Supporting village children into school in Benin

I have recently returned from my first visit to Benin for 2 ½ years. It was wonderful to see my old friends and the orphanage children had prepared a joyous welcoming dance. The most important news is that all the children at Chez Papa Geoff have settled in well and now form a cheerful, supportive family.

Sadly, two well known characters have died. Francois the DJ with whom I felt a close link as we were both polio survivors. Also Cee Cee, who had severe learning difficulties but wandered cheerfully round the village “accepting” donations from all and sundry. It says a lot for the village that he was well supported in this, entirely voluntary, manner.

On a wider front there are some obstacles to overcome. The farm desperately needs a hefty dose of agricultural lime to correct soil acidity. We have failed to find a supplier in Benin so are now trying Nigeria as it is only 20 miles away.

The second problem looming over CPG, and all other orphanages in Benin, are the demands being made by government inspectors. We have always made a conscious effort to keep the conditions in CPG as close to those prevailing in the local community as possible. Some improvements have been both inevitable and desirable but we have kept these to things which could be widely afforded by the villagers.

For example:

• Solar lighting
• Solar pump to raise water from well to a cistern on roof of orphanage which provides running water for showers, laundry and cooking    
• Mosquito netting on all windows
• Composting toilets

These provide a safe, odour free (largely!) and environmentally safe way of disposing of human waste and using it as much needed fertilizer on local fields. Work in South Africa has shown that the output from 25 people can restore fertility to over 2 hectares which can feed more than 25 people. 

The “improvements” suggested so far by the inspectors would, in most cases  be far too expensive for the rest of the local community and some would be a distinct health and environmental hazard. We are hoping to negotiate with the inspectors to find a solution as the orphanage works so well as it is... a real family environment. 

There are 23 children currently living at Chez Papa Geoff (CPG) ranging from age eight up to seventeen. The care provided at CPG has dramatically improved the life chances of these children. For one little girl, the project probably saved her life. She had been left with her grandfather who was unable to look after her. When she moved to CPG, she was severely malnourished and physically very weak. She is still small for her age but is now growing well and becoming much stronger. She is struggling at school because she missed so much and has only very basic French language skills. We are looking into how we can help by getting her some more individual support to enable her to catch up.

Thank you for supporting this project and the children in Affame.