Les Copains de Lagos
By Patrice Chedozeau & Jeremy Mason
Five years ago, Marie and Patrice Chedozeau moved to Lagos and felt the calling
to help their countrymen who were going through a similar repatriation process.
Les Copains de Lagos
By Patrice Chedozeau & Jeremy Mason
Five years ago, Marie and Patrice Chedozeau moved to Lagos and felt the calling to help their countrymen who were going through a similar repatriation process.
Their goal was to help with administrative procedures and create a social life for French speakers. This is their story.
In 2015, the French population of the Lagos area got together to form a club then called Les Amis de Lagos.
We already recognised the need to get together to help new arrivals with their administrative needs and assist them with other matters. We listened to the group members and agreed basic rules.
We started with several activities, for example, a monthly working lunch to allow everyone to make acquaintances and feel less lonely. We also created our website which allowed us to communicate freely and provide a real social life feel to Les Amis de Lagos. In response to people’s needs, we organised conferences on the subjects of health, housing and taxation. These conferences were held in the town hall premises, thanks to the kind cooperation of the mayor. We put into place different activities such as French bowls, walks, bike rides and society games.
In 2017, owing to the large increase in the number of members, we decided to create an official association Les Copains de Lagos, which is registered with the Portuguese authorities. The aim has always been the same – help new arrivals, listen to their needs and provide assistance. We hold at least one monthly lunch or dinner, which are eagerly anticipated and attract around 60 people.
Gradually, other activities were introduced to offer more options for our members. Each activity has a person in charge who is responsible for the smooth running of their activity. In 2018, we signed an agreement with Boavista Golf & Spa, which provides us with six pétanque (French bowls) tracks and a meeting room for our society games.