Context
Reception centers are nowadays institutions widespread in many cities of our country. There are generally abandoned, disinherited children in difficult circumstances or sometimes entrusted by their own parents for different reasons. Their education is therefore entrusted to those in charge of these centers who must then ensure their academic training, their cognitive and psycho-emotional development through the creation of an ideal environment for healthy development. Unfortunately, the lack of financial means does not always encourage in rural and peri-urban areas the establishment of an excellent environment for play and emulation for children. On December 26, 2018, we visited the La Providence de Lokossa orphanage in the company of the JAC-TOUS Association to offer a festive moment to the residents through donations of clothing and hot meals. We realized that the center does not have enough games to entertain children and at the same time promote the acquisition of knowledge in mathematics and spelling. We therefore promised to come back with our contribution to encourage the center to do better.
Objective of the project
• Strengthen the recreational resources of the reception center for better development of residents.
Project implementation
A delegation of Youth for Challenge led by its CEO made a trip on the evening of January 16, 2019 to the orphanage La Providence located in Lokossa in the street opposite to the Prefecture of Mono. A working session with the facilitators of the center made it possible to inquire about the academic development of the residents and the current difficulties of the center. During this session, various possible solutions were proposed to those in charge of the center in order to face their major constraints. Then, the team exchanged with the boarders present before officially giving them in the presence of their managers two game packs. This is a box of the traditional Awale game containing 48 pawns and a package of the largest set of letters. , Senior Scrabble containing a grid placed on a wooden support, a bag containing the letters, 4 easels and a sheet explaining the general rules of the game. The interest of each game was demonstrated to the residents. Indeed, Awalé is a traditional African strategy game that develops knowledge in mathematics and strategy in its practitioners. We also opted for this game to contribute to the survival of traditional games which are gradually disappearing in urban and peri-urban areas with the massive opening up to Western cultures. In addition, scrabble has been proposed to help children improve their knowledge of spelling through play. Note that it is a game that greatly develops mathematical and logical skills since the scrabble grid is a truth table that evolves. until the end of each game.
We then urged each other to work and insisted on seriousness at school. Those in charge of the center made a commitment to clearly define the hours of play in order to get the children to concentrate on studies. At the end of the games delivery ceremony, a final working session was organized with the center's animators and the young resident Ambroisine Sossou, a CM1 schoolgirl at the Gendarmerie Primary School, whom we chose to sponsor and follow the education because of his particular situation and the behavioral drifts recorded. It appears from the said session that she has improved in terms of her community life since our last visit in December. Recall that the teenager benefited from a subscription to the CAEB / Lokossa library in order to support her in her school education.
Funding and partner
We bought these two fun packs for fifteen thousand CFA francs (15,000 CFA francs). Ten thousand francs were mobilized from a donor, Mr. François TEKO, and the organization contributed with five thousand.
Results obtained and quantified impact
• More than thirty residents of the orphanage La Providence had access to traditional and modern games for their development.
Difficulties encountered and solution approaches
The main difficulty is the mobilization of financial resources. We would have liked to have collected more support in order to offer much more to children in need in several reception centers in the community.
