French translation of: From Parakou to Tamale: What we learnt by crossing borders

What you are about to read is a first-hand account of the Pro-RePEM project from members of the OC2 Consortium, DEDRAS-ONG and Social Watch Benin. They travelled to Ghana, where they spent five days working alongside their Ghanaian counterparts in the CLEAR consortium. We hope that this experience will inspire you to cross borders, build bridges and overcome challenges together.

“Before, we didn’t know if the money was reaching the school.
Now, we can see everything. And when something’s wrong, we ask questions.”
(Member of the parents’ committee).

In Tongo, at the headquarters of the Talensi District Assembly, we met the director of the Ghana Education Service and local officials. They were unanimous: the CLEAR project has changed the dynamic. Communities are more engaged. Education budgets are better monitored. And local elected representatives, under steady pressure from citizens, are now prioritising education.

Later that evening, in Bolgatanga, we attended the radio programme hosted by members of the Girls’ Caucus. These young women, aged between fifteen and thirty, raise awareness every week among thousands of listeners about girls’ right to education. What moved us was their ease, their conviction, and their deep connection to the reality of their community. They do not simply recite messages prepared by distant consultants. They speak of what they experience, what they see around them, and what they want to change.

On the third day, in Nalerigu, in East Mamprusi municipality, we met the Community Journalists, the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Champions and members of the Citizen Network. One Community Journalist summed up her role in a single sentence:

“I am the eyes of my community in the school, and the voice of the school on social media.”

These volunteers, trained and supported by local authorities, form an impressive citizen network built on trust and clear purpose.

The lessons we have learned

1. Our challenges are the same, even if our contexts differ
This experience confirms that collaborative learning between organisations in the Global South is not merely a formality — it is a strategic necessity. We do not start from scratch with every new project. We can draw on the experiences of our neighbours to accelerate progress, refine our approach, and avoid mistakes already made elsewhere.

2. Communities are not beneficiaries. They are active participants.
This is perhaps the most important lesson of this visit. The CLEAR project does not work for communities. It works with them, and above all, it supports them to work for themselves. In Benin, we could build on this model by involving communities more closely — not only as audiences for awareness-raising, but as co-designers of accountability tools.

To our partners, our donors, and all civil society organisations committed to education in West Africa: let us invest together in building bridges and learning from one another.
Because the stronger our connections, the greater our collective impact.

3. No transparency, no accountability
The open data notice board at the school in Karee reminded us of a simple truth that is sometimes lost in the complexity of our projects: citizens cannot hold duty-bearers to account for what they cannot see. Making school data accessible — on operations, funding and results — is a prerequisite for meaningful citizen participation. In Benin, adapting this model by presenting data visually and translating it into local languages such as Fon, Bariba or Dendi could significantly change how rural communities engage with their schools.

4. Radio and social media: allies we have yet to use to their full potential
The Girls’ Caucus radio programmes and the Community Journalists’ posts reach thousands of people at minimal cost. They create a public dynamic that makes the status quo politically costly for decision-makers. In Benin, we have a dense network of community radio stations and a connected young population. We have yet to fully harness these resources to amplify our advocacy.

And now, it’s your turn… Five days in Ghana. We travelled hundreds of kilometres between Tamale, Talensi, Bolgatanga and Nalerigu, and had dozens of conversations with community members, women leaders, young people, elected representatives and teachers. And a growing certainty: solutions do exist. They are often right there, within reach, driven by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. To our partners, our donors, and all civil society organisations committed to education in West Africa: let us invest together in building bridges and learning from one another. Because the stronger our connections, the greater our collective impact.