We are delighted to share this message from the town hall of Sô-Ava, in the Ouémé delta, Benin:
« ““The beneficiaries of the projects you carried out in the health centers of Lokpodji, Houédo-Aguékon and Vêkky, in the Sô-Ava Lake Commune, are delighted to thank you for the joy you gave them in leaving total darkness behind.
The staff of the health centers and the Mayor of the Commune of Sô-Ava, the Honorable Jean Mejor ZANNOU, join us in congratulating you on the quality of the materials and in expressing our sincere thanks for this valuable work. Finally, we promise to make good use of it and to maintain it constantly.
May the Almighty Father fill you even more. We don’t have two words to express our gratitude: Thank you. Thank you very much. »
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During their mission in January 2023 in Benin (Lokpo and Gbessou), our volunteers had visited potential projects in the commune of So-Ava, thus ensuring their feasibility.
At the beginning of March 2024, Freddy A. and Patrick D. took delivery of and inspected the work carried out by the local company ARESS, supervised remotely by Freddy: 3 health centers were equipped with lighting and solar installations.
Many thanks again to Freddy and Patrick for their excellent supervision and these fine achievements.
In January 23, our colleagues Patrick D and Juanito R F went to Lokpo and Gbessou in Benin to receive and control the installations realized by ARESS, mandated for the realization and remotely controlled by the project manager Freddy A.
The mission was complemented by visits to 9 additional sites, 5 sites built by EA Belgium and 4 by EA France, as well as visits to potential projects (6 schools and 3 health centers) in the So-Ava region.
Patrick tells us:
“During this mission, we travelled more than 1200 km by car and more than 20 hours by canoe (a little is nice, but that much …)
During our journey, we were accompanied by Joel Kiki, member of ENGIE Benin, in charge of offering solar kits in the most remote Beninese villages, and depending on the place, some other members of ENGIE Benin joined us.
We started with the elementary school of Gbessou but we noticed several deficiencies both electrically and aesthetically, despite the follow-up via Whatsapp of the project manager Freddy A. It appears that the team was mainly composed of novices with little experience in electrical installation and we are therefore very far from the quality encountered on other projects carried out by ARESS
In Lokpo, another surprise: while we expected to find a completed site, everything was still in progress.
We therefore asked and showed the teams in place what we expected of them so that the installation would be carried out according to our criteria of safety and aesthetics, as well as how to connect certain electrical devices.
And we decided to continue our journey towards the other projects to be controlled
First stop in Cocotomey, where we checked the work requested from ARESS, following reports of recurring breakdowns. The problem was solved to the satisfaction of the beneficiaries.
We continued our journey to the Bohicon region where we visited 3 facilities built in November 2018 by our colleagues from D’EA Belgium
In Lokosoum, everything is in perfect working order and maintenance to the great pleasure of the beneficiaries, who asked us for the extension of two buildings that were abandoned in 2018 and recently returned to activity following the increase in the number of students attending the school. .
In Todo, unfortunately, the solar power supply of the large multipurpose hall is completely abandoned, following the death of the contact we had on site.
Finally, in Saclo, the installation was still functional, but the basic project of a school-farm has been abandoned due to lack of water (a pirate connection had been made to the inverter for the connection of a pump which was too small and did not work). The solar electricity is used only for the housing of a family and we noticed a flagrant lack of maintenance of the panels, covered with a beautiful layer of sand, the lack of water undoubtedly explains that. .
The next stage brought us to the north of Parakou, 420 kms from Cotonou. Boko hosts a large hospital complex, partly equipped with solar installations that could help overcome the deficiencies of the Beninese network. The beneficiary contacted us because, after the installation of the system, an error code informing of a too high load was frequently appearing on two of the three inverters. Based on our recommendations, the hospital’s electrician split the installation to connect only consumers up to 4.5 kW to reduce the load of each inverter.
We then went to the capital to visit 4 installations realized by our colleagues from EA France.
In Djomon, a very large school with morethan 1000 students was partially equipped with a photovoltaic installation to organize evening classes. Except for the fixing and the frame of the solar panels eaten by rust, everything is in perfect state of maintenance and functioning.
For the 3 other installations, the result is very disappointing: the solar installation in Allankpon does not work anymore, the batteries are swollen and the inverter has been used as a nest for ?
The Avrakou nursery, which was supposed to finance the operation of Ste Bibiane, is no longer functioning and has been transformed into an office.
In Ste Bibiane, the installation is no longer working either, both the inverter and the batteries, which have already been replaced once, are out of order.
Back on the two initial projects, we had the great satisfaction to see that the work requested was quickly executed by the “ARESS” staff who were very attentive and eager to learn!
During our visit, we noticed that the roof was not 100% waterproof and that the solar components could be flooded! This remark was quickly taken into account by the installation of a new roof.
