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Grand Popo / Benin
LOG:
One of the greatest and most exotic place to be, is the endless Grand-Popo "Coco" beach.
About 80 miles away from Cotonou and close to the frontier with Togo, the place mainly survives on fishing.
A fantastic opportunity rose when I was able to witness with my camera the complete fishing process which started at the glow of dawn until the end of the day. The intense preparation, the trip to sea, the laying of the net at sea and in the end pulling the fish heavy net out of the sea with all the participants was a sight to see.
The few schools you find are located in remote places and make it very difficult for children of yet still far away villages, to access them.
Violent storms during rainy season are devastating to the village housing structures and the children must then take part in renovating those with whatever precarious tools they can get their hands on.
Despite the hardships of accessing these places, I had the chance to meet Medar, the village postman, who was instrumental in helping provide the schools the equipment and school supplies I had collected from French schools that same year. This allowed for three schools of children between 5 and 12, to receive a proper education, at least for the time being.