KELLER HCW supports humanitarian aid project in West Africa
[November 2010]
When asked what made the greatest impression on her, Rita Kleemann doesn’t hesitate: "The severe poverty we witnessed was distressing and the exotic landscape was fascinating, but the joy of the Beninese children was truly inspirational."
Rita Kleemann, employee at KELLER HCW in Laggenbeck, has just returned from Benin, West Africa. For several years now, Groupe Legris Industries (KELLER’s parent company), has been supporting a humanitarian aid project in the small town of Lokossa near the Togo border. This year, six employees from various Legris affiliates had the opportunity to take part in the project on site. Legris covered the costs of the journey while the participants donated two weeks of their paid annual leave.
The former Kingdom of Dahomey known today as the Republic of Benin is located on the west coast of Africa, just north of the equator. The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped due in part to the lack of natural resources. The Beninese often point at neighboring Nigeria which suffers from militant violence and corruption but whose poverty-stricken population fails to profit from that nation’s crude oil wealth. "The Beninese feel lucky that they don’t have that kind of potential for conflict. They told us that this, in part, accounts for their peaceful character." Rita Kleemann said that her experience in Benin provided a kaleidoscope of conversations and encounters but that 15 days are not enough to make sweeping statements about the country and its people.
Under the care of «Double Sens», a French humanitarian aid agency, the six participants learned what «solidarity tourism» is all about. "Words like «tourism» or «vacation» don’t accurately reflect the project," Rita Kleemann is quick to point out. The weekends included excursions such as exploring coastal mangroves and swamps by pirogue, visiting memorial sites along the «Slave Route», a boat trip to Africa’s largest stilt village and a djembé drum workshop. "However, on the weekdays we were busy working from morning until night."
The project took place in «Centre Bethesda», a rehabilitation center for handicapped or severely injured children. Approximately 150 people – including mothers and non-disabled siblings – occupy 8 rooms. These children rank among the poorest in Benin; their families cannot afford more specific therapy or surgical measures. Bethesda features a workshop where braces and simple protheses are made. Through exercise, the small staff at Bethesda teaches the children how to achieve a greater degree of physical mobility despite their disability. "Our job was to give the children school lessons and to provide fun activities to improve their fine motor skills."
The team of six was greeted every morning at the entrace gate to Bethesda with a warmhearted «Bonjour Yovo!». The daily visits to the rooms consisted of games, songs, conversations and good cheer and took up most of the morning. At lunchtime the group prepared their lesson plans for their classes which the children attended in the afternoon. Evenings were spent writing the blog and going to the local cyber café to email these texts to Legris in Paris. Little time was left to debrief with the local coordinator or to unwind.
Although education is compulsory in Benin, the children at Bethesda are not able to attend public schools during their stay, which can last as long as one or two years. "If there weren’t any humanitarian groups sponsored by companies such as Legris, these kids wouldn’t receive any schooling whatsoever during their time at Bethesda."
Special individual attention was often more valuable than practicing the alphabet or learning numbers. Despite their adverse circumstances, the happiness that these children showed at small things was inspiring and deeply moving. "The thrill of joy that you see in the face of a severly disabled seven-year-old boy when you help him kick a soccer ball….precious moments like that reminded us volunteers about what really matters in life. We didn’t just teach them – these children also taught us something."
In spite of the lack of medical and educational supplies at Bethesda as well as the appalling hygiene standards everywhere, the helpers remained motivated. The humid tropical climate, the lack of personal comfort and the poor infrastructure "were not able to break our spirit". The group—consisting of four French, one German and Rita Kleemann, an U.S. American—quickly became a close-knit team of friends, communicating in various languages. They also learned a few phrases in «Fon», one of the major Beninese dialects.
Mutual support was an important aspect of this rewarding team effort. The six volunteers had placed high expectations upon themselves and on the project, but these expectations were sometimes limited by feasibility constraints. Due to the many moving experiences and the grueling conditions all members of the group reached their physical and emotional limits. "But the bottom line is that we made a small contribution to these kids’ lives."
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