In 1994, World Education began the first of many projects in Benin to focus on the importance of parental participation in the public education system. Since then, World Education has worked with local parents’ associations to combat child trafficking, improve the legal environment for civic participation in education, maintain and manage primary schools, build and operate school canteens, increase disabled children’s access to school, and improve gender equity in schools.

Since 2014, WEI has worked in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to implement the USDA-funded McGovern-Dole International Food For Education and Child Nutrition Program (MGD14) (2014-2018) with the goal of reducing hunger and improving literacy and primary education outcomes, especially for girls in the Alibori and Borgou Departments in the Northeast of Benin where malnutrition and illiteracy rates are most prevalent.  WEI works with the Ministry of Education and the Institut National pour la Formation et Recherche en Éducation (INFRE) to build government capacity in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) within the education sector and to improve the quality of literacy instruction through teacher training and coaching in 144 primary schools. WEI also works with Mother’s Associations (AMEs), Parent Teacher Associations (APEs) and local NGOs to conduct community censuses of school-age children, support families in obtaining birth registrations, explain the importance of gender equity in the assignment of domestic work to children, help set up a girls mentoring program and stress the value of schooling and study time, among other things. 

Now in phase two of MGD (2017-2022), in addition to training teachers in grades 1-2, MGD17 will also train Kindergarten (K) and pre-K teachers on building the developmentally-appropriate language, literacy, social and emotional skills of this age group. Radio broadcasts, listening groups and awareness raising campaigns will be used to engage communities, including opinion leaders, on supporting children’s rights and child protection, in addition to the education-related topics already introduced through MGD14. Finally, an advocacy component has been added to the project so that, in cooperation with CRS, WEI will engage with the Ministry of Education to present evidence for long-term education reform.