By: Fifamè Nadège ADOUN
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Biography
Fifamè Nadège ADOUN is a social worker in Benin, specialising in child protection and psychosocial support for vulnerable families. For several years, she has been volunteering with highly vulnerable children, particularly at an orphanage and in often-forgotten communities. This commitment led her to join a network of women leaders responsible for monitoring community health workers in villages. Convinced that child protection and community health are inseparable, she works to build trusting relationships between families and health and protection services.
Introduction
My name is Fifamè Nadège ADOUN. I am a social worker in Benin, and for several years I have been volunteering with vulnerable children, families, and communities. My story tells how a social worker, without being a nurse, can become a key actor in community health. It is important because it shows that child protection, psychosocial support, and health prevention are deeply interconnected, and that community health workers, particularly women, play an essential role in connecting families to health and protection services.
The Experience
Through the NGO ADEE’L and the social promotion centres in Benin, I work directly with highly vulnerable children in an orphanage and within often-forgotten communities. There, I interact with abandoned children, sick children and children living in poverty, as well as their families, health workers and local leaders. Beyond the visible problems of illness, abandonment and poverty, I have observed that the underlying causes often remain invisible: lack of information, trauma, neglect and social isolation. This experience has deeply affected me. It has helped me understand that caring for a child is not enough if we do not also address their family and community environment.
Actions Taken
Faced with these situations, I chose to intervene not only in the immediate needs of the children, but also in the underlying causes of their vulnerability: by informing families, providing psychosocial support, and helping parents with the health monitoring and protection of their children. In this work, I benefited from the support of the community and the organizations with which I collaborate. My role as a social worker guided my entire approach: it allowed me to address each situation with a holistic approach, centered on the individual and their family, rather than only on the symptom or visible problem. Following this volunteer mission, I had the opportunity to join a network of women leaders responsible for monitoring and supporting community health workers for community health in villages, a natural continuation of my commitment to vulnerable families and children.
Impact and Lessons Learned
Through this community and psychosocial work, I have observed positive changes among the children and families I support: better school attendance, improved hygiene, greater attention to children’s health, and increased trust in support structures. I have also seen parents better understand the importance of health monitoring, child protection, and emotional support. On a personal level, this experience has made me stronger, more committed, and more aware of the essential role that community health workers play in disease prevention and health promotion.
Key Message
Community health workers are the first line of defense for the health, dignity, and protection of vulnerable populations, and their work deserves recognition, support, and investment.
Conclusion
Through this testimony, I would like to see greater recognition for the work of community health workers, more institutional support, and policies that place mental health, child protection, and prevention at the heart of community health systems. My hope is that women like me, who work directly with the most vulnerable children and families, will receive greater support and be listened to more by decision-makers. This is a call to make sustained investments in those who, every day, build the relationship of trust between communities and essential services.
This testimony is based on my experience within the NGO ADEEL’H, at the Medjugordjé Notre Dame de Bel Amour orphanage (Benin), where I worked as a professional intern and volunteer in social support and community engagement from March 2023 to July 2025.