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The Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Program is one of the four components of the Africa Education Initiative (AEI) announced by President George W. Bush in June 2002. AGSP is designed to improve educational opportunities for Africa's Children. The Program will provide 550,000 scholarships by 2010 to girls, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The scholarships are destined for girls from economically poor households, especially those who are handicapped or orphaned or adversely affected by HIV/AIDS, and should cover the costs of tuition, books, uniforms, shoes, and others costs considered essential to ensure access to and continued enrollment in school. The Program also includes a mentoring component for the girls, and will contribute to the social and educational development of students and communities. A total of 180,000 scholarships have already been awarded to girl scholars.

In Benin, the program is managed by World Education Inc./ Boston, which relies on two local NGOs to implement the program in the field: Action Group for Justice and Social Equality (GAJES) in the south of Benin, and the Association for the Protection of Unfortunate Childhood (APEM) in the north. Forty schools in 10 communes benefit from the program. To date, a total of 2,113 scholarships (931 for the 2004/2005 school year and 1,182 for 2005/2006) have been awarded to primary school girls. On June 22, 2006, World Education, USAID/Benin, and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MEPS), organized an open day ceremony for the program, at Deaf School Center (CAIES) in Porto-Novo, the capital of Benin, where 50 deaf girls benefit from scholarships. During the ceremony, USAID took the opportunity to donate 950 English-French Dictionaries produced under the Africa Education Initiative to APEM and GAJES for distribution to AGSP beneficiaries in the 5th and 6th grade and to those who have passed the 2006 Primary School Leaving Exam (CEP). Over 150 participants attended the event. Among the participants were MEPS officials, USAID Basic Education Team staff, World Education/Benin, local NGOs, mentors, heads of school districts, Directors of the schools involved in the program, parents of beneficiaries, AGSP girls from Porto-Novo and from the north, and CAEIS students.

Recipients of the donated French-English dictionaries expressed their happiness by signing "I love you" to the participants.

US Ambassador Mr Wayne Neill with MEPS Officials and AGSP girls from CAEIS deaf school.

US Ambassador Mr. Wayne Neill co-chaired the ceremony with Mr. Lokossou Cyprien, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (MEPS). The CAEIS Center Director in his welcoming remarks thanked the U.S. Government for its assistance to handicapped girls through AGSP. The AGSP consultant in Benin, Mrs. Hougnihin Sika, made a presentation on AGSP, and AGSP scholars, parents and mentors gave testimonials. Pierrette Gjedjinou, an AGSP beneficiary, said that before getting the AGSP scholarship, she could not go to school because of lack of money to pay school fees, uniforms and school materials. Now, with AGSP, she is able to attend school. The teacher representative of AGSP schools said that the scholarships do not only benefit girls, but all students from AGSP schools who use the text books donated to AGSP girls. Ambassador Neill seized on the opportunity to condemn teachers who take advantage of their position to sexually harass girl students. "Those teachers are my enemies and the nation's enemies," he declared before stressing the need to encourage girls' schooling. The Chief of Staff of MEPS thanked the U.S. Government and said that the Minister will do everything possible to help ensure a successful program.

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