Visiting microprojects, exchanging with institutional and organizational partners as well as meeting volunteers, these were the objectives of the field mission to Benin by Héloïse Ruban, Microprojects Project Manager, in December 2024.
La Guilde in Benin has funded 52 microprojects since 2014, including 5 from the Fall 2024 call for projects, and 7 that use sport as a development tool. Thirty-four stakeholders, including two local ones, have benefited from this funding and are implementing initiatives for the Beninese population. Benin is the fourth country to receive funding from La Guilde. Our organization also sends six volunteers to five partner host organizations.
It is in this context that Héloïse traveled to the south of Benin to meet them and discuss their actions.
Meetings and first discussions in Cotonou
Upon her arrival in Cotonou on December 9, Cyrus Oulatar, an international solidarity volunteer (VSI) for the Pompiers Solidaires association, presented her with his work to promote access to drinking water and sanitation in the area around Comé. Héloïse also met with Laure Weisgerber, director of the Benin branch of the French Development Agency, and Sylvie Gomez, project manager for Health, Civil Society Organizations, Crises and Conflicts, an opportunity to present La Guilde and its work in Benin. Finally, the day ended with discussions with Noé Courvallet, who is in Benin as coordinator of GERES (Renewable Energy, Environment and Solidarity Group) on a VSI mission sent by La Guilde.
With its lush decor, peacocks, and bats, the French Embassy in Benin welcomed Héloïse for an interview with Audrey Lieber. This exchange allowed them to revisit the Beninese context and present the support mechanisms for organizations present in Benin, led by the institution and the organization, as well as their perspectives.
Sport, a vector of transformation
The afternoon of December 10th marked the first visit of a micro-project of this mission: "Mi Dokpo - Together for the Emancipation of Youth" by the French association Enfants de l'Ovale and the Beninese association Grandir avec le Rugby Bénin. This micro-project, funded by La Guilde as part of the Impact 2024 International program, is coming to an end and has made it possible to offer rugby to many young people in southern Benin.
Eric Kpogba, president of the Grandir avec le Rugby association, and Romain, educator as part of the “Mi Dokpo” project
Thanks to the training of rugby coaches, particularly in gender issues and nature conservation, socio-educational rugby workshops are held every week in Cotonou and other cities for more than 400 children aged 7 to 14. School support workshops are also organized in the new premises of the Grandir avec le rugby association.
Combining the discovery of professional activities, generating income while offering a hand sport that is little known locally? These are the challenges that the REPAC-SJ-Bénin association presents to Ikpinlè, took up as part of its project "Together is better", funded during the 4th Impact 2024 International call for projects session.
Young people and coach present at a volleyball training session – REPAC-SJ-Benin
Héloïse visited the project on her third day in Benin. Volleyball has become a sport practiced by many young people in the Plateaux department, alongside handball and football, which are more popular locally. On Wednesday and Friday evenings, and Saturday afternoons, around a hundred young people gather on the volleyball courts to receive coaching from a coach. The results have been rapid: in just over a year, a group of young people won first place in the departmental volleyball championship and qualified for the national championship. A women's team was also selected to participate in the National Women's Sports Festival. Training in sports-related careers was also offered to participants, focusing on making sports nets and sports photography. A sports product store was also opened on the road between Porto-Novo and Pobé. Academic support classes are offered to young people taking exams, to encourage their academic success while continuing their sports training.
Commitments to children and communities
December 12th was an opportunity to meet the people involved in the Bethel orphanage in Sakété. Starting as a personal initiative by Ebel Ayikpola, the orphanage now welcomes around sixty children, placed there by the Social Promotion Center, the courts, or the police. Locally, the NGO Compassion for Development takes care of the Bethel orphanage and the children there.
Exterior of the Bethel Orphanage
The project funded by La Guilde in 2022 enabled the installation of a solar pump, contributed to bringing the orphanage up to standard (extending the kitchen, purchasing furniture for a study room, etc.) as well as the purchase of a field for growing corn and cassava, which are used to feed the children of the orphanage. The efforts made by the French Association Main de Consolation and the Béthel orphanage enabled the orphanage to obtain, in December 2024, approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance of Benin, and thus to officially become a child reception and protection center.
