SUMMARY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE OVC-BENIN PROJECT:

Activities, Results, and Social Impact

INTRODUCTION

Established in 2008 by the Canadian NGO CACHA, the Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Dagbémabou project in Aklampa supports fifty (50) children, girls and boys aged 6 to 17.

During the first three years, the OVC Dagbémabou project was led by a team of four Canadians. In 2011, with the aim of improving close monitoring and fostering better integration, a supervisor

and a program coordinator were recruited from the community (in Aklampa) to carry out activities in collaboration with CACHA headquarters.

THE NGO’S ACTIVITIES

The primary goal of OVC Dagbémabou in Aklampa is to provide neglected children (those who have lost one or both parents or are otherwise vulnerable) with the essentials so that they have the minimum to which every child is entitled, both materially and psychologically.

To achieve this objective, the project has carried out the following activities, among others:

- Providing a local balanced diet for the 50 selected children;

- Ensuring enrolment in primary and secondary school for school-age children who are not currently enrolled (tuition fees, school supplies, and other expenses) at the village’s public schools;

- Providing vocational training tailored to the local context for out-of-school children;

- Providing medical care for the children (covering healthcare costs in the event of illness at the health center in Aklampa);

RESULTS/IMPACT

Several results have been achieved through the activities carried out by the NGO as part of the OVC Dagbémabou project.

- Food assistance:

Since I took office in 2011, one hundred eighty (180) food distributions have been made to the children in the project.

The children receive a monthly food ration. Foodstuffs are purchased from local producers, which increases their revenue and improves their purchasing power. A total of fifty (50) children benefit from the food assistance program. This monthly ration per child consists of corn, beans, peanuts, and sesame seeds. The annual quantity of these products is two (2) tons of maize; nine hundredkilograms (900 kg) of peanuts; one ton of beans; and nine hundred kilograms (900 kg) of sesame seeds. Food assistance for the children is estimated at approximately 55% of the project’s overall budget.

- Children’s Education:

Tuition fees, school supplies, and other expenses are covered by the project for each child until they obtain their Baccalaureate, which is the first university-level diploma (akin to a high school diploma in Canada), thereby opening doors to the workforce even if it does not directly guarantee employment. At the end of each school year, more than 80% of the children enrolled in the project advance to the next grade. Today, thanks to the OVC Dagbémabou project, nine (9) children have obtained the Baccalauréat, thirteen (13) have earned the BEPC, and twenty-two (22) have earned their CEP, over the past two years. From the start of this project (2008) to the present (2026), the number of children it has impacted totals seven hundred (700).

- Vocational Training

With regard to vocational training, one hundred children are enrolled in a vocational training center. Over the past five years, eleven (11) children enrolled in apprenticeships have successfully completed their training, six (6) of whom have already established themselves and are practicing their trades. The project provides them with their first tools and work materials (costing twenty thousand (20,000) or less) to support their transition.

It is therefore safe to say that these young people, who have become professionals thanks to the OVC Dagbémabou project, are now economic actors contributing to the development of their community.

- Medical care:

As part of the project’s activities, a partnership has been established with the local health center to provide care for children who fall ill. The costs associated with the care provided by the health center to the children are covered up to a certain limit by the project.

CONCLUSION

We can conclude that since its implementation, the OVC Dagbémabou project has significantly contributed to improving the living conditions of many children and families by bringing a smile to their faces, giving them hope to live like their peers, and lifting them out of poverty.

The OVC Dagbémabou project has brought great joy to the hearts of the children, as well as their families, not to mention the community of Aklampa, which never fails to express its gratitude to the OVC project through its its representatives. They hope for the continuation of these activities and also for their expansion.