By Nigel England | Project Coordinator
Hands Around the World Benin projects February 2017
At this time we have a commitment that 12 new children per year will be able to access
secondary education.
I gave an undertaking that I would Identify all the children who are in the programme and
provide a spreadsheet for the 5 schools with the child name, year, attendance and
achievement records. As of 2016 year we are supporting the following :-
98 young people across 5 secondary schools
6 young people in University (plus one young woman in a nursing MA)
4 young people in new apprenticeships
8 young people in apprenticeships paid for in a previous years
That is a total of 116 children and young people being supported
Chez Papa Geoff
The main building is completed with capacity for 24 children/young people, except for
connecting the shower pipework.
Kitchen completed with workstation equipment and fires in place.
Payotte completed with roof and flooring for dining, play area and homework.
Store room completed with solar roof panels for electricity for whole compound. Work
needed to finish flooring and storage racks.
Water pump needs replacing and well whole needs clearing out.
New room needs building off the side of store room for office space.
As of October 2016 there were 6 girls and 5 boys in residence at Chez Papa Geoff. They are
being well looked after and seem happy. It was decided that for 6 to 9 months this will stay
the number to make sure the systems work appropriately. The team has given Alice (a
widowed mum with a 2 year old child) the role of on site manager/carer of the orphanage.
She is a hard worker and looks after the children and buildings very well. She does live on
site in the room with a bathroom that was going to be an office. This is working very well but
she does need some financial support.
We would like to see some revenue from excess water and electricity and the renting out of
the tractor that Dick provided come on stream in the near future.
Agriculture
On the 8 hectares (20 acres) donated to Chez Papa Geoff project a variety of crops will be
planted to support the orphanage directly by providing food, (the largest expense) and cash
crops from the sale of the surplus crops. FAO figures for yields in this area show that the
project will be viable.
The land is currently being cleared of grass weeds and a few non productive wild palm trees
ready for the main planting season in April.
Initial crops will be maize and manioc (cassava) which form the staple diet locally. Maize
planting in April will be harvested four to five months later giving time to raise a second crop in one year. Even at very low yields of 3 tonnes per hectare. One hectare should produce all the
orphanage requirements of maize for one year.
Cassava requires an 11 month growing season but can flourish on poor soils and is more
drought resistant, so even in a bad seasons produces something.
Beans and peanuts will be grown both for their protein content and the much valued nitrogen
which leguminous plants fix into the soil.
Tarot (another root crop with high vitamin and protein content) yams and sweet potatoes are
proposed as minor crops.
In the longer term palm trees (the oil is a very profitable crop) will come into production.
Bananas are especially useful as they yield throughout the year and thus provide some cash
income outside the main harvest season.
As can be seen from the above figures the first produce will come on stream in September
2017. From March 2018 support from HATW should fall steadily.
There is the obvious risk of natural disasters but generally Benin has a fairly stable rainfall
and mixed cropping reduces the chance of catastrophic losses due to pests and diseases.
Dick Wheelock
Nigel England
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