Following his visit to Nigeria, Senator Coons headed for Benin, a small French-speaking country to the west.
As we mark the fiftieth anniversary of the United States Peace Corps, it remains a program true to its mission and coming to terms with daunting challenges around the world. The heart and soul of the Peace Corps are the thousands of volunteers stationed around the world. Benin currently hosts more than 1,000 Peace Corps volunteers. For most of the program’s fifty-year history, volunteers have worked in education, health care, youth outreach, and supporting non-governmental organizations, with the financial and public support of the Benin government and the appreciation of the Beninese people.
Senator Coons, along with Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, met with several Peace Corps volunteers in Cotonou, the country’s economic capital and in a village nearby. They shared stories of working in remote parts of the country, learning the local languages, and the challenge of delivering critical services. In a small town outside of Cotonou, Peace Corps volunteers teach school and work with municipal leaders to build latrines for families in the area. Further north, they work to improve production and business practices for shea nut growers, who produce the highly marketable shea butter for lotions, soaps and cosmetics. In doing so, they empower local entrepreneurs to start new ventures and expand their production, leading to new opportunities for the local villagers to improve their own lives and those of their neighbors.