projects

The well currently available to the village of Yaoui, located on the school grounds, no longer meets the demand for fresh water. Villagers must obtain additional water from other sources—a task usually undertaken by women and girls that entails great effort and long walks. The association Yaoui e.V. has now contributed a substantial sum toward the construction of a new well in the village. Work has begun but is currently delayed due to the rainy season.

Since the founding of Yaoui e.V. in 2006, financing teachers‘ salaries has been at the heart of our work. Our donations have covered two teacher salaries – costs that previously had to be financed from school fees paid by the pupils.

Thanks to this support, school fees could be reduced, allowing more families to afford to send their children to school. As a result, pupil numbers rose by more than 25%, and the school successfully applied to the government for financial support for its expansion.

Looking ahead, for the period 2024 to 2026, the association is financing two additional teacher salaries on top of the two already covered. 100% of donations go directly to projects – no administrative costs are deducted.

A further project currently co-financed by the association is the expansion of the Recreation Center. The focus is on installing a solar system and purchasing a computer and printer. With the solar system in place, the school will for the first time have its own reliable power source, and with it the ability to create and duplicate learning materials on site.

The project is being implemented in two stages: in 2024 the building was structurally upgraded, and in the following year the technical equipment will be procured. The first stage has already been largely completed: funds were transferred in early May and local craftsmen began work that same month, reinforcing the roof and structure to support the solar panels and securing the building against break-ins.

In the second stage, at the start of 2025 the approved funds for the photovoltaic system, computer and printer will be transferred to Yaoui. We expect the equipment to be operational by autumn 2025 at the latest.

During the visit of two association members to Yaoui in 2024, they were able to witness the remarkable development of the school. New buildings had been erected since the last visit in 2014 and older buildings had been renovated. The Recreation Center was furnished and reading materials had been acquired for the pupils.

However, there remains a shortage of textbooks. The association supported the school: a book donation of €25 made it possible to purchase 4–7 books locally and place them in the library. Each book was stamped with the name of the donor as a record of the contribution.

The books cover a wide range of subjects for all year groups: French, mathematics, natural sciences and art, as well as more advanced titles in English, Spanish, German, history, geography and an introduction to computers.

With the help of the association and donated funds, the number of school books available will be significantly increased in 2025. The school has already indicated that the existing bookshelves will need to be reinforced and that additional shelving will likely be required.

The school has also expressed a wish for the renewal and expansion of the furniture in the Recreation Center. Discussions with the local responsible parties are planned for spring 2025 to determine precisely what is needed and how the association can best help.

In January 2024, two association members visited the village of Yaoui in Benin and the local school. They arrived with a long list of tasks: documenting completed projects, discussing the prioritisation of new projects, and establishing new contacts to ensure continued communication with those responsible on the ground.

The pupils were also asked to create drawings for the newly designed Yaoui calendar. Coloured pencils and A3 sheets were brought along for this purpose. The finished artworks were taken back to Germany and a postcard calendar was designed using them.

The toilet facilities we co-financed are in good condition. The bookshelf in the Recreation Center is in place but appears unstable and is not yet adequately stocked.

One of the most important goals – establishing new contacts and deepening existing ones – was achieved. It is now possible to exchange information more quickly via WhatsApp.

In 2019, with the support of the association and donations from its friends and supporters, new chairs for the Recreation Center were financed and purchased locally. Each donor received a photo showing the chair bearing their name.

With additional funds, three pairs of small goalposts and six balls were purchased at the end of 2019 and handed over to the three school groups for students‘ training.

In October 2019, four new qualified teachers (two female and two male) were also hired with the support of the association.

Between 2016 and 2018, dilapidated school buildings were renovated and new sanitary facilities were built – the school grounds had previously had no toilet facilities at all. Broken windows and the main gate were also repaired, partly funded by donations from the Protestant Church in Bonn-Beuel and the association.

A new building was also constructed to serve the school and occasionally the village as a leisure centre. The Recreation Center was inaugurated in February 2018. The building is divided into a large hall (86 m²), an office (7.5 m²) and a storage room (10.5 m²).

Three quarters of the construction costs were covered by donations from the campaign „Evangelische Kirche auf Pützchens Markt“. The Yaoui Association in Benin covered the remaining costs.

This leisure and meeting centre hosted a scientific workshop on 19–20 December 2019, attended by more than 30 researchers from universities in Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and the Republic of Niger.

In 2015, the association launched a fundraising campaign to have new school benches made for the classrooms of the school in Yaoui.

Association members who visited the school in 2014 saw for themselves that pupils were largely sitting four to a bench, sometimes six – a situation far from conducive to learning.

By 2016, a total of 105 school benches had been produced by local craftsmen using donated funds, relieving the dire situation – each bench now seats two pupils.

The names of the respective donors are incorporated into the benches, and each donor received a photo as a memento and as proof of how their donation was used on the ground.

After the donated money had been personally delivered to the school by a founding member in the early years, the donation was subsequently transferred by bank transfer. The process was not straightforward and the direct contacts from previous years were unfortunately no longer available as of 2014.

As a result, the entire project was on the verge of collapse in 2014 due to a lack of contacts on the ground. The association therefore decided to send a delegation of members to Benin. During the trip, the money was personally handed over to those responsible at the school and new contacts were established.

Thanks to the contacts newly made at that time and the deepening of mutual trust, the project was able to continue and has become the success it is today.

The project we have primarily supported since the founding of the association in 2006 is the support of the school in Yaoui. With donated funds, part of the teachers‘ salaries are covered – costs that were previously financed through school fees paid by the pupils.

As a result, school fees could be reduced, allowing more families to afford to send their children to school. The number of pupils increased by more than 25% and the school successfully applied to the government for financial support for its expansion.

We are pleased to continue observing and supporting the development of the school and the education of pupils in Yaoui!

Detailed reports on all projects can be found in the newsletters.