lauren laughs

it seems that despite the assassination attempt of benin’s president boni yayi a few weeks back, his party succeeded in gaining control of the parliament. i think this is very good news. also, west africa’s cotton industry is “on the brink of collapse” based on world market prices, partly influenced by u.s. government subsidies to domestic crops. lastly, the african development fund is putting $50mil toward a power interconnection project, aimed at improving energy supplied to benin, ghana, togo and nigeria.

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2007 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a credit to the Republic of Benin for a Second Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Project (PMLS-2). This new project, at a total cost of USD 35 million, will consolidate progress made under the preceding project, which was implemented from 2002 to 2006 at a cost of USD 23 million.

The PMLS-2 will help to: (i) enhance and expand the accessibility and utilization of preventive services by vulnerable groups (e.g., women, young people, etc.) and by high-risk groups such as sex workers; (ii) enhance the accessibility and utilization of treatment and care services by those infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS, and especially by persons living with HIV/AIDS, orphans, and vulnerable children; and (iii) consolidate the coordination, management and monitoring/evaluation of the national response to HIV/AIDS, in order to ensure its sustainability.

The PMLS-2 is designed to be implemented over a four-year period, mainly in the form of sub-projects initiated by civil society organizations and through substantial support to activities under the National Program for Control of HIV/AIDS (PNLS), as an adjunct to financing from the Global Fund (5th Round). The Project has three main components:

1. A social mobilization component, which will finance HIV/AIDS prevention activities, particularly in the area of communication aimed at behavioral change;

2. Access to treatment and care, which will enhance access by infected and affected persons to services including screening, treatment with anti-retroviral drugs, treatment of opportunistic infections, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission;

3. Coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation: project funds will provide the National HIV/AIDS Committee (CNLS) with adequate resources to play an effective coordinating role in HIVAIDS prevention and to implement the unified national monitoring and evaluation system.

For more information on the World Bank’s work in Benin, go to: http://www.banquemondiale.org/benin

COTONOU, March 19 (Reuters) – Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi has said he believes an attack by gunmen on his convoy last week was an assassination bid by enemies opposed to his campaign to stamp out corruption in the small West African state.

Yayi, a technocrat banker who was elected last year on a platform promising change, escaped unhurt when unidentified attackers opened fire on Thursday while he was campaigning in the north for parliamentary elections to be held on Sunday.

Yayi, who will seek to consolidate his political position in Sunday’s legislative elections, told church pastors he met in northern Benin at the weekend that he believed the attack was in response to his declared policy to eliminate graft.

“Some people are interested in assassinating me to discourage me in my battle against corruption,” the president said at the meeting, which was attended by a Reuters reporter.

“We will not rest in this fight against the corruption which is eating away at our country,” Yayi said.

Yayi’s election a year ago marked the end of three decades of domineering rule by a small political elite in the former French colony, where a third of the population live below the poverty line and unemployment is rife.

A former head of the West African Development Bank and a political newcomer, Yayi replaced ex-army major Mathieu Kerekou, who had led the small cotton-producing country for all but five of the previous 33 years.

Having won more than 74 percent of votes in the second round of the presidential election, Yayi will be seeking in Sunday’s polls to win control of the National Assembly, which has been dominated by allies of Kerekou.

Until Thursday’s shooting, campaigning for the March 25 parliamentary elections had gone smoothly in a country seen as one of the more politically stable in turbulent West Africa.

By Samuel Elijah

COTONOU (Reuters) – Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi escaped unhurt after gunmen attacked his convoy as he returned from a parliamentary election campaign rally in the country’s north, a presidential adviser said on Friday.

“The vehicle which was hit by the bullets was in the position which the head of state usually occupies. But this time he happened to have changed,” Didier Akplogan, communications adviser to Yayi, told Reuters by telephone.

The attack happened late on Thursday at around dusk close to the town of Ouesse, some 240 km (150 miles) north of the West African country’s main port city, Cotonou.

Yayi’s convoy turned back towards the north rather than carrying on to the capital after the attack, said Edgar Guidibi, head of communications for the FCBE alliance of political parties which support the president.

all but two of the men, women and children in this picture have HIV or AIDS. the american woman in the center (marcia) visited benin this summer and sent me pictures of some of the people and ministries i will be working with… this is one of them. i have about 75 pictures from marcia’s trip on my computer at work; they help remind me of where i am and where i am going and why i am going. to date i have raised over $7,000 of my $15,800 upfront costs (that’s over 40%)… wow. i’ve only raised 15% of my monthly expenses, though, so i’m focusing my attention on talking to people about pledging monthly support. while raising support is a new skill for me and can be daunting at times, i also know this is a real opportunity for my friends, family and others to be part of some really meaningful work… and for me to feel connected to those back home even when i’m very far away. it’s amazing when i think about it.

i met a lady who was in benin this summer and she gave me a cd full of pictures. this is one of my favorites. this car is totally loaded with live goats. goats are tied up and piled into the back of the car and tied to the top of the car as well. my guess is this makes for a very loud and stinky drive to the market (or wherever). i will not tie live goats to my moped.

roohi was playing sly photographer sunday and snagged this shot. it was a perfect afternoon for reading and thinking with my toes in the cool grass and sun all around. i love fed hill.

i wrote to yfc today and accepted the invitation to join their missionary staff. this past week as i’ve prayed and pondered… i’ve been waiting for some decisive moment to direct me one way or another. what i found instead was that the answer was already inside me and i just needed time to grow into it. so no lightning bolt revelations, just peaceful self awareness. it’s a good thing.

though i’m giving myself just a few more days to think and pray about it, i’ve pretty much come to a peaceful decision to move to benin west africa this summer. i will be living (for 2 years?) in the coastal city of cotonou, pictured here. i have more pics i’ll post later. if you have any thoughts on my decision, speak now or forever hold your peace.

i realize there is a risk in posting this, but i’m trusting none of you will call my boss and give him the news. after all, it’s not really news yet. just potential news.

i’ve applied for 3 jobs in benin (hence the previous post where i failed to mention that benin is next to nigeria too… not just togo). one position would be training adults on job search skills, one would be training village women on health and hygiene, and one would be training students on HIV/AIDS. the latter two are my faves because i love working with women and students.

so i had my phone interview yesterday, which amounted to a very cool, comfortable and exciting conversation. i think we all felt good about it. i have been tentatively invited to candidate school in denver in two weeks (pending my references) and that too is very cool. not only will i get to see my friend mollie (holla!), but i’ll also get to meet people that are passionate about the same things i love, and i know i will learn a lot about myself and this particular ministry. what’s been truly amazing is all the support from friends, family, school, work (the few peeps that know), my church… the list goes on. it’s hard not to get too excited and put the cart before the horse. in my head i’m already packing.

but there is a down side to all this… and that’s leaving my friends behind. granted, that’s a long ways off and may not even happen. but i at least wanted to let you all know that i do think about how hard that would be.

so that’s the scoop! (hope that answers your comment, michael).