THE PROJECT JUSTINE
FUTURE THROUGH EDUCATION
The association has the goal to establish a training and cultural center in Benin, West Africa. Following the example of the namesake Justine Tchilalou Payarou young people there should receive a comprehensive vocational training which enables them to take care of themselves and pass on their skills to others. Initially a tailoring apprenticeship will be offered, later on other disciplines will be added. In the first step the non-profit association "The Project Justine - Train the trainer e.V." was founded. With the help of funds from a charity gala in the GOP Varieté Theater in Munich, the property on which the training center will soon be located has already been acquired. In addition, a cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Biberach was initiated. The professor of architecture Felix Schürmann and his students support the project with their expertise and have already completed the first drafts for the training center. The foundation stone has been laid.
"In cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Biberach the first drafts for the training center are already completed"
THE PROJECT TAKES SHAPE
Thanks to the help of our supporters and partners the project is now becoming concrete. Recently we have been lucky to meet Heinrich Roth. The Swiss is already established in Benin with his project CFL and is able to give us important initial help. We share the same ideals and are very happy about this cooperation.
Together with Heinrich we have already been able to implement the first step of our construction project: the installation of a public drinking water well on the site where the training center will later be built. This is the first tangible change for the local people, but this is only the beginning. In addition to supporting the construction of the well Heinrich has agreed to provide us with rooms until the construction of the training center is completed. So the training can already be started now. The next phase of the project will begin.
THE NEXT STEPS
Since the beginning of 2021 we started with our first aprentices. Justine, now a master tailor, and Marie, the creator of the "Dirndl à l'africaine", are jointly taking over the training of eight tailors in Benin. Thanks to the cooperation with Heinrich Roth the necessary rooms and materials are available and production under the label Noh Nee Benin has begun. By creating a sales market in Germany, fair conditions for the tailors in Benin can be guaranteed. This year we finally got the funding to start building our own education center and set everything up for at least 20 more students till the end of the year.
