05/08/2025
Municipality of Kétou / Actions in Favor of Girls’ School Retention
End of the “Girls and Resilient Education in Odométa Village (FER)” Project, Initiated by RID NGO and Funded by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
(Stakeholders, RID NGO team and beneficiaries evaluate the project achievements and its outcomes)
The meeting room of the Odométa District Office, in the municipality of Kétou, hosted the participatory evaluation and closing workshop of the "Girls and Resilient Education in Odométa Village" (FER) project on Friday, July 25, 2025. Carried out by the NGO Recherche et Initiatives pour le Développement Durable (RID) and funded by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), this six-month project strengthened access to and retention of vulnerable girls in school in the village of Odométa.
Launched in December 2024, the FER project aimed to improve access to and retention of girls in the Odométa educational system by reducing the social and economic barriers that lead to school dropout. More specifically, it aimed to support at-risk girls from the most vulnerable households to stay in school.
Expected outcomes of the project included:
50 at-risk girls identified, provided with school kits, supported, and financially assisted to benefit from school meals;
30 of the most vulnerable women from the families of at-risk girls identified and equipped with gari and lafou production kits.
During the participatory evaluation workshop held on Friday, July 25, 2025, in Kétou, several stakeholders were in attendance. The Executive Director of RID NGO, Mr. Roger KOUNOU, and his team were welcomed by the District Chief, Mr. Elidja OGOUDJI, the village chief of Odométa, the principals of the beneficiary primary schools (Odométa and Igbodo-Oké-Odo), as well as some of the beneficiary girls and their mothers. All praised the tangible impacts of the project on the beneficiary girls, the two primary schools, the women beneficiaries, families, and the communities.
In his address, Mr. Roger KOUNOU, Executive Director of RID NGO, emphasized that 100% of the planned activities had been implemented. He also highlighted that although the project initially targeted 50 girls, RID mobilized additional internal funds—at the persistent request of the community and school principals—to extend the support to 100 at-risk girls, demonstrating its deep commitment to girls’ education. RID also increased the number of women beneficiaries from the planned 30 to 38.
Mr. KOUNOU expressed gratitude to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) for funding the project, and also thanked the local authorities for their support and involvement, which helped bring the project to a successful conclusion.
Emotional testimonies were collected from the girls, their mothers, and the principals of the two primary schools in Odométa, who unanimously acknowledged the project’s positive impact on school enrollment stability, student attendance, girls' academic performance, and the improved living conditions of the vulnerable women beneficiaries.
Despite the progress, challenges remain—such as the need to strengthen production equipment for the women, expand support to all at-risk girls in the two schools, provide schools with teaching materials, train teachers, build latrines in both schools, and construct classrooms, a principal’s office, and a storage room in Igbodo-Oké-Odo school.
Local authorities, the girls and women beneficiaries, and the staff of the two primary schools in Odométa welcomed the relevance of the project’s approach and expressed a strong desire for its continuation, given the results achieved, the hope it brought to communities, and the challenges that still need to be addressed.
According to Mr. Roger KOUNOU, it is important to preserve the project’s gains, hence his call for local stakeholders—especially parents of the beneficiary girls—to continue supporting girls’ school attendance.
The FER project thus ends on a note of shared satisfaction, perfectly illustrating the fruits of effective collaboration between RID NGO, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), and local stakeholders—all committed to inclusive and sustainable development.
Anatole KINIFO
Roger KOUNOU/ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RID NGO
