The SDC's partners in Benin

Derana/ONG means “solidarity group”. This NGO was founded in September 1991 with the aim of promoting adult education through French literacy and learning. More specifically, the project aims to reduce the illiteracy rate and gender inequalities in Benin.

Main achievements of Derana/ONG:

38 associations of school parents have been supported in order to improve the education environment, as part of the “Assistance Technique aux Associations de Parents d’Elèves – ATAPE” (Technical Support for School Parent Associations) project in Parakou and Pèrèrè;
21 primary schools in the commune of Banikoara have received supervision in order to promote a change in attitudes towards hygiene and cleanliness, as part of the Health Education in Schools (HES) project;
Village communities in five communes have received assistance in setting up infrastructures for drinking water and hygiene;
11 groups of women have been taught to read and trained in the management of their association with the help of the “Composante d’Appui au Secteur Privé Agricole – CASPA” (Support for the Private Agricultural Sector) project;
37 associations of school mothers have been set up and trained in order to promote the schooling of girls in the commune of Malanville, as part of the “Communauté en Action pour l’Education des Filles – CAEF” (Community in Action for the Education of Girls) project.

Main achievements with the support of the SDC:

8,011 people have been taught to read and write, 45% of whom are women;
80% of the communes of N’Dali, Nikki, Pèrèrè and Kalalé have been covered;
an expansion is in progress in the commune of Bembéréké;
recipients are able to use basic math skills to manage their activities;
recipients can produce different types of texts and are able to record their knowledge (indigenous and other) in their notebooks;
recipients have good basic knowledge of geography;
hygiene and cleanliness has been improved;
gender is taken into account in social relationships;
1,319 learners have received specific technical training (apiculture, and bread and soap making)
a system to monitor the effects of the programme has been put in place;
the accounting system has been improved.

Outlook and expected results:

Derana continues to contribute to reducing the illiteracy level, as targeted by the Benin government;
Derana continues to contribute to increasing the schooling and success rates of girls in rural areas, and 50% of the people taught to read and write are women;
the management abilities of the recipients of ASAEA have improved.

Strategy and work method: As requested by the communities, a collaborative approach is used, with a team sent to work together with the local authorities.
Derana uses two methods for teaching learners how to read: the “New Method” and the “Pedagogy of Text”.
In order to improve formal education, Derana supports the setting up of associations of school parents and school mothers.

Partners: SDC, Departmental Office for Nursery and Primary Teaching, the Ministry of Culture, Literacy and the Promotion of National Languages, and local authorities.

Special characteristics of the teaching approach: Recipients participate in developing the curricula.

Contact person: Brice Gado Lafia, coordinator, member of the International Network for the Promotion of the Pedagogy of Text

SIA N'SONG-ONG

SIA N’SON-ONG (which means “for a better tomorrow” in the national language) is an NGO founded in August 2005. Its main aim is to promote harmonious development, but it deals specifically with reducing poverty in rural areas.

Overall goal: To contribute to reducing poverty through adult literacy and education in the communes of Borgou.

Specific goals: (1) Teach recipients to read, write and do calculations in two of the national languages, Fulfulde and Baatonum; (2) contribute to educating people on citizenship through the social and economic discussion group; (3) train recipients on how to manage their income-generating activities; (4) teach new literates to read, write and speak in French; and (5) provide new literates with technical training.

Expected achievements: (1) Recipients are able to read, write and do calculations in Fulfulde and Baatonum; (2) those in targeted centres contribute to the community; (3) recipients carry out income-generating activities; and (4) new literates are able to read, write and speak in French.

Strategy: The strategy used is participative. All those involved in the programme contribute to each stage of the implementation process, including identifying people’s training needs, designing teaching documents, training those involved (technical team for both follow-up and design), carrying out the classes in the centres, monitoring activities and evaluating.

Programme breakdown:

literacy in national languages
learning French
specific technical training

Target groups: The rural population (the Fulbe and Baatombu populations) over the age of 15.

Geographical scope: The communes of Tchaourou and Pèrèrè in the department of Borgou.

Partners: SDC, local authorities, the Ministry of Culture, Literacy and the Promotion of National Languages.

Expected achievements:

Number of recipients in 2009				Number of centres
	Men	Women	Total
Baatombu	2,061	1,541	3,602	112
Fulbe	1,919	1,254	3,173	110
Total	3,980	2,795	6,775	222

Number of people taught to read and write
Baatombu	1,421	1,221	2,642
Fulbe	1,339	964	2,303
Total	2,760	2,185	4,945

Contact person: Balogoun Salomon

POTALMEN

Potalmen-ONG (which means “our union” in the national language) is an NGO that was founded and recognised by the government in 1997. It aims is to contribute to improving the conditions of agro-pastoralists. Although they own 87% of the country’s livestock, more than 89% of agro-pastoralists are illiterate. Particular attention is paid to young people and women, between the ages of 10 and 30. This segment of the population has little access to information and often engages in questionable practices, which can be highly dangerous (such as unprotected sex, female circumcision, extravagant ceremonies and tattooing using the same sharp object for everyone).

Goals and strategy

The overall goal is to help core community groups, particularly young people and women, to be independent and promote their self-development within a regional, national and international framework through an integrated literacy programme.

The specific goals are to:

teach recipients to read, write and do calculations in the national language, Fulfulde;
contribute to educating people on citizenship through the social and economic discussion group;
train recipients on how to manage their income-generating activities;
teach new literates to read, write and speak in French;
provide new literates with technical training.

Expected achievements: (a) Recipients know how to read, write and do calculations in the national language, Fulfulde; (b) those in the targeted centres contribute to the community; (c) recipients carry out income-generating activities; and (d) new literates know how to read, write and speak in French using the knowledge acquired in the literacy process.

Strategies: To make literacy an entry point for development. The teaching method used is a so-called global method. It is based on a participative and active approach, enabling recipients to develop their know-how through social and economic discussions. It is inspired by the syllabic method and the Pedagogy of Text. As a result, recipients learn to read, write and do calculations while at the same time learning about themselves and their environment.
The programme is developed together with the recipients, and in close collaboration with other individuals and entities involved in development as well as with partners working in animal and human health, resource management or the management of economic activities.
Numerous workshops are organised for the groups of recipients, the teachers, supervisors, the Board of Directors, the Executive Board and other stakeholders in the region. The results of consultations are presented to them for modification. This consensual approach aims to encourage recipients to make the programme their own and to play an important role.

Programme breakdown: a) Literacy in the national languages; b) learning French; and c) specific technical training.

Target groups: People living in remote areas, especially the Peulhs, who are especially numerous in the country’s northern and central regions.

Partners: Jura-Afrique, the SDC, the local authorities, the Ministry of Culture, Literacy and the Promotion of National Languages.

Achievements: Table summarising the achievements of the literacy programme between 2007 and 2009

Year	Number of centres	Registrations			Evaluations				Literate/evaluated
Year	Number of centres	M	F	T	M	F	T	%	M	F	T	%
2007	77	1,376	427	1,803	1,063	374	1,437	80%	737	220	957	67%
2008	81	1,232	459	1,691	1,203	394	1,597	94%	849	266	1,115	70%
2009	90	1,251	455	1,706	1,149	354	1,503	88%	660	337	997	66%
Total		3,859	1,341	5,200	3,415	1,122	4,537	87%	2,246	823	3,069	68%

Contact person: Djegga Bio

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