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1. Organization History
In 2004, The Ark Foundation au Benin, hereafter known as Ark'Benin – was created as a non profit, tax exempt, advocacy-based charitable organization (charity registered number: ) in Republic of Bénin by a successful lecturer and business executive Dr. Cathérine Adjouavi AGBEKPONOU (MsL).
The Ark'Benin works to promote human rights, assists women, children and youth including people affected and living with HIV/AIDs. Programs are created to provide educational opportunities such as: vocational and technical skills, scholarships for high school and college youth, computers and computer training, school supplies, building and refurbing learning institutions. The poverty reduction programs are: micro-enterprise, community development, basic health care, sanitation, AIDs prevention and education, nutrition and family planning.
The Ark'Benin is governed by a seven (7) member board of prominent executives and Dr. Cathérine Adjouavi Agbékponou is the Chief Executive.
Further, every member of Ark'Benin is creative to offer transformative solutions and innovative approaches, entrepreneurial to thrive on challenges and skillfully adapt to a changing environment, collaborative to invest in personal relationships, understands their value, principled to demonstrate deep sense of purpose and commitment.

Dr. Cathérine Adjouavi Agbékponou is possessing exceptional gifts for entrepreneurship development, creativity, leadership skills and dedication full-time to offer humanitarian services.

The Ark’s past achievements for the last 2 years include an entrepreneurship development training for women self-help groups and a project which addressed the healthcare needs of children, women and men and the unhealthy behaviours in at risk minority youth. The occasion provided them opportunities to learn more positive life-styles to enhance their capacity to make healthier life choices.

2. The Problem:
Health among the Togolese survivor-refugees and slum dwellers in temporary
shelters in the badly lake Nokoué areas of Atlantic-littoral, Ganvié, Zinvié, Sô ava,
Zou- Collines and South east-south west Mono districts: known as Departments of the Republic of Bénin; has received less attention from policy planners than rural development despite the fact that their living conditions are among the worst in the world. The emergence of explosive AIDS epidemic and the rising incidence of communicable diseases are posing new challenges in health care among the Togolese survivor-refugees and slum dwellers in Bénin.

Already Republic of Benin is in the midst of an epidemiological and health transit on wherein diseases of affluence and new environmental and behavioural threats are being added to the burdened morbidity due to spread of communicable diseases, poor sanitation, poverty and malnutrition.

3. The Solution:
This problem can be solved by establishing a Mobile Awareness Against HIV-AIDS and Gender Education Programme to address the health preventive and education needs of these disadvantaged people, especially their children, youngsters and teenage mothers living in slums areas through evolving innovative approaches and different service delivery packages.


4. Target Population:
Around 30,000 people and slum dwellers in the badly lake areas, this includes children teenage mothers and youth who are presently living in temporary shelters throughout the Atlantic Littorral, Zou-Collines, South-east and south-west departments of Bénin will be benefited from the program.

5. Project Benefits:
It is expected that there will be a significant level of health improvement among the target beneficiaries, their children will be educated to prevent common childhood illnesses, their awareness about personal hygiene, HIV-AIDS prevention knowledge will be improved and they will know the advantages of family planning and small family norms.