Volunteer Overseas in Benin

The population of Bénin is almost 7 million, and the majority of inhabitants live in the south of the country. Cotonou is the largest city and the economic capital of Benin, while Porto Novo, about 30km to the east of Cotonou is the political capital.

The official language of Benin is French. However, particularly in rural areas you will find many people who only speak their local language(s). There are around 100 dialects in Benin, including Fon, Yoruba, Bariba, Mina, Adja etc. Fon is the language the most widely spoken in Cotonou.

Arrival and Orientation

When you arrive at the airport you will be met by a member of staff and taken to your initial accommodation i n Cotonou you will then have an orientation taking place over the following two days to introduce you to our partner office and the city of Cotonou, this will also include local language orientation.

Accomodation

You will be placed with a host family near to your place of work. If you are volunteering in an urban setting you can expect to have a flush toilet, electricity and running water, although water and electricity cuts are not uncommon. In rural settings conditions are more basic. Your host family will provide you with breakfast and dinner from Monday to Friday, and breakfast, lunch and dinner over the weekend.

Available Projects

Projects available in Bénin include:

	Education (primary and middle school, training centres)
	Health (dispensaries, clinics, hospitals, education centres, family planning etc.)
	AIDS (testing, people living with AIDS groups)
	Social work (orphanages, social centres)
	Agriculture, Environment, Civil engineering, IT centres
	Women’s collectives, Agricultural production

Optional Language Course

Our partner in Bénin also offer courses in French as a second language as well as culture courses that you can participate in during your placement.

To Apply or Learn More

To learn more about volunteering in Benin, please fill out the form below by filling in the provided fields, and then pressing the Send button. Please be sure to provide your correct email address - you will receive automatic confirmation email shortly and we will respond to your request as soon as possible.

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