Dialogue of Deafs Regarding Childhood in the Commune of Boudry in Burkina Faso: A Communicational Approach of the Processes in a Context of Gold Washing

Abstract

Gold washing of children constitutes as much a social problem, as a problem of development in Burkina Faso, a country which knows these last years a mining boom. The explaining factors of this phenomenon are to be found in the poverty of the populations in rural areas, in the imitation of the children to look like their friends and elders, and in the psychosocial factors. A dialogue of the deaf characterizes the relationship of the populations to childhood and make an arbitration between the obligation of going to school, and the opportunity that gold washing brings out to some families to change their social situation. Responsibilities are shared between children, persons in charge of holes in gold washing sites, parents and the government. The covering of this problem is ensured by endogenous processes through which the teachers invent strategies of retention of children to school. An association echoes about the general problem of childhood, by strengthening the raising of awareness. The results show that challenges regarding communication are many. For that reason, they deserve that a communicational approach be built through the formalization of a dialogue framework around gold washing of children. That would allow to avoid to all the stakeholders to maintain the communicational hiatus around childhood. The consideration of scientific information would contribute to increase the possibilities of catching the politics’ attention for any decision-making, for the benefit of childhood.

Keywords: gold washing, childhood, communication, development