Benin

Community Description
Fetekou is a small community in the northwest of Benin, comprised mostly of farmers and local merchants. With less than 2,000 inhabitants, it provides vegetables for the entire commune of Kerou, as well as two other communes in the surrounding area.

70% of the population is under 20 years old. There is no electricity or mobile phone service.

Fetekou has no running water only one river and few wells as water resources.

There is one main garden, which is cultivated by three women’s groups. There is a small stream that provides water to the garden. On each side of the stream, women cultivate gardens for about 10 meters.

The mayor of Kerou has drilled holes deep enough to reach the local aquifer but hasn’t provided amenities to extract the water. During the last two to three months of the hot season there isn’t enough water for the women to maintain their gardens.

Project Description
This project is to build a windmill water pump to provide water for the women’s garden of Fetekou.

During the dry season there is plenty, if not too much, wind. The water pump will extract water from the already drilled holes and store it in a reservoir that is 10 meters away from the stream. This will allow the women to not only have water during the dry season, but also cultivate another ten meters of farming space.

During wetter seasons, the windmill can also be used to spray water onto the garden, thus lowering the women’s burden of watering the garden by hand, which is usually done with a basin carried from the stream and a bowl which is used to disperse the water.

The Peace Corps Volunteer will work with Hubert Sanni Gbiribou, a local farming expert who was trained at the Songhai University and works for the Mayor of Kerou, to build the windmill.

The Mayor’s office will be providing 60% percent of the funding for the entire project. They will be paying for the transport, lodging, and per diem for the technician who is building the windmill.

Also, the Mayor’s office will be funding the construction of the reservoir.

Kerou Commune High School has identified five of the best science students, one of whom is from Fetekou, to start an apprenticeship to learn how to build the windmills. The Mayor’s office will be paying for the apprenticeship, as well.

Project Impact
The three women’s groups, comprising 75 women, will benefit from the project. The food they will be producing affects the entire commune of Kerou, 60,000 people, and three surrounding communes.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Brandon Tarbert

Comments
Fetekou, Kerou Commune, Atacora Region, Benin

Dollar Amount of Project
$530.00

Donations Collected to Date
$530.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of the Elmo Foundation.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify the Peace Corps Volunteer of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by the PCV and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

Community Description
Camaté -Shakaloke is in a beautiful part of Benin with large, tree- and farm-covered hills. It is located in the center of the southern quarter of Benin, about five miles to the northeast of Dassa, the nearest large city.

It can be described as a poor rural West African village. There are two primary revenue-generating activities in Camaté: One is breaking rocks by hand to sell to construction projects and the other is farming.

There are only about 2000 residents, split into two different neighborhoods, and the community is not located within a reasonable walking distance to the nearest large city.

Very few people have water faucets connected to municipal water sources outside of their houses, and even fewer have running water inside their homes. Even those are regularly turned off and not working during the dry season. That leaves the overwhelming majority of residents completely dependent on the water pumps in the village.

There are also many spaces in village where gardens used to thrive, but due to lack of water, residents are forced to abandon those projects.

There are four water pumps interspersed throughout the village, but three are non-functional. Residents are forced to wait in very long lines for the only working pump, especially during the dry season. The burden for water collection falls primarily on young children and women.

Project Description
This project is to repair three non-working pumps in the village.

After the pumps are fixed, the Mayor’s Office will collect a small tax on the water used, and thereafter use the revenue for upkeep, maintenance, and repairs.

The pumps will be fixed by a team of individuals, consisting of one technician and four apprentices, from the Mayor’s Office.

A ceremony will be scheduled by the two Chiefs of the Village upon completion of the project. Information will be disseminated about proper use of the pumps to extend their useful life. In additon, health and safety teqhniques will be taught on such topics as covering open water sources, positioning water drainage to minimize standing, unused water, and keeping water clean enough to drink.

Project funds will be used for the materials to repair the water pumps.

The Village and the Mayor’s Office will provide all of the labor for the project.

Project Impact
2,000 people in the village will gain access to clean, dependable water.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Anthony Uhl

Comments
This project achieves tremendous impact from a small amount of funding, as it utilizes what is in existence, and makes it functional. Clean and continuous water will be available in adequate quantity to serve the needs of the village.

Hours of traveling great distances and standing in line will be saved by having a sufficient number of pumps conveniently located for the needs of the people.

Sustainability has been built into the project, as users will be charged a nominal amount, and the govenmental agency has assumed responsibility for upkeep.

Dollar Amount of Project
$343.74

Donations Collected to Date
$343.74

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Thomas Dawson, of Madison, WI, USA.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Anthony Uhl of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Anthony and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Benin.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
Pollution from six surrounding communities currently enters the nearby lake. This must be alleviated to clean the lake which provides needed water for the communities.

Project Description
The project will augment awareness of the effects of lake pollution, motivate community members to reduce waste, and implement a plan to remediate the pollution and manage waste in the future.

A 4-month clean-up competition will be established in each village to reduce waste. Funds will be utilized to purchase and transport tools to be distributed to the groups in the three winning villages at the end of the competition.

Funds will be used to purchase seeds and award them to the winning village. This will greatly help the community with erosion control.

Community contribution, amounting to 49% of the project cost, includes labor and tools related to trash collection and consolidation during the competition, and labor for tree planting at the project’s end.

Project Impact
The project is expected to reduce the presence of inorganic waste by 50%.

120 people will be affected by being informed about lake pollution and options for individual waste reduction, and assisting them in implementation.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
S. Chace, PCV

Comments
This project builds upon an existing structure by using groups presently responsible for cleaning public areas. This makes it more probable that the community be left with a sustainable waste management system. Successful strategies can be replicated in other communities.

Dollar Amount of Project
$462.00

Donations Collected to Date
0

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Dollar Amount Needed
$462.00