And finally, we spent the time we had left to “size” several projects located on the lagoon in the town of Sô-ava: 6 schools from 200 to 850 students and 3 health centers.
Thank you all, and thank you to EA for having allowed us, once again, to live a very enriching human experience.”
And it is a huge thank you that we address to Patrick, Juanito and Freddy for this rich and long mission and for the time they gave for all these projects.
In Boko, Benin, the Saint Jean de Dieu hospital is supported by Médecins sans vacances and the “Hubi & Vinciane” foundation.
Our volunteer Sarah O. tells us about this beautiful mission, realized with Steve B., Vincent M. and Jean-Marie T. :
“In September, a team of 4 volunteers left for Parakou – in the center of Benin and 9 hours drive from Cotonou, to install solar panels and batteries and allow the Saint Jean de Dieu hospital in Boko to continue to function despite the power cuts.
As a mother, it was very emotional for me to work in the maternity, neonatal and pediatric departments. And it was so satisfying to be able to provide a minimum of electrical safety so that mothers-to-be would no longer give birth in the dark, and that very fragile babies and young children could be cared for with medical equipment.
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Accompanied by a nice motivated team, we installed the 42 panels and 4 solar installations and no doubt we also inspired a few young people to continue their studies in electricity – with the fun (climbing on the roof) and not so fun (not rushing and making sure the work is good) sides ????
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How lucky we were to have met so many great people in 2 weeks! Special thanks to Madame Clémence who took care of us and the wonderful Rafiath from ENGIE Parakou who was very helpful with the paperwork and helping us find the missing equipment.
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My dream for the next mission? To have a young woman electrician in the local team and to inspire the next generation! Rafiath showed us that it’s possible! Weren’t the Amazons of Dahomey from Benin? “
Energy
Assistance with the help of one of its beneficiaries has set up a first
partnership in order to compensate the flights of its volunteers in terms of
CO2.
To do so,
Energy Assistance has developed a first partnership with one of its
beneficiaries in Benin so that the contribution of the beneficiaries to the
projects is made under a participative economy formula. The beneficiaries have committed to
replanting 3.6 hectares of mangroves in order to create a carbon sink and
protect biodiversity in the region.
Mangroves
are one of the most productive ecosystems on our planet in terms of biomass and
can store up to 100 kg (on average 40 kg) of carbon per m². This storage is
partly in the wood of the trees, which is a dense wood, but mainly in the
litter. Mangroves also have an essential role in terms of biodiversity because
it is mainly there that a large part of the marine and brackish water species
reproduce and form the at the base of the food chain. It should also be noted
that mangroves are the most effective natural coastal protection system. With
global warming and climatic hazards, this is not to be disregarded.
With 3.6
hectares EA compensates for about 1,500 tons or 30 flights per year over 20
years (A flight to Benin is about 2.2 tons of CO2 per passenger (considering
the radiative forcing).
Other projects are under study and soon we will be able to offer our members to offset their private flights to help our beneficiaries develop a participatory economy and thus generate in the long term enough to maintain the facilities offered by EA with the support of its various donors including ENGIE.
This new mission in Benin took place in the Zou province, on the outskirts of the city of Bohicon, the second largest city in the country and located 120 km north of Cotonou.
At the request of the Bohicon town hall, 3 sites have been equipped with electrical installations and photovoltaic panels:
– two buildings grouping the 6 years of public primary school
– a large building serving as a community hall and youth center
– a new building serving as a dormitory for students in agronomy and market gardening.
Throughout their stay, the 5 volunteers of EA were superbly supported and motorized by the local authorities and were thus able to devote all of their energy to the realization of the projects.
The joy and emotion of the schoolchildren and teachers when discovering the lighting in their classrooms was priceless. At Lokozoum, especially, shouts of joy were even heard when the lights were on! An experience that gave the volunteers chills.
By making the final adjustment of the outdoor floodlights, on each of the three sites, and seeing the joy on the faces and the reflection of the lights in the eyes, our volunteers took the measure of their work!
A great human adventure for this EA team composed of Patrick D., Djuneyt C., Serge G., Juanito F., and the project manager Freddy A.
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The mission was complemented by visits to 9 additional sites, 5 sites built by EA Belgium and 4 by EA France, as well as visits to potential projects (6 schools and 3 health centers) in the So-Ava region.
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The next stage brought us to the north of Parakou, 420 kms from Cotonou. Boko hosts a large hospital complex, partly equipped with solar installations that could help overcome the deficiencies of the Beninese network. The beneficiary contacted us because, after the installation of the system, an error code informing of a too high load was frequently appearing on two of the three inverters. Based on our recommendations, the hospital’s electrician split the installation to connect only consumers up to 4.5 kW to reduce the load of each inverter.
We then went to the capital to visit 4 installations realized by our colleagues from EA France.
Our volunteer Sarah O. tells us about this beautiful mission, realized with Steve B., Vincent M. and Jean-Marie T. :
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