in Togo is Making a HUGE Difference
Togo is a very small country in West Africa with a very big heart.
Despite years of political unrest and economic hardship, the people of Togo are working hard for their childrens’ future.
But they need help with the basics:
clean water
quality medical care
good schools
micro loans
in order to become self-sufficient.
A tiny charity in Togo is working to provide these basics.
La Promotion et Developpement Humain (PDH), is helping. Based in Lome, Togo, PDH currently gets very little outside support.
And that’s where we come in. Tales of Togo is set up to provide funding, volunteers and a new outlet for Togolese fabric and crafts. We are working on becoming a US-registered charity.
The Challenges of Togo
Extreme poverty is a huge problem in Togo where the majority of the population lives below the poverty level. This situation is primarily caused by a lack of educational opportunities and a lack of access to basic Health Care.
The average life expectancy rate for the people in Togo is only 55 years. Togo has a population of over 6 million, of which more than 1.25 million children are underweight and many of those children are malnourished. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are making many victims and leave too many children orphaned. All those aspects are contributing to hardship and premature death.
In order to rise out of poverty a holistic approach must be taken that includes educational, medical and business approaches but with an eye on the environment and sustainability.
What do we want to achieve?
We want to achieve a healthy standard of living for all people in Togo and our projects will focus on a few key areas:
Education is a key factor in ending poverty and will create opportunities for many. Educational goals include improving the literacy rate; currently this is very low at 40% girls and 60% boys.
Education will give children and young adults the skills, experience and knowledge required to be successful in life. Allowing all children to finish elementary school will end the illiteracy in Togo and offer them an opportunity to enter secondary school or vocational education programs and maybe college or university.
Health Education programs for both young people and adults are necessary to create awareness about the importance of HIV and AIDS prevention.
Those programs should focus on developing and implementing HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs for the general public in community centers and schools to end the huge stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in Togo. In addition there should be programs that include free or low cost medication to aid people affected by the disease.
A secondary focus is on nutrition; Nutritional programs will enable mothers to choose the right baby formula and will end malnutrition and prevent premature death in infants. Those programs can be developed as part of the General Health Education.
Immunization programs will improve the overall health of hundreds of poor children in Togo thereby preventing premature death of babies and young children.
With regards to medical care the aim is to provide access to medical care for everyone. In addition, a complete immunization program should be implemented for children under 12.
With the help of micro loans people will be given the opportunity to start a business, thereby providing the needed economic independence and consequently a better, healthier life. Individual micro loans would allow women to start their own business, whereas combined micro loans for groups of women with similar business plans could support co operations where women can combine business and childcare.
To improve the quality of life with sustainability and the environment in mind environmental friendly solutions should be provided for daily activities, for example solar powered stoves for cooking and boiling water as a good and cheap alternative to charcoal stoves.