Echelle–Bénin is a non-profit student empowerment organization registered in the Republic of Benin (West Africa). It was founded by a group of Benin citizens, most of whom live in the United States. It is supported by a network of volunteers from around the world.
About Us
Our Vision (click)
Our Vision
We envision the youth in Benin to be empowered and inspired to both succeed in life and engage in finding solutions to social problems in their communities.
Our Mission (click)
Our Mission
We coach, mentor, and sponsor students in Benin, especially in underserved communities, to become self-reliant leaders and entrepreneurs who are committed to transforming their own lives and building their communities of origin or residence.
Our Label (click)
Our Label
We offer a paradigm shift, moving away from the limited power of the handout of material goods and money towards the sustainable impact of change envisioned and realized by the individual and the community itself.
Our Motto (click)
Our Motto
Serving as a ladder of success to the younger generation is an indispensable contribution to our communities’ prosperity.
We accept donations in any form (money and school supplies for students & teachers).
We partner with non-profit organizations and businesses to provide our students with opportunities for scholarship, internship, and job shadowing.
Meet Our Founders
Ichola Djivede Coovi
Snr. Regional Security Officer
Silvère Tovignan
Associate Professor
Université de Parakou (Benin)
Adiath Baguidi Lokoto
Doctoral Candidate
Université d’Abomey-Calavi (Benin)
Oumarou Abdoulaye Balarabe
Higher Education Scholar
Ohio University (USA)
Léonce Gamaï
Journalist and CEO of Banouto (Benin)
Mountala Ogbe, CPA
Financial Controller
GKN Aerospace St. Louis (USA)
Sètondji Roland Adjovi
Assistant Professor
Arcadia University (USA)
Juste Codjo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
New Jersey City University (USA)
Our Model
I’M T(he) GPS
Inspire – Motivate – Train – Guide – Prepare – Support
Together, let’s empower students to become a reliable GPS in their communities.
Inspire
We believe in the power of being inspired by others. That’s why we expose our students to positive role models from within and outside their community.
Motivate
We understand the importance of motivation in success. That’s why we provide recognition awards to high performing students and their teachers each year.
Train
We are committed to supplementing our students’ formal education by offering them after-school training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, & community development.
Guide
We have confidence that mentoring the younger generation will help break the you’re-on-your-own cycle that has long weakened our communities.
Prepare
We trust our students’ ability to innovate. That’s why we prepare them through early opportunities for internship and job shadowing.
Support
We share a concern that socioeconomic hardships might get in the way of our students’ success. That’s why we connect them to scholarship opportunities in return for their engagement in helping solve community problems.
What Makes Us Unique?
“Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.”
— Chinese Proverb
“If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather than dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.”
— Barbara Bush
Most organizations involved in helping alleviate poverty in Benin offer material aid. Sadly, their well-intended projects are often short-term oriented and designed by outsiders who have little knowledge of the recipient communities.
Meanwhile, the education system in Benin is civil-service oriented and puts little emphasis on the skills needed by individuals to reach their potential. Students are rarely offered courses on emotional intelligence, character development, entrepreneurial leadership, and community engagement, all of which are critical to individual success and community growth.
Together, these two trends create a mindset among the population that the government or external organizations will miraculously fix the chronic issues that are weakening their own community.
Our Commitment
Strengthen the connection between education, employment, community development, and economic prosperity in Benin.
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Our Approach
Our solution to the education-employment gap in Benin is to provide university and high school students extracurricular coaching and mentoring opportunities and engage them in global partnerships.
Get Your Quote or Call: (0080) 888 -666-453
Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus.
What Transformation Do We Want to Create in Benin?
Make education attractive to students and help reduce school dropout rates
In each generation of children in Benin:
- Only 35% are likely to finish middle school.
- Only 7% ( 4% in rural areas ) will graduate from high school.
Turn education into a tool of prosperity for communities
- The educational curriculum in Benin does not teach students values and subjects such as volunteerism, community development, civic engagement and leadership.
- Students who manage to succeed in life rarely organize to give back to their communities, thus creating a you’re-on-your-own cycle for generations.
Make education a tool for students to succeed in life
- By the time they leave the education system, most students in Benin have no practical or life skills that can be translated into employment as only 1 in 10 secondary schools in the public system teach practical knowledge to their students.
- After leaving the education system, 93% of those getting a job are likely to be employed in the informal sector, with no legal protection, no healthcare coverage, and no retirement plan.
