A young 15-year-old refugee woman gave birth in difficult conditions in the desert region of Sahel in Burkina Faso, with her baby being born on the ground wrapped in a dirty blanket covered in sand. UN volunteers assisted in providing initial medical care and transported the mother and baby to an MSF health center 35 km away. There, the baby girl and mother received further care and recovered, with the baby being named Ferrerio Wallet Pascaline after the location of her birth and the volunteers who helped save her life.

1. BORN ON THE SAND
In that day, the sun was shining across
the sandy and desert area of Sahel
Region.
Birds and wild insects were singing
different types of songs that echoed in a
rhythmic symphony to magnify the life
given.
Far away, herds and shepherds were
busy leading their cattle to the scarce
pasture.
We were at Ferrerio, one of the first sites
of Malian refugees close to the border.
Here, all was about the relocation
operation of the refugees to the safe,
secured and consolidate camps
designated by the Government of Faso.
Our assignment of that day was about to
apply the medical screening to the
refugees who were ready to be relocated
the next day. While busy at our duty, a
man, half-dressed, whispered at me
saying: “help! Help! Please! A woman is
about to give birth”. In that area there is
no health centre nearby. As a mission
leader, I immediately urged Soro and
Pascaline who are UNV health assistants
to intervene. They quickly took action.
Yet at their approach, the lady has
already given birth but in an extremely
difficult health condition, both for the
mother and also for the new born. The
baby was born on the ground, wrapped
with a dirty and heavy blanket that has
been never washed for many years. All
the body of the baby was covered by the
sand. They don’t care. Yes, they do not
mind because it is their habits. The
couple are young and extremely poor.
They do not know anything else, except
living in the bush from generation after
generation looking after their cattle.
The life giver of that day was assisted by
the old village women, and that it was
her first time to give birth. She was only
15 years old. Pascline assisted with the
first health care and we carried the
mother and her baby in our own car to
MSF France health centre located at 35
km from Ferrerio for medical care. We
safely reached the place where the baby
and its mother were welcomed by Dr.
Sawadogo and her team. The baby

2. weighed 3.50 kg and hadn’t any
biological malformation. The mother
was correctly and perfectly assisted by
MSF team and after three days, she
recovered.
It was a baby girl and we baptized her of
the name of FERRERIO WALLET
PASCALINE. That means in Tamasheck
Ferrerio Pascaline’s daughter. IT was an
amazing but painful story. Any way all
of us were happy because we have saved
life.
On the left bellow, Dr. Sawadogo welcoming the baby
and from the right, the baby and its mother, now in
the health centre.
Written by Job N. Nguerebaye
IUNV, Associate Field Officer
UNHCR-FO Dori.
Burkina Faso. West Africa.