Togo: Dormez bien

From Togo 2010 Photos

As travelling volunteers for SCAW we do not need Steven Covey to remind us to "begin with the end in mind." From the 6:30 AM start of our day, through loading the van, travelling tiring distances to remote villages outside of Lomé, greeting the parents and children, setting up for the distribution, then taking the photos, our goal is realized as the children receive their bedkits.

On behalf of our donors, we are overjoyed to receive the excited smiles of these needy children as we say to them "C'est un cadeau du Canada; dormez bien," and watch them start the long journey home carrying their precious gifts.

Janice Gillespie
and the Togo team 2010

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Togo: Tears

From Togo 2010 Photos

Tears are always a part of a distribution. They arrive without warning.

Our van bumps along roads that minutes later will become mini-rivers from the sudden torrents of rain. It seems that we are far away from children and schools. Then suddenly we come upon the site. Children rush to our van, they reach out to touch hands that we have involuntarily thrust through the open windows. The caregivers break into song and dance. The scene is one of explosive joy.

Our tears are natural.

Also Bob's family and our distribution team can relax. His deodorant has arrived!

Team Togo 2010

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Togo: Hope

From Togo 2010 Photos

Hope is Leslie Banner's reassuring touch for an eight week old abandoned baby girl.

Hope for a school age child in Togo is the frenzied excitement of knowing that for the very first time he or she will sleep on a real mattress, experience the safety of a mosquito net, and know that the khaki material will make a cherished school uniform.

Hope for a mother in Togo is the happiness of knowing that the bedkit is an answer to her prayers.

Our donors give more than a bedkit. They engender hope in the hearts of people in the remotest corners of Africa.

Grant Clark
for SCAW Team Togo 2010

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Togo: The team has arrived

From Togo 2010 Photos

Greetings from Team Togo in Lomé:

All except one piece of luggage has arrived safely after sixteen hours of flying. Fortunately the missing luggage does not contain items essential to our distribution and we are all hopeful that Bob Barclay has his missing deodorant very soon as we are already coping with 90°F.

We had a joyous reunion with our Togo Overseas Volunteer Team, and can hardly wait to see the first 400 children tomorrow.

Theresa Carravetta
for SCAW Team Togo 2010

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Togo: Delayed start

The Togo Team has been delayed for one week due to the volcanic ash and we have been waiting anxiously for the international flights to resume. We are now scheduled to depart from Toronto on Friday, April 23^rd on our way to Lome, Togo, West Africa. Our team will arrive on Saturday evening and meet the Overseas Team who will be working in close partnership with us until our departure on May 6^th. Our first distribution is on Monday April 26^th.

Our Canadian Team is honoured to have the privilege of representing our many donors. We will touch the hands and hearts of 4,000 of the world’s most beautiful but impoverished children.

We are eager to get started!!

The Togo Team

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Togo: The team prepares

The travelling team for Togo 2009 met at the Sleeping Children office this week to prepare for their trip later this month.

Pictured left to right: Leslie Banner (Team Leader), Carolyn Carere, Grant Clark (Team Leader), Janice Gillespie, Bob Barclay, Theresa Carravetta.

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Togo: Post your comments here

Lome, Togo Weather

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Kenya trip reports posted

The donor newsletter for the Kenya bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.

Kenya 2010 Photos

Photos are available in the Kenya 2009 Photo Album. You can view them by clicking the link above.

If you would like to read the reports on the web, you can read them in their entirety here.

Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.