Zounzounkanme, Benin

Study Group funded the construction, furnishing and equipping of Zounzounkanme Primary School and the training of approximately 400 teachers from the district of Klouekanme, resulting in an improvement to the standard of teaching in 66 villages accross the region, of which Zounzounkanme is just one.

Project Overview

Benin in West Africa is one of the world’s poorest countries. Zounzounkanme is a village in the south of Benin. Before Plan intervened in 2006, the village Primary School had six grades, was made up of three blocks of classrooms and attended by 452 pupils - 255 boys and 197 girls. The school didn't have any latrines. This lack of sanitary facilities made for an unhygienic environment and limited privacy for girls in particular. The school had neither enough furniture nor resources to provide a quality education to all the pupils and motivation was low among both teachers and pupils. The school's 6 teachers had received little formal training and struggled to react to the high absence and dropout rates often caused by illness and lack of parental support for education.

The project aimed to ensure that the children of Zounzounkanme had access to a good education in a clean environment, with qualified teachers and adequate resources. The project included the construction of a three-classroom block, a library, a principal's office, a storeroom and the provision of books, furniture, latrines and a water tank.

Current Situation

The construction work on the school is now complete. The plastering and painting were finished and the new furniture installed in the classrooms in October 2006, in time for the pupils’ return from their summer break. The latrines have also been finished, as have the attached hand-washing facilities. The provisional first handover took place in November 2006, when the community received the keys from the contractor, thus acknowledging the completion of the physical aspects of the project. Attended by the Mayor, the National Education Advisor, the Plan Country Director, and numerous other officials and community members, this ceremony was a highly celebratory event. The final handover of the school subsequently took place August 2007.