Medical Clinic Opens in Togo, Africa

If you haven’t heard of the small nation of Togo in Western Africa you are not alone. Often forgotten, too often neglected, Togo is overshadowed by the political hot spots grabbing headline news.

In Togo, millions live on less than a dollar a day. Rising global food prices have caused massive hunger and utter distress in Togo. The situation is so serious that children sell themselves into servitude to provide small incomes so their families can buy food. In a recent news article, one child trafficker claimed he had illegally taken more than 100 children from Togo and placed them in forced labor.

One survey recorded there are only six doctors for every 100,000 people in Togo. The poor medical care, particularly in rural areas, especially affects pregnant mothers and their babies. Hundreds perish needlessly for lack of basic medical help.

Togo needs help. Last year, World Challenge committed to serve this impoverished nation with Christ’s loving hands. A medical center in the rural village of Midawokope had sat empty, abandoned and useless. Sick and dying people walked by this empty building every day.

But with help from gifts like yours, World Challenge helped to resurrect and reopen the medical center. Today it is filled with proper medical equipment, supplies, and a medical staff who minister to the streams of people seeking help. I recently received this wonderful letter from Pastor Edoh who directs the local medical ministry:

Pastor Edoh (light pants) standing outside the medical clinic with some of his leadership team

“Today our medical clinic welcomed its first born baby, Messah Drakou. It is a great joy in the village that a woman can give birth safely in less than three hours. Thank you for your prayers and cooperation.”

The clinic and its ministry encourage us that future efforts in Togo can help bring hope, healing and life-saving care to thousands. This year we will bring food to the hungry and fund evangelism and church-planting efforts. Your gifts are making a true and lasting impact, helping to provide a new way of life for many in this region.