Benin

Married and happy, Gnon is a car mechanic. It has its own garage. I tell her story about women and jobs.
As a girl, going to school was a privilege. That was the motto of all the girls at school which helped them to get their primary school leaving certificate.

The experience I am sharing with you here takes place in Tapoga, a village northwest of Benin, about 700 km from Cotonou.

This village is characterised by having a long dry season during when no agricultural activity is possible without irrigation. It is in the insecurity red-zone, where people have an unbalanced, restricted diet and households have a very low purchasing power.

I am the President of the Communal Youth Council of Toucountouna (CCJT) in Benin.

The situation for us, the youth of Toucountouna, is deplorable and gives food for thought. It is characterised by difficulty of accessing education and the internet; underemployment; alcoholism; the absence of playgrounds, cultural opportunities and political intrigue; and the lack of involvement of the youth voice in decision-making processes.

I’m a teacher living at the heart of a community in Benin that still practices circumcision and cutting. It’s a rite of passage marking an adolescent’s transition to adulthood and takes place once every three years. The practice consists of men having the foreskin cut off and women having the clitoris cut and removed.

I am Georges YOTTO, IT-coordinator at Toucountouna town hall. My work is mainly focused on supplying electricity, IT-services and training of the staff. 

In our country, Benin, many regions do not have access to electricity, yet.

More and more in my town I notice the massive transfer of children, pupils and apprentices to towns with strong cotton production.

I’m asking myself what can justify that a child, a pupil or an apprentice has to leave his parents, his school, his education center to end up in a cotton field, with inhuman conditions. The trip is really difficult. The meal is a mix of psychoactive drugs and stimulants.

I am Ezéchiel Yokossi YOTTO, a journalist in Natitingou and I want to tell you this short story. We are in Benin, more specifically in Atacora, where alcoholism is becoming more and more of a problem. In recent months, municipal and federal authorities have sprung into action to put an end to alcoholism.

I am Charlie TISSEGUEH, resident of Toucountouna in Benin. For several years I have been coordinating the activities of the civil status project. Our challenge is the digitalization, the modernization of the service and a birth certificate for every child.

I am a primary school teacher and since 2016, we have had a school link with Toucountouna, in Benin.

With this we work on many curriculum objectives, such as: The students can appreciate that people's differences are interesting.

We live in a time where people struggle with people who are different. Raising children to become world citizens is not only a task for parents. School can also help with this.

I am Baté Gnintidema, communal coordinator of the Toucountouna health mutual.

The commune of Toucountouna, located in the northwest of Benin, is one of the poorest communes in the country.

The inhabitants have difficulty in accessing health care. Many of us are unable to pay a prescription of 5000 CFA (7,5 euro/year).

Unfortunately, many are forced to hand over the little they have and receive less medicines.