Benin
Mary’s Meals provides life-changing daily meals in severely impoverished communities in central to southern-eastern areas of Benin.
We have been providing Mary’s Meals in Benin, West Africa, since 2011. Our programmes operate in schools in impoverished communities found in central and south eastern areas of Benin.
All of our programmes are located in communities affected by food insecurity and hunger. Many of the children we feed may have been abandoned or are critically ill and receive little or no food at home.
Life in Benin
Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, is the birthplace of the "voodoo" religion and home to the former Dahomey Kingdom (1600-1900). The official language is French, but there is a diverse range of more than 50 indigenous languages. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea. Benin is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east.
Food insecurity is all too common in Benin for a variety of reasons, including recurrent floods and droughts. The environment is predominantly rural, and livelihoods depend on agriculture, but successful harvests are hampered by a lack of modern farming technology and weak infrastructure.
Mary's Meals in Benin
We are currently feeding over 3,500 children in four schools.
We work with Soeurs de Marie Médaille Miraculeuse to deliver our program in Benin.
The typical school meal is maize with beef or fish, or rice with beans or vegetables, or we occassionally serve eggs.
Did you know?
52.5% of children do not complete primary education.
32% of children are suffering from chronic malnutrition.
Around 50% of the population live below the International Poverty Line of $1.50 per day.
