22 August 2006
Community Committees in Benin Encourage Girls' Education
Partnership for a Better Life
Even when there is equal access for children to schools, social expectations can still shape educational outcomes.
Expectations for girls to stay home and perform household chores can result in differences in enrollment and school completion rates for boys and girls.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funds basic education projects that are transforming the lives of girls and women.
In Benin, USAID funded the Community Action for the Education of Girls project, which mobilized local committees to promote the importance of educating girls.
In 2005, Ayekoffe was the only girl enrolled in the sixth grade at the public school in the village of Ganhounme. Committee members requested that her parents not overwhelm her with domestic chores since this would interfere with her ability to attend class and do her homework.
The testimony of her father, Koudaissi Epkebi, a 37-year-old farmer, shows the need for such community outreach.
"I participated in the third meeting held by the project in Ganhounme. My wife, Ayekoffe's mother, participated in the two prior meetings, during which she became convinced that girls' education could greatly benefit both parents and their daughters.
"For my wife it was a relief to hear this, because before these meetings she did not see the need to educate girls."
After attending the community meetings, Ayekoffe's mother was willing to reduce the girl's chores so that she could focus on her education. In time, Ayekoffe became the first girl in the Ganhounme school's 20-year history to obtain her primary school certificate.
Ayekoffe is happy to have made education history in her community, and she wants to go much further. Her aspirations hold no bounds.
When asked what she would like to do after her studies, she responded, "To become President of the Republic of Benin!"
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
