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Helping the village of Agome sevah in Togo 100% of £100 x 100 people would be enough!!
In June 2008 we were invited to the wedding of two friends; Teun and Anoma which was held in Togo where Anoma's ancestors come from. A thrilling and unique experience for us and as a result Togo came in to our lives. Very few people even know where Togo is, let alone know anything about it and certainly we didn’t before we visited.
As a part of the week long celebrations in Togo we visited the village of Anoma’s ancestors; Agome-sevah, which is on the river Mono, the border between Togo and Benin at this point. The people of the village were wonderful to us and could not have been more hospitable. Even though they did not know we were coming as there was no way to let them know! As we said at the time they gave us a lot more than they had. They have very little!
 Agome-sevah had no water and still has no electricity, no proper roads, no industry, no sanitation and no medical facility to speak of. As result many of the villagers with anything about them felt they had to go to the capital; Lome, and try to make a living there. For all these reasons the village is struggling as you will see from the photographs that we took whilst there.
The father of the bride (Eugene, but everyone calls him Papa) has been elected as the “wise” person of his extended family and also of the village. He is an educated man gaining his degree in Mechanical Engineering in France. But more importantly he has that indefinable quality; wisdom
Mandy and Rod Unger, Teun and Anoma Van Herpen initially committed to do two things. Firstly we committed to and have already provided some micro finance so that the people of Agome-sevah can begin to set up small businesses, acquire things for the benefit of the whole village and then repay the loans so that someone else can then have a chance of setting up their business.
After the micro finance we committed to providing clean water to the village for the first time! This has now been completed and you can see the photos on this link:
 Having achieved all that we realised that we are only half way to providing them with "a platform for success".
So we next committed to helping them get their school up and running. We raised some more money to provide them with a new roof for the two school buildings as the previous ones leaked!!. We also provided them with all the text books they required and many, many other basic things that they told us (and we saw) that they did not have. All this has been now been achieved as witnessed by Rod, Mandy and Dani in September 2010.
Now we need to provide them with a the health centre up to a minimum acceptable standard. The dispensary or hospital (as they call it) that they have is appalling and other than a structure has virtually nothing! The nearest one is 15 miles away and that too is appalling!
We need your help to do all this.
We are going to have to raise at least £30,000 to cover all the costs of what is requird including a new roof, new doors and windows and tiling throughout plus all the furniture etc the require. And we have already raised over £20000. We are hoping to be able to get some of the rest from the big charities as we have obtained our charitable status but this is proving extremely difficult even though we meet their criteria. We are going to ask again for as many of you as possible to think of ways you can raise some more money or maybe for the first time!!
Not a penny will be taken for administration, our travel or any expenses etc. Every penny raised will be sent to Togo for the clinic.
As mentioned, another part of what the trustees (Mandy and Rod Unger, Lady Patti Saxby and Caroline Sparks) are giving is the provision of all administration and other related costs including this web site. All the finances will be under the scrutiny of Qualified Accountants (Andrew J Geary and Lorraine Marshall) who are also providing their services free of charge. Thanks to both
  Here are some of the ideas we have had to raise money including some from people committed to raising the minimum of £100 although recently we have done well by giving talks about Togo whereby we receive a donation. If you know anyone who would like such a talk let us know!
Let us know your ideas and we will add them to the list.
 How else could you help? We are wanting to contact people who have knowledge or contacts that can help the "hospital". We need a new ceiling and roof for the hospital but only after we have got rid of the bats that infest the building. (Yes they are still having to use it!!) Do you know any builders who could go and do the work? We need expertise for the hospital in terms of telling us what equipment and drugs etc are required. Do you know anyone or any company that could help us How do you know the money will end up in Togo and be used exclusively for the benefit of the village? As stated we are going to use qualified accountants to provide you with an assurance that every penny goes to Togo. You will be able to contact them and you will be given a receipt. We are going to send everyone a monthly update so that you can see the progress made and all those contributing.
We also give you our word and we will also provide you with photos of the progress we make or you could come out with us – at your expense. You would find the experience humbling. If you need anything else just let us know.
What did they do for water before the wells?
Mostly they used to use the river! They used it for or fishing, for the toilet, for everything! Any clean water was carried from long distances and by the women as the men are working on the land. Now all that has changed.
What do they do for medical support now!
Is not easy! They have to make do as best they can. For child birth they have to make there way some 15 miles to a marginally better clinic without any transport being available. If it as emergency the part qualified nurse just does her best!! They have no refrigerator in which to keep medication, no lighting, no hot water. The roof leaks. The nurse gets paid £35 (pounds) a month!! If they need more than this they have to pay .......and they have no money!
If you have any other questions at all just ask and we will get answers for you -rod.unger@tiscali.co.uk - we look forward to hearing from you soon
We have had lots of great comments about our web site which was done free of charge by a good friend and great guy; Khush Jabble. Thanks Khushtie! |
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