Abuja, Nigeria// — Ambassador Amadou DIONGUE, Resident Representative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Benin, presented a donation on Monday 21st September, 2026, to benefit the children at the ‘House of Joy’ Child Care and Protection Centre (CAPE) ‘La Maison de la Joie’ at Ouidah Town Hall, in the Republic of Benin.
The ceremony was attended by Mr Fructueux PRUDENCIO, representing the Mayor, the representative of the ECOWAS National Office in Benin at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, representatives of the CAPE, and the children at the centre.
The donation consisted of foodstuffs (maize, local rice, beans, spaghetti, onions, oils, etc.), school supplies (notebooks, textbooks, books, pens, etc.), rolls of khaki fabric, a sewing machine, hairdressing equipment and a financial contribution of five hundred thousand (500,000 CFA) to cover tuition and training fees for vocational and apprenticeship programmes.
In his address, the Ambassador recalled that the commemoration of the 51st anniversary of ECOWAS, marked by solidarity and a commitment to strengthening ECOWAS’s impact on people’s lives by bringing the organisation closer to their daily realities, forms part of the commitment made by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government when they adopted the Pact for the Future of Regional Integration with a view to consolidating regional unity.
This pact aims to guarantee peace and accelerate sustainable development within ECOWAS and the West African Community. The Ambassador went on to explain that this charitable initiative aims to bring the Community institution closer to all peoples, by demonstrating its solidarity with vulnerable children and contributing to building their future – the guiding principle of Pillar 5 of Vision 2050: Social Inclusion.
The Director of CAPE ‘the house of joy’, speaking on behalf of the Centre, expressed his gratitude to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and noted that this donation comes at just the right time at the start of the academic year to help them meet their expenses. He promised to put it to good use for the benefit of the children.
The children then, through their spokespeople, expressed their deep gratitude to ECOWAS for remembering them during the celebrations marking its fifty-first anniversary in Benin. They pledged to be good citizens, good pupils and good apprentices.
