Sewing materials for a trainee in Benin

When Angélique Kidjo was born in 1960, the West African country where her family lived was still called Dahomey. A lot has happened since then: Dahomey became independent from the colonial power France, changed its name to Benin and was the first African country to officially ban the circumcision of girls. A lot has happened in Angélique Kidjo's life too: she studied music in France, released a dozen albums and was twice awarded a Grammy for best world music album. Today the singer is one of the best known representatives of world music. Like everywhere else in the world, many young girls in Benin dream of such a career. But the reality for them is different. Less than half of the children can go to school. 70% of all girls between the ages of five and 14 have to work instead of learning to read and write. One of these young women is Reine Noutaï. The 20-year-old is half-orphaned and lives with her brother in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin. Her father died and her mother lives in a village far away. Every Monday and Thursday she goes to the school in the Midogbò market, which Oxfam's partner ASSOVIE has set up for the girls who work there. At the same time, Reine is doing an apprenticeship at the "Jerusalem" tailor shop. When she came to ASSOVIE, she was very scared and in poor physical condition. Today, Reine is the best tailor for the master tailor Ms. Metonou.