What do we do?
The Sonagnon Centre.
The Sonagnon Centre, located in Bonou is a new vocational training centre established in 2006 by the charity after consultation with the village elders, which provides a training programme for 20 girls (aged 14-19) every 3 years. This facility was built to educate and to protect local girls from the danger of domestic slavery, human trafficking and the problems they encounter when lured to Nigeria 30 miles away. Their curriculum is based around skills development (sewing, food processing and hairdressing) and literacy and numeracy and accredited courses will be completed to varying levels during the girls’ period at the centre – which can be for up to 3 years.
The first cohort of Sonagnon girls graduated in February 2009. 3 members of the Committee travelled to Bonou to witness this joyous and emotional event. Find out more details about the graduation day
Since the centre opened the girls have slept on mats on the floor of the training rooms, which is becoming increasingly unmanageable and the need is clear for the provision of adequate living arrangements and for the next stage in the development of the Centre. The girls need to board as the village elders have voiced families’ concerns for the safety of the girls while attending the centre which is many miles from their homes.
The boarding environment is also an important educational tool for these girls who have a very low level of education and therefore benefit from learning independence and self-reliance. In most cases it is the first opportunity they have to relate to other people outside their immediate extended family and they therefore gain new insights by developing bonds with the local community, with fellow students and with the training staff in a totally safe environment.
We have worked very hard to get the funds to build a new boarding facility which should be ready at the end of September 2010
The inauguration in December 2006
The 3 training activities in the Sonagnon Centre
The graduation of the first cohort of girls
The building of an entirely new library and reading room in the main Secondary School in Dangbo, a large town next to Bonou.
In 2007, the Friends of Bonou have been successful in obtaining the support of Kennington Overseas Aid who raise around £21 000 every year through various village activities organised every summer, for an educational project which consists of building a large library and a reading room and purchasing a heavy-duty photocopying machine for the secondary school (Lycée).
Providing the 2 main books for primary school children in the Dangbo region.
We have been working with the commune of Dangbo for 3 years to provide primary school books for children in 3 different schools. So far we have provided 758 children with books in French and Maths. In February 2008 we won a bid with the Dragon School in Oxford to provide the two main books for 874 children in 3 other primary schools.
The small school in Mitro and the children welcoming us
In the past we have also provided a lot of medicines for the existing Health Centre in Bonou and built a new Maternity Ward
