Empower 100K children through education in Benin

Empowerment Through Education in Benin - Q4 2019
By Rasem Draou - International Projects Assistant

Dear followers,

Many thanks for your continuous support and interest. As you might have noticed, Graines de Paix has been very active over the last two months in Benin.

On September 18 and 19, Graines de Paix held two workshops in Lokossa, a city located in the South-East area of the country. The discussions and activities were undertaken with the participation of senior representatives of the Ministry of Pre-School and Primary Education and addressed mainly the implementation of our projects in the Southern region of the country (Departments of Atlantic and Littoral). This project, which aims to promote and improve the quality of pre-school education as well as to reduce violence against children in school settings in these departments, has already started.

These workshops were an opportunity to better define the list of competences and skills that will have to be integrated within the teaching programmes, which will, in turn, complement the current national curriculum. Practical and experiential activities were conducted in order to provide the participants with an overview of the teaching methods elaborated and promoted by Graines de Paix. We have also established that private schools should also be integrated into our project, as our reach and impact would be more significant. We have been received by his Excellence Salimane Karimou, Minister of education, and the members of his cabinet.

On November 15, Mr. Christophe Viltard, our Project Manager, went back in order to host with the local team of Graines de Paix Benin a workshop in Kandi (the Northern department of Alibori). If the intervention in September addressed the implications of the project in Atlantic and Littoral regarding pre-school education, this one tackles instead the issue of the quality of primary education. The objective of these workshops was to validate the Theory of Change for this specific project, as well as to have a better contextual understanding of the problematics and stakes in this region of the country. This will help us to define the most appropriate strategy and response to the challenges posed by the specific conditions and circumstances of the Northern region of the country. Finally, the partnership with Educo, a Spanish organization working to improve the quality of education in Benin, is currently being finalized and will soon be officially formalized.

The next weeks and months will see the launch of our sensitization campaign aiming parents and communities in the Southern region, as well as the training of pedagogic counselors, teachers, educators and social animators.

Stay tuned for our next activities ahead!

Dear supporters,

Summer has been productive over at Graines de Paix!

Read our latest news since the last report:

- In June and July, our Benin team carried out a needs analysis, visiting preschool teachers and social workers, to determine what skills should be strengthened through Graines de Paix trainings.

- Based on the results of the needs analysis, a core repository of skills was produced to regroup the necessary competences for all educators (parents, teachers, communtiy workers etc). Additionnally, a specific repository was produced to look at specific parental skills that can facilitate child development. 

- From August 10-14th, Graines de Paix staff travelled to Cotonou with one main objective: to validate our parental education training program. A workshop was organized with representatives from the Minsitry of Social Affairs, with social workers, community leaders, children representatives and preschool practitioners. Participants were introduced to Graines de Paix's parental education program and amended the different skills' repositories to better fit local priorities and concerns.

- On August 10th, interviews were held for the position of Community project officer. Mrs Valérie Idossou was identified for the position. Our new Graines de Paix member accompanied the office to Grand Popo and assisted with the workshop. 

In September, Graines de Paix will be back in Benin to validate our preschool training program with local education authorities. The finalized skills' repositories and suggested operational strategies will allow us to design and test our training modules.

Thank you once more for your support! We could not do it without the Graines de Paix community.

Stay informed about Graines de Paix's activities on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and visit our webpage.

Dear supporters, 

Graines de Paix is laying the groundwork to ensure quality education and prevent violence in Benin!

Read what we have been up to since the last report:

- March and April were dedicated to forming the local Graines de Paix Bénin team: we identified candidates for the positions of Training Expert, Pedagogical Resources Expert and Logistics and Finance Officer 

- From 6-14th April, Graines de Paix staff travelled from Geneva to Cotonou with two objectives: to deliver an introductory training to our local staff and to validate our project methodology (theory of change) with the national and regional authorities. The validation process ensures that the project is appropriate for the Beninese context and responds to local needs.

- From April 10-12th, a workshop was organized, bringing together representatives from the Ministry of Preschool and Primary Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Federation of Parent's Associations to validate our project methodology. The Minister of Preschool and Primary Education expressed his enthusiasm for the project. 

-Graines de Paix met with the Swiss Cooperation Agency in Cotonou and with representatives of UNICEF Education in Benin to discuss future technical and financial partnerships. 

- Our delegation was received by the Secretary General of the Government of Benin, elected to the newly constituted National Council of Education. The CNE will centralize the governance of education in Benin.

- In May, Graines de Paix will advocate for peace education in communities at the International Family Day (Journée Internationale de la Famille JIFA). The event, held on May 24th, addresses the theme of family dialogue. 

Over the next months, we will focus on integrating our education contents into the preschool and primary teaching programmes to build the foundation of our teacher trainings. We are in the process of signing a convention with the Ministry of Social Affairs and interviewing social workers to design parental education resources that will complement our work in formal education. 

Thank you once more for your support! We could not do it without the Graines de Paix community. Stay informed about Graines de Paix's activities on our facebook page and visit our webpage.

Links:

• Visit our website and learn more about Graines de Paix

Dear supporters, 

Two months have passed since the end of Graines de Paix's crowdfunding campaign on GlobalGiving. We are happy to share with you that work is well under way to provide quality education in Benin and prevent violence in schools. 

Here are the highlights of what's happened since January:

-On february 8th, Graines de Paix officially opened a Benin office in Abomey-Calavi, featuring training facilities for our upcoming teacher training sessions

-Jules F. Zannou is officially appointed as National Coordinator for Graines de Paix Benin. He brings to Graines de Paix his expertise in academic, administrative and legal work.

-From Ferbruary 2-8th, Graines de Paix met with representatives of the Ministry of Preschool and Primary Education to go over teaching curricula and determine the appropriate framework and timeline for teacher training sessions. 

-Graines de Paix met with the NGO Educo, Unicef and Helvetas to coordinate our interventions, particularly in the Alibori region, to maximize the impact of actors in the education sector. 

- Graines de Paix obtained formal authorisations to carry out activities in primary and preschool establishments in the Atlantique and Littoral departments.

Members of the Graines de Paix team in Switzerland will be back in Benin over the following months to carry out the first project activities and finalize the teacher training framework and contents. We look forward on sharing our progress with you.

Thank you once more for your support! We could not do it without the Graines de Paix community. Stay informed about Graines de Paix's activities on our facebook page and visit our webpage.

Links:

• You can still support us on GlobalGiving!