BATONGA IS GROWING IN 2022!

The year 2022 is a particularly exciting and thrilling year at Batonga. We welcome positive transformations. The organization is growing, expanding its programs, new members, new offices for the Benin team.

In March, Batonga’s staff moved to a new office space in the city of Cotonou in the Haie Vive. Working in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, these new offices represent the growth of the organization and the opportunity to accommodate our new team members as we scale our programs to new communities. To celebrate, we hosted an office warming reception in March where we welcomed our partners, x, and other guests to visit the new space and mark this huge moment for Batonga. We were also very happy to have our Executive Director, Emily Bove join us for the integration of these new workspaces as well as participate in some workshops and training sessions held during her visit. During the reception, Emily expressed the sentiment of the occasion, “We are happy to have these new spaces. We can welcome our partners, do workshops as we have always wanted to do.”

Between January and March 2022 , we also welcomed three new team members, two in Benin and one in the US.

Chanceline MEVOWANOU is our Digital Engagement Officer, based in Benin. Chanceline manages all social media accounts for Batonga and the Nos Voix Comptent initiative. As a young activist, she is very committed to mobilizing youth movements because she believes in the power of young people to act as a force for positive change in societies. She develops strong content that amplifies and demonstrates Batonga’s work and impact to our online communities.

Teslanik HOUNDEGNON is also based in Benin and joins the team as the Project Manager of the Nos Voix Comptent initiative. She will be responsible for the implementation and deployment of the Nos Voix Comptent movement. Teslanik leads the stakeholders and members of this project to amplify the voices of adolescent girls and young women in Francophone Africa and bring them to the forefront of the Generation Equality process.

Lakisha RIDLEY is our new Senior Manager of Community Engagement and Partnerships, based in Washington, DC. Lakisha will work to develop our communication and fundraising strategies while managing partner relationships to strengthen Batonga’s brand awareness through promotion of our programs and events.

Both Teslanik and Lakisha have already sent out newsletters to update our supporters about all of the activities at Batonga since the start of the year. In case you missed them, here are links to the Batonga and Nos Voix Comptent newsletters!

There is so much to share and with more team members, we will keep you updated more regularly, so keep an eye out for weekly blog posts! Be sure to bookmark our blogs for future announcements on new team members, program initiatives and partnerships. We look forward to introducing the new team joining us in our new offices in May!