Ready to go

Almost midnight and three large bags are packed with mostly donated materials for PDH.
We have raised a grand total of $2635, that is unbelievable!
Thank you all so much for the money and the goods.
I am ready to go......

Less than a week to departure!

Think it’s time for me to write something for the blog! Having picked up my visa this week, the imminent departure finally feels more like a reality. Having been snowed under at work and removed from all the fund raising (I did raise a little!) Togo really seemed distant. Now it’s drawing closer! In a way it has been good, with barely enough time to even read the books Yoka sent me I have not had time to conjure up notions of what it might be like. This leaves me open minded, something all previous volunteers have recommended. Less than a week now until we leave and the excitement is growing rapidly, with that however is some slight hesitation. Some trepidation about the unknown, about being faced with situations that I have never encountered, my biggest fear being that I might be powerless and unable to make a difference. I don’t want to change the world, I just want to make a difference for one person. If that's all that I accomplish during this trip, then that will be enough.

Donations

More donations have been given for Togo: $2385 has been raised so far! I also have received goods which I will take to Africa: school supplies and toys from many friends, Cray-pas from Candace, to organize a creative workshop with the kids from, hair bands for girls and used precription glasses, donated by Nancy Roberge, from Chestnut Hill Physical Therapy Ass. in Wellesley. I am planning to give a class about dental care and we can give each child a tooth brush, tooth paste and floss, donated by my dentist, Dr. Thomas Puschak in Lexington. Kim from Pearl Vision in Burlington has donated a large bag of used glasses. CVS has donated first aid materials for PDH, which will be welcomed by the doctors who come to the centre to provide free consultations for patients. Via Passback Program, a joint effort between the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Eurosport and Major League Soccer I have received soccer shirts, soccer balls and shinguards in several sizes to outfit two teams. Soccer is the national sport in Togo and the kids will be thrilled. http://www.passback.org/.
Thank you all very much!

Fundraising BBQ Saturday May 17, 2008

The sun came out after heavy rains the night before and the weather was just fine. Our neighbors did a fantastic job with setting up the front yard for the BBQ and helping with preparing food. Just before 4.30 pm the event started with an interview for the Littleton Independent. Around 30 people came this afternoon to enjoy the BBQ, good drinks and good company. It is so heart warming to see the support and outreach from all of you for a tiny non-profit organization in Togo.

We all enjoyed it very much that several members of the Halalisa singers were performing beautiful African songs from their repertoire.

I am extremely thrilled to let you know that we have raised a little over $2100 and € 35!

For PDH this means that so many more people can be given the needed medicines for malaria, TB and aids, so many more people can be given the high nutritional food they need and for so many more children their yearly school fees of $10 can be paid. This is super and I thank you all very much for your donations, time and effort. We will personally hand over all the money to the director of the center, Antoine Dzakas.

I would like to thank Donelans Supermarket very much for their support for the fundraising BBQ.

Bienvenue

Welcome to our blog about our volunteer experience in Togo!
We could have choosen many different projects to volunteer for, but we have choosen Togo and the small non-profit organization PDH. We had the impression that our help was the most needed there.
Togo is one of the poorest countries in the world and some of the statistics about Togo are sobering: over a million children are underweight (out of over 6 million people); the average life expectancy is only 54 years. Only 4 out of 10 girls and 6 out of 10 boys can read and write. HIV/Aids, Malaria and TB are making many victims and leave thousands of children orphaned.The non-profit organization, PDH has an open-door and non-discriminatory philosophy that strives to help anyone in need, regardless of their status or condition. That means that all sorts of people come to their centre: those suffering from HIV/AIDS or other illnesses, the unemployed, orphans, children in need and victims of abuse or family problems.PHD humanitarian efforts focus on HIV/AIDS prevention; education for children in need; and basic services like medical care, food, clothing and shelter for children and adults who are suffering from extreme poverty and abandonment.Very often PDH is forced to turn away people that they, quite simply, cannot help.