Ticket to life, the scout initiative targets more than 400 young Beninese people for their empowerment.

Beninese Scouting trains more than 400 young people for self-employment. They were targeted to acquire skills in the areas of poultry breeding, snails and agro-food processing. This is through the Ticket to Life project funded by the Africa Scouting region. In Benin, this initiative is implemented through the sub-project called Second Chance, intended to educate and empower young people in general and in particular those considered vulnerable, namely orphans and street children. Six (6) training courses are planned on the national territory for these young people. The very first took place on Saturday September 23, 2023 at the SOS Children’s Village in Calavi and consisted of giving around fifty participants the first basics of successfully raising local chickens and snails. Ignace KOUTANGNI and Arsène GBEGBE, two expert practitioners, provided their knowledge and know-how to participants in these specific areas. Subsequently, the young people were introduced to the production of Baobab nectar and banana chips thanks to the know-how of entrepreneur Anifath Kadira AKLE. These products were tasted on site by scout leaders, guests and the participants themselves.
For Jean Paul IBIKOUNLE, National Commissioner in charge of the Youth Program and head of this project, it is a winning bet. Beninese Scouting thus plays its part in the training of young people and their empowerment. He especially thanked the Africa Scout Region for the Ticket to Life initiative and the mobilization of resources for the project. He pleaded that in the next phases of the project, resources be made available to support young people who have undertaken in the fields for which they have been trained. In his capacity as Deputy General Commissioner of Beninese Scouting, Michel DJEIGO praised the commitment of the project manager who made it possible to launch the training for the benefit of young people and expressed the hope that the other training sessions would be organized for happiness other young people waiting.
He also thanked the trainers for their expertise and their availability to support Beninese Scouting. For his part, Armand DJEIGO, Vice-President of the African Scout Committee who came to support the activity, was delighted with the success of the training and hopes for a strong impact on young people. While recognizing the determination of the project manager to go until the end, he invited him to show more self-sacrifice in the service of young people. For the participants, he hoped that this training would serve as a gateway to working life for those who are already ready and a second string to the bow of those who are still in school and university. As for the participants, they were very satisfied with the opportunity offered to them to train. They expressed their thanks to the officials of the Africa Scout Region for this project and to Beninese Scouting for its implementation.