Focusing on Women’s Health in West Africa

From a young age, Latifatou “Lati” Savadogo BA ’24, who grew up in the West African country of Burkina Faso, displayed an entrepreneurial spirit. As a teen, she once started her own business selling homemade potato chips during a break in school due to a teachers strike. “The business did well,” she says. “I made money!”

But Savadogo knew she wanted to pursue more education. On a whim, she applied to be a United World College scholar, and to her surprise, she was accepted to a UWC in Changshu, China. “I discovered technology; I learned how to speak English; I learned about hundreds of cultures and countries; I learned to dream; I learned that nothing is impossible; I learned to be confident and to be the better version of myself.”

While in China, she came up with the idea to start a nonprofit to improve access to education in her home country; however, at that time, she was unable to secure the funding she needed to get it off the ground. But the idea stayed with her.

After completing her program in China, Savadogo received a Davis Scholarship to attend Lewis & Clark, where she majored in economics and minored in entrepreneurial leadership and innovation. “I fell in love with Lewis & Clark. Portland is a beautiful city,” she says.

At Lewis & Clark, Savadogo was active in the Center for Social Change and Community Involvement. The center works to create a variety of immersive learning experiences, develop skills to bring about social change and action, and offer extensive leadership development opportunities.

Red marker showing Burkina Faso on a map.In 2022, Savadogo received a $5,000 Nielson Social Change Innovation Grant from the center. With the money, she officially founded the nonprofit she had always dreamed of: the Association Télé Karaongo Burkina Faso. In her native language of Mooré, “télé” means support and “karaongo” means education; together, the words reflect the nonprofit’s mission of “supporting education.”

Her grant project, titled “SOS Education,” focused on renovating a primary school in one of the poorest villages of Burkina Faso. “Every child deserves to have adequate educational space,” says Savadogo. “Learning is not just about reading and writing, it’s also about the psychological connection between the student and the educational space.”

While “SOS Education” was successful, Savadogo wanted to do more. With the encouragement of Brian White, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, she decided to expand the scope of her nonprofit and apply for a $10,000 Projects for Peace grant. These grants, funded by philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis, support grassroots projects around the globe that focus on building understanding and finding solutions for resolving conflict and maintaining peace.

Savadogo called her grant project “Better Health for Internally Displaced Burkinabé.” The project was conducted in Kaya, a city in northern Burkina Faso with the country’s highest population of internally displaced people due to years of terrorist attacks. Building on the foundation of her existing nonprofit, Savadogo developed a health screening program designed to benefit internally displaced women who struggle to access basic health care.

Projects for Peace 2024

A national TV crew interviewed participants at the opening event to generate interest in the health screening program.

Show image: A national TV crew interviewed participants at the opening event to generate interest in the health screening program.

Savadogo's nonprofit is called the Association Télé Karaongo, which translates to “supporting education.” As part of the nonprofit's health screening project, participants gathered in a tent awaiting medical care.

Show image: Savadogo's nonprofit is called the Association Télé Karaongo, which translates to “supporting education. As part of the nonp...

Savadogo designed a four-day health and education campaign focused on conducting workshops, offering screenings for cervical cancer, and administering hepatitis B vaccinations.

Show image: Savadogo designed a four-day health and education campaign focused on conducting workshops, offering screenings for cervical cancer, and ...

To encourage participation and to help address participants’ food insecurities, the project provided each participant with 25 kg of rice and 2.5 liters of cooking oil.

Show image: To encourage participation and to help address participants' food insecurities, the project provided each participant with 25 kg of rice ...

On-the-ground collaborators included local government organizations, humanitarian nonprofits, and medical personnel, such as certified nurses and midwives.

Show image: On-the-ground collaborators included local government organizations, humanitarian nonprofits, and medical personnel, such as certified nu...

A doctor discusses cervical cancer and its health implications with a displaced woman participating in the program.

Show image: A doctor discusses cervical cancer and its health implications with a displaced woman participating in the program.

Savadogo designed a four-day health and education campaign focused on conducting workshops, offering screenings for cervical cancer, and administering hepatitis B vaccinations. On-the-ground collaborators included local government organizations, humanitarian nonprofits, and medical personnel, such as certified nurses and midwives. To encourage participation and to help address participants’ food insecurities, the project provided each participant with 25 kg of rice and 2.5 liters of cooking oil.

In the end, 234 women participated in the program. Among them, one woman was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 15 women were diagnosed with vaginal infections and received prescriptions. In addition, 16 women tested positive for hepatitis B while another 216 women tested negative and received their first dose of the three-part vaccine.

The project was not without its challenges. Due to issues with immigration paperwork, Savadogo had to oversee the project remotely in the States and communicate with her team virtually. Luckily, her father, who lives in Kaya and is a doctor, was able to play a key coordination role.

In the future, Savadogo hopes that the health screenings could be expanded to other regions and cities in her home country. She’s also interested in exploring a microfinance enterprise model to provide a stable source of income for internally displaced women in need.

Currently, she is working in a data management position in Union City, New Jersey. She’s exploring the idea of earning a graduate degree in international finance. Eventually, she may return to Africa, but she’s still pondering that.

In her final Projects for Peace report, Savadogo wrote: “The project has humbled me greatly and reminded me why I need to keep fighting for my community. A sustainable community starts with collaborative and collective efforts, and I will continue to be the voice for those who are voiceless, neglected, and marginalized.”

Projects for Peace International Students and Scholars