By Nigel England & Dick Wheelock | Project co-ordinators
Benin is at the early stages of Coronavirus infection, but already the effects are being felt. Food prices have risen significantly, and a lockdown has been imposed in certain areas.
The planting season is now underway, following the late arrival of seasonal rains. Annoyingly the orphanage tractor has broken down and Dieu Donne, our partner in Benin, who is also a time served mechanic, is in lockdown at the other side of the country. Planting is currently proceeding by hand and Dieu Donne hopes to travel to the farm soon. Thanks to a generous donor, we now have fertiliser to correct a shortage of potash on the fields.
There is at least one happy story. Marc, the oldest boy in the orphanage, arrived 3 years ago, with severely restricted movement in his right elbow. This was the result of a buruli ulcer which had remained untreated for too long. The result was a web of skin which restricted straightening of the arm beyond 90 degrees. A recently arrived surgeon in Porto Novo was able to operate to correct this and, after skin grafts, Marc is back at the Chez Papa Geoff Orphanage and is delighted with the result and slowly regaining the lost movement. This was made possible thanks to Hands Around The World's Chris Halsey Tribute Fund.
Latest figures show Benin has 339 cases of Covid-19 with 2 deaths reported. A more accurate figure will take some time to develop. There are no infections amongst the children Hands Around The World supports as far as we know. The orphanage now has a full quota of 24 children. They are all fit and healthy and glad to have Marc back with them. Hands Around The World now has 10 child sponsors for CPG, but we are still looking for more! Email jane@hatw.org.uk to find out more about sponsorship.
Schools are to start back very soon with children being told to wear face masks. Universities will not start back until the start of the new term.
Thank you for your support.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