On Friday, December 13, Héloïse met with Rachel Araye-Kpanou, facilitator of the exchange network of stakeholders in the water, hygiene, and sanitation sector (REAGIRE) of the Benin National Water Partnership (PNE-Benin), co-facilitated in France by the pS-Eau. Following a meeting in Cotonou on the first day of the field mission, they visited together the Water for Life Association project in Akpro-Missérété, where a photovoltaic pump, two tanks, and two autonomous water points have been installed in partnership with the municipality.
Water point in the village of Adélomi, in Akpro-Missérété, set up by the municipality and the Water for Life Association
This project provides the villagers with access to drinking water and allows them to use the water for their "red oil" extraction business, which has doubled since the drilling was carried out. The visit was attended by a delegation from the town hall, including Mayor Joseph G. Hounkanrin, his chief of staff, and other members of the administrative and technical staff. Discussions on the project and the town's perspectives on water and sanitation took place during the meeting. A meal was then shared by the participants, who were invited to the mayor's home by the mayor.
The rest of the day allowed Héloïse to attend a meeting of the Hozin district library management committee, which is implementing a library and games library project in a school in Dangbo. This project is being carried out in partnership with the French association Dessine-moi l'Afrique.
Towards the empowerment of local populations
The field mission then continued in western Benin, in Toviklin, with the NGO RADD, which has set up several projects in partnership with the French association Nonzobénin, three of which were financed by La Guilde.
Women watering the community school garden within the premises of the NGO RADD
Since 2017, a community garden school has allowed women in a cooperative to experiment with new techniques and have a planting space close to a water source available year-round. A water tower was built as part of this project to facilitate cultivation, the development of a chicken coop, and provide a water source for residents. Part of the crops produced is served to children benefiting from the community canteen. Héloïse spoke with the women of the cooperative to discuss the impact of this project. During these discussions, the women present indicated that they were able to cultivate all year round on RADD plots, and planted products that are usually inaccessible in the region, such as carrots, amaranth, etc., allowing their families to have organic vegetables and fruits all year round. A vocational training center in sewing and hairdressing for young people who have dropped out of school was also opened by the RADD and Nonzobénin associations. 45 young people are currently receiving three years of training, which will allow them to pass an exam and then start their own businesses. A food aid project for poor households in Toviklin was also developed during the COVID-19 crisis.
Not far from these projects, in Djakotomey, the Association for Sustainable Development of Local Initiatives in Benin and Togo (ADDIL) and the Institute for Development and Support for Traditional Health Research (IDART Benin) have come together to offer a women's cooperative the opportunity to raise and market freshwater fish, integrated into market gardening.
Members of the cooperative benefiting from the fish farming and marketing project integrated into market gardening by the ADDIL and IDART associations
This project, still in progress, marked Héloïse's last project visit to Benin. Some women from the cooperative were present during the visit and showed Héloïse the ponds and fish currently being reared, as well as the market gardening areas.
Closure of the field mission
On December 18, back in Cotonou, Héloïse met with Sylvie Dagba, national representative of France Volontaires in Benin, Donald Azokli, volunteer development support officer, and Loriane Moranton, volunteer support officer. This meeting allowed the teams of the Beninese branch of France Volontaires to discover the various activities of La Guilde, which include support for microprojects, but also to review La Guilde's commitments in terms of volunteering. The discussions were rich and promise great insights. The afternoon allowed us to meet Elise Becker and Inès Hammiche, on a civic service mission for the association Afrique Pleine d'Avenir, which works in Benin in the field of education, with school construction, exchanges between Beninese and French schools, and even by offering women the opportunity to participate in a professional capacity building program. Héloïse's day and mission ended with a final interview with Rachel Araye-Kpanou to review the joint visit carried out earlier and discuss future perspectives for collaboration.
Meeting with the French Volunteers team – Benin
A mission rich in exchanges and perspectives
This field mission to Benin provided an opportunity to meet committed local stakeholders working alongside French associations to implement a variety of essential international solidarity microprojects, ranging from access to water to education, sports to community empowerment. Through these initiatives supported by La Guilde, the impact of the microprojects and actions carried out is evident, promoting the improvement of the living conditions of the Beninese population. These visits and exchanges strengthen the ties between project leaders, volunteers, and institutions, thus paving the way for new collaborations and support opportunities. This mission reaffirms the need to continue engaging with project leaders and other development stakeholders, as well as La Guilde's role as an essential partner in these actions.