Prior to leaving the States back in October, I might not have known that the country of Togo existed, and I definitely wouldn’t have been able to place it on the map. Now Togo will always be a place I considered home for three weeks in my time between Ghana and Nigeria. I don’t feel any special fondness for the country or even its people past the usual sympathy for a poor and uneducated country that is barely “reached” and by in large without any hope.
29% of Togo’s population professes Christ, and of its 6.7 million population, over 1.2 million live in people groups that have yet to be reached with the Gospel.
Roughly one half of the population lives below the International poverty line of US $1.25 a day.
25% of Togo’s male population is illiterate as well as 53% of its female population.
64% of its rural population is without an improved source of drinking water.
The country is run by a dictator, who purchased votes in the recent elections.
We were told not to go out at night, as people are often mugged by men with machetes just outside the gates of where we were staying.
Lome, Togo’s largest and capitol city, has a beautiful coastline that has been marred by the dumping of raw sewage and trash, and men and women peeing and pooping anywhere and everywhere.
I do however have hope for Togo. God has not abandoned Togo, there are Christian men and women in Togo that God is using to change the spiritual and physical climate.
One Saturday, Team Jubilee along with Bethany and April of Team Rhema, had the privilege of visiting a Compassion International Project. Compassion International is a “Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.” On Saturdays, the children arrive at the Compassion site just outside of Lome. The children are fed a nutritious meal, are taught about Christ, are given a general education to supplement the schooling they get during the week, and are given physical examinations to ensure that they get the appropriate medical attention required to keep them healthy. Because Compassion is such a well run organization there wasn’t a whole lot that we could have done to help other than helping to prepare lunch and playing with the kids. They have a great staff, are well organized, and do a great job of stewarding the money God has given them. I have heard quite a few Compassion presentations at various churches and conferences and have maintained a fairly high level of skepticism as to how the money they receive is actually spent. I have now seen the work they do first hand, and would definitely encourage anyone looking for a place to make a difference to take a look at Compassion.
