Ava Montoya '24 is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Civil Engineering at MSOE. This summer, she traveled to Cotonou, Benin, Africa as part of her volunteerism with MSOE's student chapter of FeelGood, the youth engagement program of The Hunger Project. The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. In Africa, she continued to expand on her leadership skills through the Investor Leadership Trip. Here she participated in workshops that Benin Epicenters holds for its locals to gain knowledge about farming, food security, nutrition, women’s empowerment, health studies and more. She will apply her studies to her master’s thesis, Implementation of Compressed Earth Blocks Towards Sustainable and Low-Cost Housing Solutions in Africa.

A Reflection by Ava Le Montoya

Have you ever had an out-of-body experience before? Throughout my entire life, I never got the opportunity to see what the world was like outside of the country. Other than a screen, my eyes have only been able to see what the U.S. had to offer up until this expedition. 

When I first arrived in Cotonou, Benin, Africa, I mentally couldn’t process that I was physically there, taking in a new country’s culture and customs, and even after I had come back, it took me a while to reflect on everything that impacted me during my time in Benin with The Hunger Project. In my first steps outside of the airport, I didn’t know what to expect, but there was something I had realized: the language. A fellow FeelGood student and I had separated from the main group coming out of the airport, and had started  walking up to an attendant when we realized we couldn’t communicate effectively with anyone. The people of Benin, for the most part, speak mainly French, or similar French dialects, and myself, who only knows English and high-school level Spanish, never had made the true connection on that first step of culture I never got to see. 

After settling into the mindset that I was physically in another country, I got to experience the communal spirit of Benin. On June 11th, one of the first days we were in Benin, my 22nd birthday came around. On any other regular birthday, my boyfriend would buy me a cake-sized fruit tart, we’d sing happy birthday and then go to bed. When I announced it was my birthday, the room filled with cheer, and all together, the 30 of us sang their happy birthday song to me, then again with the American version. Communities are brought together, and interconnected through tradition, the one I immediately saw being the happiness of a birthday. 

On the other side, communities can also be brought together through the focused accomplishment of a goal, including a business. Throughout the week, I had the opportunity to see multiple women-owned businesses, and got the chance to see the actual impact made in communities. We traveled to Zakpota to meet with a woman running a Kuli-Kuli snack company, who employs around 50 women to help produce the snack with the partnership of a microloan through CCR Benin. We learned about how she’s moving her business forward, and how she’s able to provide quality wages to the women she employs.

One of her employees spoke about how before, when she was a trader, she had barely made enough to survive. Now at the Kuli-Kuli enterprise, depending on how many hours they work, they can earn a substantial wage to support their families. She noted the difference: now providing her children with schooling, with food on the table and a general second income to the household. She also had money for herself. Hearing this shook me: I never had to consider that sacrifice before while under my family, and it’s not something you actually realize is important to consider until you start to get older. The importance that I saw here was seeing the pride she has for her work, knowing she’ll be putting her family in a  better position financially. It’s critical to realize the importance that comes from equity, from positive masculinity, and by empowering women to move up. While going through each of the allotted epicenters, I noticed a number of women in leadership positions, from Head of Security, Village Chief, and Epicenter President. The women here are a start to a world without hunger, with the initial help of The Hunger Project.

A major part of who I am today has come from The Hunger Project (THP) and their mission worldwide. On its own, THP is a not-for-profit organization, focused on the main goal of creating a world without hunger through the process of applying its three pillars: start with women, mobilize communities and engage with the government to build up a strong foundation for people to grow and build upon. 

Throughout my life, I’ve been incredibly connected to the value of service to others and helping when you can, wherever you can. When I came to college in 2020 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, I searched for a club that aligned with my values of contributing to a greater cause. I found FeelGood, a college program of THP focused on creating enterprises to raise money to end world hunger while also allowing students the opportunity to expand their skill sets and outreach to others about THP. 

After learning more about the club and its background, I joined with a positive mindset about the possibilities of the chapter. I became President as I went into my junior year. During my tenure, I updated the club’s outreach to focus on implementing the inclusivity of local charity organizations for the benefit of the Milwaukee community. Interchange Food Pantry, Milwaukee Homeless Outreach Center and the Sojourner Women’s Peace Center have acted as the start to what I’ve been forming the club into: a community service-based approach. 

Before the experience in Benin, my view of the impact I was helping to support was through FeelGood at MSOE (Milwaukee School of Engineering), the community service grilled cheese enterprise. Now, though, I don’t have to rely on facts that I’ve simply heard about or information I’ve read from a website. Instead, I get to reference my own experience and seeing the work of The Hunger Project up close.