Martin Parnell

In late November 2010, I received a call from Sarah Stern, who works for Right to Play (RTP) in Toronto and had been my contact during Marathon Quest 250.

She informed me I was invited to go to the country of Benin in West Africa, with two RTP athlete ambassadors, and visit a number of schools that used RTP programs.

My immediate answer was yes. My next thought was, I’ve never heard of Benin.

I thanked Sarah and quickly went to the source of all knowledge — Wikipedia. There I learned Benin gained its full independence from France in 1960.

It has a population of 9.3 million and is the size of the Island of Newfoundland.

Its capital is Porto-Novo, and its largest city is Cotonou — the location of our visit.

The life expectancy in Benin is 59 years and the literacy rate is one of the lowest in the world at 35 per cent.

In fact, most children in Benin do not complete their primary school education, with slightly more than half of enrolled kids completing Grade 5.

RTP has been in Benin since 2001. It has used three main sports and play-based education programs: Red Ball Child Play, Live Safe Play Safe and Early Child Play.

In 2011, after piloting and ongoing teacher training, RTP, together with Benin’s Ministry of Early Childhood and Primary Education, is introducing an early childhood play-based curriculum for 80,000 children.

My introduction to Benin started May 30.

Benin. Photo by Martin Parnell

I landed at Cotonou airport and, upon stepping out of the aircraft, was hit by a wall of heat. It had been warm in Durban, South Africa, where I had just took part in a marathon, but this was a furnace.

I was met by Himi, who works for RTP. The ride to Hotel Ibis was pretty hair-raising, with hundreds of motorbikes and scooters zipping around us and weaving in and out of traffic.

Fortunately, we arrived in one piece and I realized I love air-conditioning.

I received a call later in the evening to say that others in our group had arrived.

Robert Witchel, Caroline Ouellette and Heather Moyse had arrived and I headed down to meet them.

Robert is the director of RTP in Canada and was a great help during Marathon Quest (MQ) 250. Caroline is a three-time hockey Olympic gold medal winner and has played in eight world championships.

She’s reputed to have one of the hardest shots in women’s hockey.

Heather is a bobsleigh Olympic gold medallist and has represented Canada as a member of the national women’s rugby team. She spent three years in Trinidad and Tobago developing and establishing a camp for deaf and hearing-impaired children.

Benin. Photo by Martin Parnell

In my next two columns I will tell you about visiting King Allada the 16th with a group of five students, who made a presentation to him on children rights.

I will also describe visiting several schools, including one for the deaf and participating in RTP programs; learning about the history of the slave trade; and leading a marathon with a group of kids who wanted to start a running club.

I have never run a marathon in 40C before! Not so easy.

© 2011 Martin Parnell

mjparnell@shaw.ca

www.marathonquest250.com

No related stories.

• Filed under Columns | You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.