In West Africa, 9 out of 10 schools, or nearly 200,000 schools, do not have electricity, which has a major impact on learning and teaching conditions. In this context, Aide et Action is pleased to announce its partnership with PrimeEnergy Cleantech SA whose contribution will finance the electrification of a primary school in the village of Tilbonindouo in the department of Bondoukou in Côte d'Ivoire.
Worldwide, 258.4 million children, adolescents and young people are not in school. Even today, the reasons that keep them out of school are many and varied. The lack of infrastructure and teachers are among the most notable. Since 2017, Aide et Action has been conducting a project to electrify public primary schools in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Togo.) The project consists, on the one hand, of solar electrification and computer equipment for schools and, on the other hand, of providing school children with rechargeable solar lamps so that they can do their homework at home in the evening.
The deployment of multiple skills and synergies
The village of Tilbonindouo, located in the Gontougo region of Côte d'Ivoire, has a population of 2,000, including 500 children of primary school age. Tilbonindouo is particularly isolated and its basic infrastructure is limited and cannot meet the needs of the inhabitants. In addition, the only community school for the children has no electricity, no water point and no latrines.
Faced with these pressing needs, Aide et Action has decided to act to provide a complete and adapted response with the support of three partners, each of them working in their own field of expertise. PrimeEnergy Cleantech, a company active in the field of renewable energy, has been financing, building and operating solar photovoltaic power plants in Switzerland and Europe for over 15 years. Its mission is to produce cleaner, more sustainable energy for tomorrow. As part of this partnership, it is contributing to the electrification of three classrooms in the village's public primary school. The Orange Foundation is financing the construction of a new school and a health centre, the Bel Foundation is developing a school canteen and a vegetable garden, and the SUEZ Foundation is supporting the construction of two boreholes for access to drinking water and the installation of latrines.
In this way, the major, and sometimes interrelated, problems faced by the community will be addressed simultaneously. The poor school conditions, the lack of food for the children, the difficulty in accessing health care and the lack of drinking water are needs that have been identified and that will all be met by next summer.
For Aide et Action, this multi-partnership work allows for a particularly relevant global response. By bringing together these three partners for the first time, three corporate foundations operating in different sectors of activity, we have established a complementary relationship that makes sense thanks to the deployment of multiple skills and synergies. And this, while respecting the social missions of each. We warmly thank all our partners, with whom we advance the cause of education.
