Supporting village children into school in Benin

With a further intake of orphans over the summer, CPG is now at full capacity of 24 children. No problems have been reported, but after two years of operating, there is a well adjusted system in place. The “house mother” Rosalie copes admirably as well as being loved and respected by the children.

The 100 plus orphans who have family able to house them are still being supported with education costs paid by HATW.

I will be visiting again in December along with Jill Yates who is on her third visit. This time she is hoping to set up a programme of “catch up” French for the three children who, due to family circumstances, have fallen behind in what is the language used for all teaching in schools.

I am hoping to be able to spend all my time on the agricultural project which will be providing long term financial support for the orphanage. December is the time to harvest the maze planted in the “petite saison” (i.e. the second planting of the year) and this autumn, rainfall has been plentiful, thus affording an ideal opportunity for me to analyze crop production. I am normally too busy in the summer to visit Benin for the “grande saison” harvest.

It has been a difficult few months for the manager and staff at the orphanage (Chez Papa Geoff). Due to complicated legal rights to property, the local manager of the projects has had to move his extended family, who are also part of the support system for the orphanage to a new home. This plus the collapse of the water well (donated by the local Mosque), which had broken down due to a build up of fine silt in the pump. However, by the time we arrived in March the move had been completed and we were able to remove and replace the hand pump well with a solar powered electric pump. Local people and an expert helped complete the work in a few days. We were also able to sort out an issue with the batteries for the solar panels.

The agricultural programme is progressing well. They are currently planting more palm trees and they have a water bowser ready in case of drought. This is all being done on exisiting farm land, not on cleared forest. Thankfully, Benin protects it's forests well. 

Since the last visit, 2 young people have taken up apprenticeships, one in tailoring and one in engineering and are both happy and doing well. 2 children who had been identified recently as needing a placement have now moved to CPG and are doing well and have settled. The girl is only 6 and is the youngest on site, and the rest of the young people have quickly become carers and big brothers and sisters. The team have also built an office/ storeroom for visitors and administration. There are plans in place to extend the kitchen to accommodate the next intake of 12 children over the summer and early autumn. 

While we were there, we meet the mum of Ramon. She has been able to look after Ramon, a disabled young man, all through his school life on her own. His father is no longer around. Ramon is bright and hard working and although his legs are very weak and he has problems walking, he walks the 2 miles to school every day. Ramon needed some financial support to complete his Baccalaureate as he wanted to go on to university to take a degree in journalism. We have just heard that he has passed. His mother can not afford his university fees, but thanks to a generous supporter, HATW has found a way to support him. We are also looking to finance a part time French teacher to give lessons to 3 of the children who are very behind due to their background prior to joining the orphanage.

The children and young people continue to thrive at CPG and make lifelong bonds with their peers that we hope will carry them through life.