Porto Novo, Benin Travel Blogs

dfqd
Jan 26, 2006

... Abomey city government in its infinite wisdom that travelers spin in wisdom has added a 2 dollar tourist tax. Punks. Benin, especially Abomey and Porto Novo are quite strange in the way that you often see women walking around topless - and it's not like ...

Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)
Jul 2, 2006 (4 photos)

Camp GLOW officially starts today.   We waited for the girls to arrive and the camp opened with ceremony and speeches. 

Project Songhai
Jul 7, 2006 (7 photos)

Project Songhai is a science research center in Porto Novo.

The End of Camp
Jul 8, 2006 (3 photos)

Camp GLOW ended with an American-way campfire, awards and soda.

Dana
Feb 13, 2007 (2 photos)

So, its been one week in Porto Novo (east side of Benin). For me I really like Porto Novo better than Cotonou- its a smaller place, more tranquil and lots more interaction with the locals.  Here we are a bit of a spectacle, the children run out of ...

International Women's Day
Mar 8, 2007 (5 photos)

... the staff had to say: (women) - Education and socialization are very important; women have the same needs as men. Culturally (Bénin), women are made to have children, to clean, get water and wood... An educated women can take better care of her ...

Planning Awareness Activities for the next 3 weeks
Mar 8, 2007 (5 photos)

Wednesday, Feb 28th we met the group of peer educators (PE) for the first time after the training. The meeting was to talk about the future activities the PEs will be doing within the schools for the next three weeks. The Tuesday before we met up with ...

Cindy's Entry
Feb 13, 2007 (6 photos)

... to ensure we called home, changed money, learned where the good internet cafe is and ingeneral has talked to us about Porto Novo and Benin issues.  We are quite happy as many of us felt that this was something that should have been done with us ...

HIV/AIDS Awareness Training, FEb 20-22, 2007
Feb 23, 2007 (4 photos)

During the week of Feb 19th both the Cotonou and Porto Novo groups began working with the local Beninoise youth. The youth that were part of the 3 day tranining have been selected from their schools as the future peer educators for thier school. In total ...

Micro-Finance at Action Sociale
Mar 12, 2007 (6 photos)

... ' market day although there is usually something to be found on any given day. I live near Marché Ouando (the large market of Porto Novo) and its always open- even late at night people will be there with their tiny oil lamps. The process for funding is ...

Learn about Action Sociale and Orphans in Benin
Mar 5, 2007 (7 photos)

Hello Everyone, I think its important we share a little about who we are partnered with in Porto Novo, Benin. The organisation is called Action Sociale and its an NGO (non-governmental organisation). The organisation office is in Porto Novo however ...

Week one: Settling in and Aggeugge
Feb 16, 2007 (3 photos)

So as a group and individually we are all starting to find our place within the organization and fit into our families. We have finally started to do some 'real' work in different areas above and beyond the youth forum coming up next week. Taking part in ...

Transportation
Feb 18, 2007 (7 photos)

... form of transportation.  In Cotonou these are easily recognized by their yellow shirts with a number on the back, however in Porto Novo they don't wear anything identifiable.  To find one you can wave your hand or call kékénon.  They only ...

HIV/AIDS Awarness Conference
Mar 10, 2007 (11 photos)

... PE) handed out pamphlets and free condoms after demonstrations or little lessons. However, the one lesson we learned is free things in Benin are a rare and when there is an opportunity to get something no matter what it is they want it. There were youth ...

Porto Novo, Benin
Dec 16, 2007

Porto Novo, Benin

Getting to grips with it all
Jul 28, 2008

... , in the 'Department de Plateau'.  It's in a 'large village' called Pobe which is about and hour and a half drive north of Porto Novo and right next to the Nigerian border (where PC volunteers are not allowed to go).  I have a rural health ...

Time to learn
Jul 16, 2008

After the 5 days we spend in Cotonou at the catholic 'camp' we arrived in Porto Novo last wednesday (the actual capital of Benin, but not as hustle-bustle as Cotonou) which is our training site for 'PSL' (Pre Service Learning).  With the four ...

Watching the weeks fly by
Aug 13, 2008

At the moment we're at the beginning of week 6 - which will no doubt rush by, then next week is 'post-visit, and the next week after that will be 'test-week', all building up to the language interview at the end of that week, and then before you know ...

Technical Visit and such
Aug 6, 2008

... another volunteer.  We went and saw E who's up in a medium-sized town called Ketou, 2 hours by bush taxi from Porto Novo.  E is notorious within the PC for being the tallest AT 6'7''.  With K being a few inches shorter than I am, we ...

Porto Novo
Sep 10, 2007

... everyone should send them huge care packages on my behalf!! hehe. well i'm definaltely going to when i get back. Arrived in Porto Novo in the evening. The French capital during the colonisation. Visited the central mosque with the 'Imam', a very wise ...

End of stage
Sep 3, 2008

... lots of language classes and two TDAs (Training Directed Activities) where we had two afternoons of teaching some local artisans of Porto Novo accounting and marketing.  All this needed to be taught in French and was a bit of a struggle to get ...

Arrival at Pobe
Sep 23, 2008

... internet at Songhai.  ('Project Songhai', as it's officially known, is an interesting little place in Porto Novo - officially a multipurpose centre where they do agricultural training/have a hostel/internet and multimedia training and various other ...

First feelings of home
Aug 26, 2008

... on the drive back with one such character, (who was on his way to Togo for his work as an exporter, but going  via Porto Novo so he could drop me off) that I had sharp moments of anger and frustration and I lost my patience with the french, and my ...