Presentation of the National Unit Member Organizations
- Groupe de recherche et d’action pour la promotion de l’agriculture et du développement - GRAPAD, (Group of research and action for the promotion of agriculture and development)
- Association des caisses de financement à la base - ACFB, (Association of grassroots financing funds)
- Association femme et vie- AFV, (Woman and Life Association)
Practical actions carried out by the unit in the ESC rights field
- Study on ESC rights in Benin
- Workshops of information on the AOUDAGHOST Network and ESC rights directed at members and a few partner organizations
- Missions of information and awareness raising on the Network’s activities and the ESC rights situation in the country
- Development and implementation of a specific project in favor of girls in difficulty as a result of the slave trade phenomenon
Introduction
The AOUDAGHOST Network’s Benin Unit was created on December 13, 2005.
Unit’s status: Local representation of the AOUDAGHOST Network. Status of association.
The Unit’s objective is to:
Participate in the regional AOUDAGHOST Network’s mission which ideals it shares.
Unit’s mission:
Contribute to the improvement of the underprivileged people’s (e.g. children’s, young people’s and women’s) living conditions by promoting economic, social and cultural rights.
Internal organization and functioning of the unit:
The unit’s board is composed of three members:
- the president: GRAPAD represented by Mr FALADE Hippolyte;
- the secretary: ACFB represented by Mr GAHOU Emmanuel;
- the treasurer: AFV represented by Mrs EGBEWOLE Jeannette.
The Board meets every month to review the implementation of the activities forecast and contained in the annual program. This program is made at the beginning of each year and submitted to the AOUDAGHOST Network for validation. Periodical reports are drafted to enable a better monitoring of the Unit’s actions.
Main results
Following its creation in December 2005, and besides the numerous capacity building actions led by its members and directed at grassroots beneficiaries, the unit carried out:
- a study on ESC rights in Benin
- various workshops of information on the AOUDAGHOST Network and ESC rights
- missions of information and awareness raising on the Network’s activities and ESC rights
- development and implementation of a specific project in favor of girls in difficulty as a result of the slave trade phenomenon
Partnerships
Institutional partnership:
TERRE DES HOMMES FRANCE through the AOUDAGHOST Network, RICERCA e COOPERAZIONE.
Strategic patnership: TERRE DES HOMMES FRANCE
Grassroots partnership: Marginalized populations (e.g. children, young people and women).
Affiliations: AOUDAGHOST Network
Strategic plan/perspectives for the next five years
- raise civil society organizations’ awareness of ESC rights on a wide scale; create an ESC rights Platform in Benin and promote economic, social and cultural rights;
- support the platform in developing and implementing a 5-year strategic plan (this plan will have to set forth, among others, a situational study on ESC rights, the drafting and presentation of alternative reports on ESC rights, the participation in regional and international movements for the promotion of ESC rights, the organization of national or international workshops to share experiences related to the enjoyment and promotion of ESC rights, etc.);
- develop and implement specific projects and programs aiming at improving children’s, young people’s and women’s living conditions; train grassroots beneficiaries in ESC rights enforceability techniques and strategies.
PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL UNIT MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
Groupe de recherche et d’action pour la promotion de l’agriculture et du développement (GRAPAD)
Group of research and action for the promotion of agriculture and development
Status: NGO
Date of creation: 1989
Mission
Contribute to the struggle against poverty by implementing integrated programs oriented towards a sustainable development.
Fields of action:
- promotion of decentralized financing systems,
- education and training,
- development research,
- good governance,
- food security,
- sustainable environment management.
Areas of action
The Littoral, Ouémé, Mono, Zou, Collines, Donga, Atocora, and Plateau départements
Association des caisses de financement à la base (ACFB)
Association of grassroots financing funds
Status: Community-based microfinance association.
Date of creation: 2004
Objectives:
- strengthen the association’s institutional and legal framework;
- increase the association’s financial activities;
- develop support activities for women’s and family promotion;
- strengthen the existing infrastructures to give more visibility to the association;
- ensure the association’s autonomy.
Mission
Significantly strengthen the economic base of rural and periurban vulnerable populations whose economic activity is based on self-employment, by offering them quality financial services in order for them to reach a financial durability.
Fields of action
- Microfinance
- Gender and development
- Education and training
Areas of action
The Littoral, Ouémé, Mono, Zou, Collines, Donga, Atocora, and Plateau départements
Association femme et vie (AFV)
Woman and Life Association
Status: NGO
Date of creation: 1995
Objectives:
- work towards the improvement of women’s legal and socioeconomic status;
- contribute to the promotion of income-generating activities for women;
- build women’s technical capacities through training, retraining and exchange workshops;
- work towards the respect of human rights.
Fields of action
- Education
- Environment
- Health
- Microfinance
Areas of action
The Littoral, Zou, Collines, Ouémé and Plateau départements
PRACTICAL ACTIONS CARRIED OUT BY THE UNIT IN THE ESC RIGHTS FIELD, 2005-2008
Study on ESC rights in Benin
Objective
Evaluate the ESC rights situation in Benin.
Field: ESC rights.
Targets
Network members and anyone interested in ESC rights.
Areas of action: Benin.
Results obtained
Drafting of a study report.
Workshops of information on the AOUDAGHOST Network and ESC rights directed at members and NGO partners
Objective
Raise awareness of ESC rights.
Field: ESC rights knowledge.
Targets
Members and NGO partners.
Area of action: the town of Cotonou.
Results obtained
Beneficiaries’ involvement in the promotion of ESC rights.
Missions of information and awareness raising on the Network’s activities and ESC rights in the country
Objective
Inform grassroots community organizations on ESC rights.
Field: ESC rights knowledge.
Targets
Members of Grassroots Community Organizations (GCOs).
Areas of action
Unit members’ towns of action.
Results obtained
GCOs’ commitment to get involved in any movement of ESC rights advocacy.
Development and implementation of a specific project in favor of girls in difficulties as a consequence of the slave trade phenomenon
Objectives:
- facilitate the social integration of girls victims of the slave trade (Vinonmegon);
- limit the Vinonmegon-related social deviance phenomenon;
- increase the Vinonmegon’s self-esteem and psychological equilibrium.
Field: ESC rights enjoyment.
Targets
Girls victims of the slave trade.
Area of action
Town of Cotonou and around.
Results obtained
Almost 60 girls in apprenticeship, receiving courses of literacy as well as sexual and reproductive health education.
