This year, I am the Scholarship Girls Program Coordinator. This program allows for volunteers to work with their local secondary schools to choose one girl who will receive a scholarship for her school fees and school supplies. The recipients are required to stay in contact with the volunteer during the year, fill out the necessary forms, and complete a community project. Volunteers are encouraged to tutor and mentor the students to motivate them, provide support, and be a role model. Traditionally in Benin, if a family only has enough money to send one child to school, they will send a boy over a girl. The government is working hard to change this by waiving the school fees for girls up to the equivalent of tenth grade. Each year for the past few years, they have been expanding the program to include more grade levels. In addition to the government fees, each school has it's own fees. Outside of the fees, students need a school uniform, a gym uniform, notebooks, workbooks, and other school supplies. This can add up to a lot of money for a family, multiplied by sometimes many children.
Being involved in this program in my first few months at post last year helped me get to know my community and understand the education system in Benin. I got to know my girl and met with her one on one. This was a unique experience for both of us. At times communication was difficult as was finding time to meet, but by the end of the year I noticed that Delphine had more confidence, and she passed her classes and the national exam needed to go on to the second cycle of secondary school. For her project, she decided to talk with villages about the importance of sending girls to school. After we met to go over the presentation, she practiced and presented on her own to two different villages. I was impressed with her public speaking skills and the positive response she received from the audiences. Most girls I meet here are very shy and do not enjoy speaking in front of groups of people. Seeing her in the front of a crowd and speaking with authority gave me hope for her future and girls like her. I learned that it doesn't take but a little nudge in the right direction and some encouragement to make a difference in someone's life. My student for this school year is a very sweet girl, and we are getting along well already. We bought all of her school supplies in the market together, and all that's left is to order a chalk board that she can use to study at home. I got excited for her while we were doing our "back to school shopping" just like I used to do as a student. She's equipped and ready for an exciting school year that I have the pleasure to accompany her on.
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| Delphine giving a presentation in a village |
