Since 1993, the Ancelles de la lumière du Christ (SLC—Servants of the Light of Christ) have been running the Siloé Centre, a place that welcomes and accompanies visually impaired children, adolescents and young people, and offers them both education and professional training.
By Sr. Chibi Natacha Dato, SLC
July 13 is the eve of the start of 15-year-old Maxime’s vacation. Although he seems impatient to see his parents again, he is already experiencing feelings of nostalgia for the months he spent in the affectionate atmosphere created by the person he considers “his second mother.”
She is Sr. Adelaide Tognizin, who heads the Siloé Centre in Djanglanmey, some 83 kilometres from the economic capital of Benin, Cotonou.
Maxime is originally from a village in Benine’s Klouékanmè district (south-west). When he arrived at the Centre at the age of five, Maxime was in a complete state of despair.
“I was born blind,” he sighed with a grimace of sadness. “Before I came to the Siloé Centre in 2015, I thought my life was over because of my blindness.”
Thanks to the guidance of the sisters, he obtained his BEPC diploma (middle school) in July 2025. He is amazed that he was able to “learn about computers and how to speak and read French, and even at being enrolled in school.” The Centre, he explained joyfully, “gave me a new opportunity at life”.
Despite legislative improvements in recent years, the conditions of people with visual impairment in Benin are far from brilliant.
“They are often left behind by their families and are considered to be ‘sub-human’,” said Mother Nadine Adjagba, Superior General of the SLC Sisters.
She founded the Siloé Centre on 3 January 1983, along with the help of Bishop Robert Sastre, at the time Bishop of Lokossa (south-west), and Sr. Maria Agbovon, a member of the Daughters of Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Developing the autonomy of visually impaired people
When Bishop Sastre entrusted the Siloé Centre to the SLC Sisters in 1993, the goal had been clear: to create “a space in which residents — visually impaired and blind people — could receive an adequate education and develop their autonomy.”
The centre welcomes visually impaired children who are at least six years old.
Mother Nadine explained that there are two options at the Centre: “Those who can still attend school and study are taught Braille, while those who cannot attend school because they are too old, learn a trade.”
More than 300 people have been guests at the centre from the time of its establishment, said Sr. Adelaide Tognizin. Among former residents, there are teachers and instructors of artisanal workshops.
“There are also former residents who are pursuing their studies in universities abroad, in France,” she added with wonder.
Our consolation is to see these children flourish
Despite these reasons for joy and hope, the SLC Sisters face several challenges. In addition to not being able to see anything around them, most of the residents are anxious about their future.
“My greatest challenge is to find an opportunity to go very far in my studies and to have a job that corresponds to my disability and my competences,” said Jean, a resident at the Centre.
Mother Adjagba explained that “the main problem remains their professional inclusion. It is not easy for them to find work in this country.”
Moreover, the Ancelles de la lumière du Christ sometimes have to bear the responsibility of taking the children under their charge, on their own.
“Many parents do not ask for news of their children after they have entrusted them to the Centre,” said Sr. Tognizin with sadness and suffering. In the same way, “when the centre sends them home on vacation, the parents are not always willing to welcome them.”
And so the burden grows. “Sometimes there are not enough resources to adequately meet their nutritional needs, health requirements and clothing needs, which is a considerable burden.”
Yet “our greatest joy and consolation is to see these children grow and flourish in view of a bright future,” Sr. Tognizin concluded.
