Emma Marleau, International Development and Globalization with Minor in Political Science, 3rd year
Country of fieldwork: Benin
Canadian NGO: CECI
Local NGO: Association Nationale des Femmes Agricultrices du Bénin
It has now been a few weeks since I settled in Bohicon, a town in central Benin, as part of my internship with the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), where I work as a women's economic empowerment officer. This internship is not only my first professional experience in West Africa, but also a real immersion in a cultural, professional, and personal world that is very different from what I knew before.
From the very first days, I noticed that people are very courteous and respectful, but also quite reserved. The smiles, daily greetings, and energy that animates the market and the streets of the city give me a feeling of kindness every day. My integration into the local team has been facilitated by the kindness of my colleagues, even if a certain reserve remains in interactions outside the professional setting. This is part of the reality here: people are courteous, very busy, and attached to their routines. Social ties take time to build, and this can be a little disconcerting at first. But with time, you learn to decode the local dynamics, adapt to the rhythm, and above all appreciate the interactions, even the subtle ones, that ultimately create a sense of belonging.
At work, I collaborate with a local NGO partner committed to empowering women farmers. Our mission is to support organizational structures and strengthen local capacities, particularly on issues of advocacy and inclusive governance. One of the challenges I have observed (and am actively interested in) is the tendency to work in silos. This reality, although present in many professional contexts, takes on a particular form here: there is little discussion between teams and few opportunities to reflect together as a group. Yet the potential is there. We have started to think about ways to foster better collaboration, including through participatory workshops and more informal spaces for exchange. Professionally, I work mainly in project management, a field in which I have already learned a great deal. In particular, I have been involved in drafting two major projects: the first aimed to promote women's leadership in Benin by setting up support mechanisms for women in decision-making positions. The second project focused on formalizing the work of rural women who transform soybeans into cheese, a key sector for the economic empowerment of women in rural areas. Working on these initiatives has allowed me to put my university learning into practice and better understand the challenges of structuring community organizations.
Beyond work, loneliness is also part of everyday life. I spend a lot of time alone, especially after office hours. It's something I expected from the internship, but it still requires a certain amount of resilience. I'm learning to establish routines that are good for me: walking around the neighborhood, reading under the fan, cooking with local ingredients. It is in these simple moments that I discover the most about myself. Even though the first few weeks were very difficult—new working methods, cultural differences, feelings of isolation—I now realize how much this experience is transforming me. I am not only developing new professional skills, but also greater resilience, increased autonomy, and an ability to adapt that I never thought possible before I left.
This internship is much more than a three-month assignment. It is a school of life. It allows me to put into practice what I have learned in the classroom, particularly in the areas of international cooperation, social justice, and decolonization of development. It forces me to slow down, listen, question some of my perceptions, and open myself up to different ways of thinking and acting. I am aware that there is still a long way to go and that many challenges await me in the coming weeks. But every day here makes me a little more patient, more adaptable, and more sensitive to local realities that cannot be summed up in numbers or theories, but in faces, gestures, and deeply human contexts.
See you next time!
The blog photo
The photo was taken during a field visit as part of the participatory assessment for the project to formalize the soybean cheese processing sector run by rural women in Bohicon. We visited a local cooperative where several women processors came to meet us and discuss their situation. During this meeting, we took notes on the main difficulties they encounter in their daily work, including challenges related to access to equipment, the quality of raw materials, the profitability of their activity, and product storage conditions. They also shared with us their proposed solutions, based on their direct experience, such as pooling resources, access to technical training, and the creation of a legal framework to better structure their activity. This field visit allowed us to better understand their concrete needs, while placing their voices and expertise at the center of the project design process. It was also a highlight of my internship, as it perfectly illustrates the importance of an inclusive and participatory approach in development projects.