Benin
LIFE trip
Give Water
Give Life
Water is essential to life. It’s a basic human necessity. Yet, almost 1 in 8 people still don’t have access to safe water.
490 million people are currently drinking dirty, bacteria-infested water that makes them ill and robs them of their time, dignity, health, right to education, and the opportunity to live a normal life.
More than 829,000 are estimated to die each year from diarrhoea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, poor sanitation and hygiene practices. For many children, it’s a death sentence.
We can do something to help break this cycle of brokenness and help improve the lives of these people.
Since 2002, GAiN has been providing rural villages with deep capped wells, ensuring fresh, clean water for their people. So far, together with generous partners from all over the world, we have provided 3,083 deep capped water wells and have given over 3,083,000 people access to safe water.
Last year, we sent our first Benin LIFE trip to the rural villages in Benin for 10 days and they were involved in helping our partner set up deep capped wells at different stages.
LIFE (Labour, Influence, Finance, Expertise) Trips give you an opportunity to experience our work first hand, learn about issues of poverty and injustice, engage with like-minded people, use your skills to make a difference, lift the current local activity, meet and encourage local partners.
Some of the activities during this LIFE trip are village visits, active drill operations, concrete pad construction, well flushing, football evangelism, church construction and Jesus film showing. There will also be training for locals in community health, good hygiene and sanitation practices. The team will be working closely with the local church community to support sustainability.
We will be sending another team to help people in rural villages have access to safe drinking water. Will you join us in revealing hope and restoring life in Benin?
Water is life. If you don’t have water, you’ll die. We have a choice: we can drink the dirty water and live for years and be ill, or we could not drink the water and die within days. So, there’s no choice really.
What to expect
As part of this project we will have opportunities to learn more about the culture in Benin and the people living in rural villages in that country. We will share what we are learning and reflect on our experiences together. The project will include training on working cross culturally, team building, leadership and values in humanitarian work. There will also be the opportunity to consider together the impact that our own cultural values and beliefs bring to our experiences.
We are looking for people who are motivated with a heart of compassion to help those in rural communities as well as being prepared to go with an attitude to serve and learn from the people we go to help. Physical work will also be required, as we will be helping with the different stages of setting a deep capped well in the villages.
Benin LIFE trip 2024
Where: different rural villages in Benin
When: 18-28 October 2024
Who: Open to anyone in the UK
Cost: £2,600 (approx.) Prices shown include all in-country costs and flights to Cotonou, Benin
Application deadline: 26 July 2024
Who is the project run by? This project is run by GAiN UK, in partnership with Agapé UK, is organised and administrated by both GAiN UK and Agapé UK.
For more info, email: projects@globalaidnetwork.org.uk
Funding your project…
A large part of this project will involve you raising the funds to cover the cost of your travel to Benin and your in-country expenses. Once you have applied and been accepted to join the project, we will send you a training pack that includes resources to help spark ideas for raising your funds.
It is best to start fundraising as soon as you receive confirmation of your acceptance onto the project; this way you have plenty of time to fund-raise before the payment deadlines.
There will be deadlines for you to make staged payments which then build up to the final payment. The first payment is a non-refundable £150 deposit which is used to secure your place. This payment is due within one week of being offered a place on the project. Your local GAiN or Agapé contact will be available to help you with any queries that might arise with regards to fundraising and deadlines.
How to apply
As part of the application, you will need to provide references from two people who know you well (at least one year); no relatives, could be a co-worker, church leader, tutor or a youth leader. Please send them this link to the reference form and ask them to complete it as soon as possible. We won’t be able to start processing your application until we have received your application and reference forms.
Please get in touch if you have any questions about our project. Email us at projects@globalaidnetwork.org.uk
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