Following our trip to Togo 5 years ago,

you responded to our call to assist school-aged children whom we saw working instead of attending school to learn the skills for a better tomorrow. Our dream was to provide something that is often taken for granted here at home, education. You took the lead in making it our commitment to lend a helping hand to these children, who cannot complete or get an education due to the financial limitations of their families, to fulfill their dream of learning to read and write. The Children of Lavié was founded with an ambitious but pragmatic mission, to plant the seeds of change. With your understanding of the problem and the need for children’s education, you’ve enabled The Children of Lavié to begin making its mark by showing your strong support for its mission.

Today, in the West African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo, the seeds of change have been planted in a total 1,700 children. Their lives were touched with direct financial assistance enabling them to get an education for another year. We would like to offer you our sincerest gratitude.

We were delighted to take this year’s field trip together to visit the recipients of The Children of Lavié scholarship in Togo. It was a great opportunity to be able to experience the enthusiasm and gratitude expressed by the parents, teachers and administrators who so strongly support your efforts and most of all, to meet the children whose passion for their education is palpable. The prizes for the Masa Memorial Essay Contest were distributed. We visited schools and were appalled to see that no copiers were available for their use, towns where libraries were simply unheard of. We visited parents in their homes and were encouraged to see children determined, against all odds, to partake in the mission which concerns us all.

One of the many market places we visited.

We stopped at many market places, knowing the sad reality that many children who long to be in school but can’t afford it are found there, either working for their parents to help out at home or for themselves in hopes of being able to go back to school. Badja’s market place was lively. Scores of peasants were standing with their crops displayed on sheets of cloth or plastic on the ground hoping to make a sale. The market of this remote village looked more like a social meeting place as few of the people milling about were making purchases. Indeed, many children were working, selling anything from onions and local beverages to palm nut oil which they carried on their heads.

Kofi and Akuvi

Akuvi, an 11-year old girl, was one of those children. We approached Akuvi and, after buying two of the beverages she was selling in order to break the ice and earn her trust, we began to inquire further about why she was there. She reluctantly opened up and explained that she really wanted to go to school as none of her 11 older siblings had. She and her mother had vowed to work together to make the money which would allow Akuvi to go to school this year.

Each beverage costs $0.05. If she sells 40 in one day she gets to keep $0.40. At that rate, she will have to sell 40 drinks every day for 18 days just to make enough to pay the school fee. As if that hurdle was not big enough, market day is a weekly event, which means that with sales at 100%, and none of her earnings being allocated to other family expenses, the 18 days become 18 weeks or about half the school year. We bought the remaining 8 drinks on Akuvi’s tray, provided her with school supplies, took her to school and paid the fee. She will attend school for the rest of the year.

This experience, which repeated itself everywhere we went, raised serious questions of global importance.

How do we, without education, expect to prevent child trafficking in the region where, according to Human Right Watch, school aged children are lured in on appealing but false promises of education and professional training?
How do we prevent another 11 year-old girl from being raped then blamed by her community for her own willingness or another boy from becoming a child soldier if we do not respond to their need for education?

Change must be initiated by the people for the people. Planting the seeds of that change by helping children who otherwise would not be able to complete or get an education is the ultimate mission of the Children of Lavié and the answer to the questions above. The fulfillment of this mission will equip everyone with the ability to succeed, and in turn serve as catalysts for change and development in their communities.

Lavié Library

In this vision, The Children of Lavié takes the construction of its library seriously. Not only that this much needed library will help open and expand the great minds that remain kept in the dark, but also, our mission would be a sad illusion never to be fulfilled without it.

You always respond every time we call on you. In this time of economic uncertainties, your gift is even more essential to ensure the fulfillment of the mission we all support. We ask you to please help in any way you can, including ideas for possible sources of funding, contacts of interest, initiatives at your local schools, or in-kind donations of computers, copiers, books, etc.

The design, as proposed by Li/Saltzman Architects, PC, provides 10,000 sq. ft. for:

Books for all age groups and interests covering a wide variety of subjects
Periodicals
videos and DVDs
computers with Internet access
quiet reading areas
meeting spaces

The library will be the first in the region. See the slideshow.

The library will serve not only as a lending source for books, but also as a community resource that supports the educational, cultural and informational needs of all in the region, including children and teens. The library will include, among other features, a copy center which will meet the direct needs of students who, for the first time, will have the opportunity to make copies of the materials they cannot afford to own. Through computers and Internet facilities, we hope to be able to link the students and all residents with the rest of the world for a global learning experience.

More than just a library, it will be a place for vibrant discussions, studies and workshops. We anticipate partnering with organizations such as Peace Corps and local NGOs to offer language and technology training as well as trade programs tailor made to meet local needs.

Across West Africa, information on a variety of issues – health, agriculture, education, technology and more – are needed to help citizens and governments address daily challenges and improve their lives. The new Lavié Library will be an attractive destination and a valuable educational tool for children and for all residents. It will help reinforce and augment what children learn in school and will inspire a lifelong love of learning. It will also strengthen the Lavié community and enhance the quality of life for all.

As H.G. Wells observed, “history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” Unless we act pragmatically, the educational status quo is a guarantee that the cycle of crisis will be perpetuated.

Kofi Amouzou

Megan Amouzou