of development assistance.

Education and schooling:

In order to improve access to schooling, the City of Limoges has contributed to the financing of educational infrastructures in villages in the commune of Pabré:

• Construction and standardisation of elementary schools, and supply of school equipment and furniture
• Establishment of school canteens
• Construction of housing for teachers and latrines
• Extension of the Pabré secondary school

Today, the City of Limoges is no longer financing the construction of new buildings, but it is helping the commune to manage and maintain the existing assets.

Institutional support:

In order to help the commune of Pabré exercise its new functions, the City of Limoges is providing different types of support:

• Training of elected officials and administrative officers
• Help with the recruitment of municipal employees
• Exchanges and sharing of experience between the officers and elected officials of Pabré and Limoges.

Limoges providing aid to disabled children in Sri-Lanka

The Sri Lankan community of Limoges, along with a broad section of the Limoges population in general, spontaneously decided to help the families affected by the tsunami of 26 December 2004, which caused 30,000 deaths in Sri-Lanka…

As part of this wave of generosity, the Town of Limoges provided financial aid to the tune of 40,000 euro for the devastated population in this country. This aid went to the Rohana School (in Matara) which educates disabled or deaf and dumb children and teenagers.

An agreement was signed with the Rohana Welfare Association of Matara which manages the school, with the aim of setting up several workshops: joinery, sewing, manufacture of wooden toys, initiation into computer science… The aid provided by Limoges was set aside to finance these workshops, pay the teachers, and contribute to maintenance of the school.

A first payment of 10,000 euro was initially allocated in order to set up the workshops. After completion of the work at the end of 2007, the workshops started up, offering these children a better chance of finding their place in society and of living decently.

The workshops are now up and running and the pupils can take suitable training courses for their future careers. The Rohana Welfare Association of Matara decided not to request the balance of the subsidy, as the centre now runs itself autonomously and sustainably.