The Père Thomas MOULERO school group is a project of the NGO Œuvre Maison de Vie which feels a particular calling for education as a means of social liberation. This calling has deep spiritual roots linked to Father MOULERO. This is why Œuvre Maison de Vie strives to rethink and readapt the national education system to the current realities of globalization. To this end, this school group distinguishes itself from others through its teaching and educational programs, its actors, its working methods, and its objectives for the future of the learners.
The Père Thomas MOULERO school group takes its name from a tribute to Father Thomas MOULERO DJOGBENOU, the first Priest of Benin, a deeply spiritual man, a renowned great educator, and a Master of Thought for the founder.
Appointed parish priest in October 2008 to found the Sainte Thérèse parish of Takon, Father DJEGO Coffi Maurice had a vision for a center to recover and school the most vulnerable children he encountered in the villages he traveled through. Immediately in January 2008, he opened an IT and literacy center. The interest this center generated among the youth motivated him to dream of something bigger. But everyone discouraged him due to the heavy investments required. The rest of the story has shown us that nothing is impossible for determined hearts.
Indeed, no one believed a private school was possible in Takon given the population's standard of living. But convinced of the necessity of education for a better future for these children, Father Maurice started from nothing in October 2009 with great sacrifice and self-denial, gathering these children in small groups for teaching. Thus, divine Providence gave birth to the school group whose achievements continue to amaze many. In 2012, the founding father, along with some fellow priests and volunteers who agreed to leave everything to devote themselves to this educational work, created the NGO Œuvre Maison de Vie to perpetuate the school which was beginning to take shape.
Father Thomas MOULERO was born around 1883 in Gbèkandji in the commune of Adjohoun. He was baptized by Father Magloire in the Sainte Thérèse d'Avila church in Kétou. It was at the age of 27 that he felt the Lord's call and entered the Ouidah seminary on September 15, 1915. With the vicissitudes due to the First World War, he was finally ordained a priest on August 15, 1928, in Ouidah by Bishop Jean-Marie CESSOU, then apostolic vicar in TOGO. He thus became the very first Beninese priest at the age of 40.
After a year of ministry in Kétou, he was sent on a mission to Savè where he would spend nearly 26 years serving the church as a humble servant. From DASSA where he resided, on foot and by bicycle, day and night, in sun and rain, tirelessly, he brought the Gospel to the poorest and showed his closeness to the most vulnerable. He drew his strength from the adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament and had a great veneration for the Holy Curé d'Ars.
Father MOULERO was very hardworking and had great skill in manual labor with exceptional competence in masonry. He built not only churches but also numerous schools. He was a great ascetic who ate and slept very little. His bed was a makeshift mat on which he often slept in his cassock to be ready for mission at the first call.
Father MOULERO was also a man of culture, an ethnologist, sociologist, and well-versed in history. His numerous researches on the history and life of the peoples in his parish make him an exceptional reference today. His notebooks are unexplored gold mines. As early as 1950, the French Governor in DAHOMEY made him a Knight of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic. On August 1, 1964, he received, for his research work, the distinctions of Officer of the National Order of DAHOMEY and Commander of the National Order of DAHOMEY on July 29, 1970.
With 47 years of priesthood, Father MOULERO was called to God on Sunday, August 3, 1975, in Cotonou. His body was first buried in the missionaries' vault in Porto-Novo. After 36 years, during the transfer to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Porto-Novo on August 14, 2011, the body of Father Thomas MOULERO was found intact, and his face could be seen through the coffin glass.
The Père Thomas Moulero school group is a project of the NGO Œuvre Maison de vie which has rethought our education system. This school group distinguishes itself from others through its teaching and educational programs, its actors, its working methods, and its objectives for the lives of the learners. Our mission is to teach and train every person—adult, youth, or child—in income-generating activities, whether their parents have the means or not. In short, we aspire to make our learners true citizens who know how to contribute to building their country. This is why our teaching system, supported by a philosophical foundation, works especially on the human balance of the children; notably at the boarding school, we take into account the spiritual, philosophical, intellectual, and sociological aspects.
The day begins and ends with prayer. Every morning, children read certain passages from the Bible for their daily meditation. Religious instruction is provided in classes, supported by lessons in morality and civics.
Living with the children allows us to better understand the paradigms underlying their existential choices. We thus manage to draw their attention to the advantages and disadvantages that could result from their choices. With love and wisdom, we help them discern their genius.
Far from limiting ourselves solely to the national education program, we add value by continuing to teach, up to secondary school, the subjects essential for understanding languages. All students are also given the chance to learn English and Spanish in addition to French.
Sports and extracurricular activities and manual work help children become more dynamic and integrate more easily into society. They learn housekeeping and crafts, sewing, hairdressing, animal husbandry, plumbing, and carpentry according to their choice.
Our fundamental value is the human being. The human being who transcends everything: religion, race, gender, social class... For us, rich, poor, girls, boys, non-believers, everyone has the same rights, the same considerations, the same treatment.
Respect for human dignity
Equity and justice
Academic and moral excellence
Service and dedication
Moulero Complex of Takon
House of education
Discipline-Work-Piety
Since the Year 2008, you have known success.
Successive promotions glorify you.
Father Maurice DJEGO, your creator
has no concern but to see you progress
Divine providence chose you
To love and save all these souls.
In this school, sanctuary and chapel,
God does everything with love and wisdom,
Through the means of Thomas Moulero,
1st Dahomeyan priest of August 15, 1928.
Your devoted and available learners,
Are all seeds of discipline and piety.
Every day they are at work for your success.
And the Merciful one answers their wishes.
Composed by Mr. AYIGBEDE O. Michel
They are appreciable in the short, medium, and long term.
In the short term, we are not in a frantic search for a success percentage that forces us to select learners or chase after exam papers. We seek in each child their real potential, their gifts and aptitudes, and give them the guidance that allows them, in the medium term, to be educated and capable of productive responsibilities in the long term. This is why our education program is holistic and aims at the being and the having of the children.
