Volunteers Dario Etter, Senay Esen and Janina Somm on a project trip in Togo.
Image: Richard Koami
22.09.2024 00:00
Three volunteers from the Tägerwiler association “Des sourires pour le Togo” on project trip 2024
This year’s project trip took volunteers Dario Etter, Senay Esen and Janina Somm to the beautiful country of Togo for the first time. We would like to give you a little insight.
We started in the capital, Lomé. Around two thirds of the entire population of Togo live there and these are mostly the richest. Nevertheless, poverty is not a foreign word in Lomé. From the first day, we were overwhelmed by many impressions, the friendly people, the family hospitality, but also the difficult living conditions even in the capital.
The trip began with the inauguration of latrines in Wli. The village now has access to clean sanitary facilities, which is something we take for granted. We then visited various villages for potential new projects. We were able to see what true poverty means. One village has a health center, but the roof is not watertight. There is no access to a clean toilet or clean showers. The nearest hospital is 15 kilometers away. If pregnant women have complications, they have to be transported on a tricycle over a gravel road, which they or the child often do not survive. There are fatal traffic accidents involving children every week as they run the four to five kilometer long way to school in the village and back. This sight got under our skin and touched us. Tired from the impressions, we were able to end the evening on Mont Kloto with a fire show.
Next, we visited the first projects that the association implemented, a school and the first well in Doglobo. Because at least as important as implementing new projects is checking the status of past projects and thus enabling sustainability.
On the fourth day of the project trip, we visited our school in Kpawa and there was a big football match – because sport brings people together. At this school, it was also important to make the students aware of why education is so important in life.
Inauguration of the school
Then came the highlight of this year’s project trip. We were able to inaugurate the school in Nagmale. Within a week, the village had demolished the old school made of corrugated iron and wood and built the new school with latrines, a football pitch and a basketball court. The enormous gratitude that was shown to us moved us to tears. The village held a huge celebration for the inauguration with special dances, speeches and plays. Now on the project trip we had the honor of experiencing the traditional Evala Festival live. Similar to a wrestling festival, young men fight against each other to prove their masculinity.
In the north of the country in Kpierik there is one of the largest projects, a health center, which was realized in 2022. In addition to normal consultations, births can now take place there, which give the mother and the newborn enough security, even in the event of complications. Since then, there have been no more deaths during births and we were able to meet two-year-old David, the firstborn in the health center. Seeing what can be achieved with the association and how many smiles we have already been able to conjure up is positive.
Inauguration of the fountain
We were already slowly making our way back towards Lomé. On the way, however, we had to inaugurate a well in Walhalla and visit an existing well in Kponta. There, too, we wanted to meet other needs of the population. The last stop on the project trip was in Djemeni and Tado to set up two health centers. Labdoo donated all of the laptops to the villages, which now gives the young people access to the Internet and countless educational opportunities, thank you. Once we arrived in Lomé, we held the closing ceremony for this year’s project trip. We ended the evening comfortably with fine food and stories about God and the world. The trip is now a few weeks behind us and we volunteers are excited about how much we were able to experience and learn in Togo. It reminded us how lucky we are to have been born in Switzerland, to have a roof over our heads, to be able to drink water from almost every tap, to have access to advanced health care and education. Even though the conditions in Togo are much more difficult, it is possible to make a few small parts of the country a little happier. We are grateful that there were no major mishaps on the trip and hope to be able to return to Togo soon. The positive energy of the people is so contagious.
Finally, we would like to thank Mr. Beck, the Margarete Kupka Foundation Makusti, Labdoo, myball.ch, Sebastian Vettel, President Yanek Schiavone and the countless private donors. Without them, the trip, and above all the effort to improve life in Togo, would not be possible. Akpé kaka. ⋌Janina Somm
⋌Instagram:@sourirestogo
