Meet some of our mentors
“I wanted to become a Batonga Mentor because I wanted to help the girls in my community avoid making the same mistakes as me and prevent them from falling into the many traps that lie on the path of adolescence. I have so much energy and determination to ensure the women and girls in my community grow up to feel safe, supported, and secure.”
Anicette, Batonga Mentor in Sodohome village, Bohicon (Benin)
“My name is Anasthasie. I am a former beneficiary of Batonga, currently mentor of the SONAFA program and I supervise 4 clubs with 58 members. What excites me the most as a Batonga mentor is the desire to give back to my young sisters the teachings and skills received from Batonga which have allowed me to reach the level I have today. I love teaching the girls in my clubs about puberty. I particularly enjoy teaching this lesson because I have observed that girls generally do not have access to this valuable information at home as the subject is considered a taboo topic in their households. I am free to provide them with as much information as possible so they do not fall into traps – as there are a lot of girls who get pregnant because of their ignorance about the subject of sexual and reproductive health.”
Anasthasie, Batonga Mentor (Bohicon Benin)
“My name is Madeleine, mentor in Azokangoudo, Savalou. I am in charge of two clubs with 64 girls. As a mentor, I have become a reference resource person in my village. The parents of the children I work with give me more consideration. Parents consider us to be guardians of their daughters as well.”
Madeline (Savalou)
“My name is Bernadette; I am an assistant mentor at Lotcho. I have 3 clubs of 41 girls. I really enjoy working with girls and young women. The teaching that I particularly like to give them is the planning and management of financial and material resources. This lesson is important to me because it allows for the correct use of money and resources. The business and practical activities carried out together in the clubs are highlights where the girls learn a lot of things they never learned, including the production of the articles and their marketing. When they have major difficulties socially or health, I bring my support in solving these problems and it pleases them and we celebrate our victories together.”
Bernadette (Bohicon)