Spreading the Seed

Let's just say that the idea of volunteerism hasn't exactly spread like wildfire, at least not in the way we think of it. Which is why it's such a pleasure to work alongside the Beninese Volunteer Corps here in Parakou. Founded in 2006,the CVB (in French) has worked on various projects throughout Parakou, including microfinance groups, bike tours, health/environmental workshops, and volunteer promotional activities. To be sure, it's going to take a lot of work to institutionalize this venture, and I'm almost positive the entire operation would cease to exist if Ibrahim were to lose interest, but they've grown by leaps and bounds since their conception four years ago.
Ibrahim's done a lot of work to recruit motivated young individuals outside of this city, but I'm quite sure that nobody in any small village will say that they're familiar with the volunteer corps here. First, they lack funding of any kind. While they've become quite adept at writing grants, they still struggle to finance simple things like electric bills (for an extremely tiny office). That's why it helps to start up creative fund-raising techniques like selling tee-shirts at local festivals and offering local language training to volunteers. In this manner, they're able to finance small purchases like this printer, purchased with funds from selling tees we designed last week.
Below, the president of a Groupement des Femmes who work with Moringa sits beside a basin of freshly harvested Moringa leaves.


Here, some local poultry eat feed combined with fresh moringa leaves to make them healthier and more valuable.