Benin

We have had the privilege of working with a Nigerian missionary in the Republic of Benin.  Her name is Teju.  She has a vision to impact the lives of girls and women through her ministry "Fondation Deborah".  Equipping teachers with a Biblical worldview and a renewed mind when it comes to education is one way she believes the lives of girls can be transformed.

This month marked my third visit to Cotonou, the nation's capital where we have been working on going through the Educational Care modules.  This month - we worked on Module 2 - How Do Students Learn? and Module 3 - Developing Student Gifts.

The training is all in French - and while I can speak it, I am out of practice and quite tired at the end of each day.  It was exciting to hear how their action plans were implemented and see the group grow together into a more cohesive community.  Praise God for this group of leaders!

One report on Module 1 Action Plan was from Guy:  My goal was that the students in one of my classes would understand the necessity of living in community.  It was difficult!  They didn’t have a good foundation, but they did have a thirst to understand.  My first activity was helping them to see they are created in the image of God and as a result treat one another accordingly.  In addition to specific teaching, I was also conscious of my example to them.  They accepted this idea and many of them did change their actions towards one another.  But they often would forget and need to be reminded.  In this light, I also wanted them to understand that God created each of them regardless of culture, religion or language.  I also wanted them to treat each other with more respect by greeting one another.  I incorporated this and when I forgot to do this at the beginning of class, they were reminding me!  Other changes I found occurred overall as a result were changes in me.  My teaching and relating with students changed.  My relationships with students improved, I got to know them better and was more approachable.  I also saw more connections with our Biblical worldview module and the courses I teach and worked to bring these ideas out.

Here are a few pictures of our class in action:

Some children learn by SEEING.

Teachers trying to communicate their learning in pictures.

Small Group Learning

A drama showing what happens when a community works together

More drama

Tea Time

Floriane presents her action plans for the next few months.