ABOUT
Our Mission
The Association Evangélique Sowtaa (AES), translated as The Evangelical Association for Mutual Assistance, was founded by Dr. Ini Dorcas Dah in 2010 and registered in 2014 with the Government of Burkina Faso to empower underprivileged and/or orphaned young women and children in Burkina Faso.
AES exists to:
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Improve the living conditions of women through holistic mission which encompasses spiritual, social, environmental, and economic development.
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Create a framework for sharing, sisterly communion, edification, prayer, and the realization of projects and spiritual initiatives for the benefit of women.
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Promote the rights of women by seeking justice, dignity, peace, and respect for them in a peaceful and conducive environment.
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Encourage solidarity and mutual assistance, as well as provide consultation and education for solving their specific problems.
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Improve women’s financial conditions by raising funds and organizing income-generating initiatives.
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Provide short-term employment (particularly in the summer months) for underprivileged young women so they can pay for school fees and rent during the academic year. This also helps to prevent the trafficking of young women and children to coastal countries.
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Provide long-term employment for women to work at the House of Hope, doing administrative work and working in the hostel, auditorium, and health unit.
Meet The Team
Dr. Ini Dorcas Dah is a Burkina Faso national who studied in Ghana and now travels between the two countries. In 2015, she finished her PhD at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, in Ghana. Since then, she has done several bigger and smaller theological projects.
Having grown up with a father who valued education and offered equal opportunities to both the girls and the boys in the family, Dr. Dah was struck by the educational disparity within Burkina Faso. With a history of being colonized by the French, many people in Burkina Faso resisted education, viewing it as a colonial program. Furthermore, even if children attended school, families would often withdraw their daughters at the secondary level because it cost more. These young women would lack education and opportunities, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
During a seminar in 2010, Dr. Dah was moved by the various struggles women she knew were facing and began to ask God how she could help empower the women of Burkina Faso to take care of themselves better. Recalling the kindness of a person from her church who covered her tuition when she had once been expelled for owing an equivalent of $15 US tuition, she wondered how she could assist other women in similar situations. Later that year, she visited a program in Nigeria that was helping women there. Upon returning to Burkina Faso, Dr. Dah shared the vision with others and the Association Evangélique Sowtaa (AES) was born. Four years later, AES became officially recognized with the government of Burkina Faso.
More Information about Dr. Dorcas Dah:
University of Münster Fellow Page
Dorcas' Facebook Page