Benin

The OLA Sisters first arrived in Benin in 1877 and since that time there have been more than 34 OLA communities in Benin! Currently there are just 8 communities, with 28 sisters who are involved in a variety of activities including evangelism and many development activities: they run a boarding home for young girls, training of trainers, health care, empowerment of women, care of the elderly. The communities are situated in Cotonou, Djougou, Ouidah, Parakou, Pobe, Save and Tanguieta.

Benin is a country of 7.7 million inhabitants, whose economy is based on maritime trade, farming and agriculture. For many years now, Benin has enjoyed political stability and there is harmony between its diverse populations of Muslim and Christian. It is still a country with many social challenges such as in the areas of the trafficking of children, growing levels of unemployment.

The CASE Centre at Ouidah

In Benin, everyone has heard of Miss Elizabeth Hodonou of Ouidah, a midwife who, throughout her life, from 1943 to 1985, cared for orphans and abandoned babies in her house.

At the end of her life, she bequeathed her entire estate to the Church, provided that this great work would continue. And so through Sister Maria Goretti Reisling, who assisted Ms. Hodonou towards the end of her life, the OLA Sisters agreed to continue and enhance this work in the spirit of the Congregation and its Founder, Father Planque.

A new "Nursery" or Centre was constructed that continued to care for orphans, but the scope of the Centre broadened to reach out to other children with all types of malnutrition arising out of poverty. The increase of HIV and AIDS also has had an impact on the numbers of children availing of care in the Centre.

The Centre is called C.A.S.E. : Centre d’Accueil et de Secours à l’Enfance. There are currently two Beninoise, Sisters Madeleine Sagui and Marceline Moulero managing the Centre with the help of sponsorships and donations from France but also by local contributions. The aim of the Centre is to save "little lives" so dear to Miss Hodonou and, equally important, to develop the status of women and children and thus promote the family. There are two other Sisters in the Ouidah community who are both involved in pastoral work. They also support the work of CASE.