Both co-founders–Kofi and Megan–
were delighted to take this year’s field trip
to Togo to visit the recipients of
The Children of Lavié scholarship.

 

“It was a great pleasure for me” said co-founder Megan “to be able to experience the enthusiasm and gratitude expressed by the teachers and administrators who so strongly support our efforts and most of all, to meet the children whose passion for their education could not be missed. I was also pleased to see the enthusiastic support of the parents who were thankful and appreciative of the financial assistance they were so fortunate to receive for the education of their offspring.”

The Children of Lavié renewed its support for all those who were helped last year and a few new people for a total of 1,700 children.

These children are able to attend school for another year.

Stories this year

As always unfortunately, and this year, again, many cases required urgency and focus on immediate solutions. These cases called for special attention in reinforcing our vital mission to the children whose lives are directly touched.

Dela...

Meet Dela, a single mother of 4 from the village of Akepe in Togo. Her youngest children are 4 year old twin boys.

 

Field Liaison, Anani and co-founder Kofi first met Dela and
her twin boys last year.

Dela’s past and current situation, though unimaginable to many, are far more common than one would care to know. At the age of 12 she was forced to leave school because her family could no longer afford to pay the school fees. She went to work as a maid for a wealthy family in the capital city of Lome. Her initial goal was to make enough money to afford the cost of her education and return to school. All hopes also rested on her to support the entire family back in the village. It became apparent very early on that there would be more money for her if she did more for the man of the house other than cook, clean and babysit.

“I was not physically forced. My mother thought it was fine as long as we could make ends meet,” she said. “But I describe it as rape because the financial enticement proved to be a force driving me.”

 

At the age of 12, with the approval and even encouragement from her mother, she prostituted herself instead of being in school learning the skills needed for a better life. However, instead of extra money she received frequent beatings. She left and returned to the village. The same scenario repeated itself but this time in neighboring Benin. She was the ripe old age of 15. Her dream of education had all but slipped away. After enduring more beatings she left Benin for Lome to work for another family. She eventually met a man she thought would provide for her. This man was a taxi driver.

 

“He bought me food every day and I lived with him in a room he rented. He promised me everything and I believed him.”

 

This man would become her husband and father her children. After the birth of 2 sons however, she was kicked out. She ended up back in the village. She was not able to support herself and the children. Once again, she left, leaving her young children with her mother, to try to earn some money for her family. Her husband returned vowing never to disrespect her again. He promised her the world. She returned and, shortly after, had the twins at which point she was again kicked out by her husband who was not able to provide for the family.

 

Dela sought work again but this time could not leave her 4 children with her mother. She took them with her. The family she worked for did not treat her or the children well and frequently abused her children. In October of 2007, one week before Kofi and Anani’s arrival in the village, she decided to go back home and do her best to provide her children with a safe place to live and an education.

She is no longer struggling. The Children of Lavié vowed to support her in her children’s education. She found an opportunity as an apprentice fabric weaver. She is four months into her yearlong training. The cost of the training was fully paid for by the Children of Lavié. For the time being she only gets paid if what she makes sells.

Co-founders Megan and Kofi, accompanied by the school principal of the village went to spend an afternoon with Dela. Outside of her workplace, a small room with 3 looms and a few chairs, some children had gathered to see them.

 

Kofi...

Word spread fairly quickly through the villages that we were there and when it did it did not take too long for children to gather. Most of them were the recipients of The Children of Lavié’s financial assistance and were in school because of this. In talking with the children, we met Kofi Awanyo who is 7 years old and although he desperately wanted to was not attending school.

We asked him to take us to his parents. We walked around the corner, the two of us, 7 year old Kofi, the village’s school principal and the rest of the group of children, and went into Kofi’s home where we found his mother nursing his youngest brother.

At first, Kofi's mother appeared startled and defensive when she saw us. After a few minutes we learned that she has 7 children, only two of whom attend school as she simply cannot afford to send all of them. Her husband lives in Ghana and is only able to send money occasionally. When he does, she must make it stretch to provide food until the next time. Unfortunately, for her and countless others, schooling is a luxury. Before the school principal, we vowed to support Kofi. His mother made the commitment to send him to school the following Monday.

We enrolled Kofi in school. That day, Kofi attended his very first day of school and was completely overjoyed.

Aisha...

Encounters such as this are frequent and one of the ways we carry out our mission and certainly the reason for The Children of Lavié. One such encounter three years ago introduced us to Aisha, 14 at the time, who was selling water in the market in Lome hoping to earn enough money to be able to pay for school that year.

Because of The Children of Lavié, Aisha was able to return to school the next day. We caught up with Aisha this year and are happy to report that she is still in school gaining the tools needed to open up many opportunities for the future.

Aisha is now 16 and in her last year in middle school.

Children at the market places

While these encounters may appear random they are the ones that mean the most to us and unfortunately too easy to make happen. On any given day dozens of children are found at a market place, either working for their parents to help out at home or, like Aisha, for themselves in hopes of being able to go back to school. Knowing this sad but true reality we make it a point to stop at many of the market places to find children who long to be in school.

On a steamy October’s mid-morning, the market place of the village of Badja was lively. Scores of people were doing real work. Standing were peasants with corn, beans, palm nuts, yams and manioc with hopes to make a sale. Abundant onions, tomatoes, dried chili peppers and okras were displayed on sheets of cloth or plastic on the ground. It did not seem anything was selling. The market looked more like a social meeting place. There were many children working or just hanging out instead of attending school to learn the skills they need for a better tomorrow. The children were selling anything from onions and local beverages to palm nut oil which they carried on their heads.

Akuvi, an 11-year old girl was one of the children in the market with a tray of small plastic bags filled with a local soft drink on her head.

We immediately thought we must go to work here too. Co-founder Kofi approached Akuvi and, after buying two of the beverages to break the ice and earn her trust, he began to inquire further about why she was there. After some hesitation she 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. At our request she introduced us to her mother.

 

The school year was two weeks old and Akuvi only earned $0.10. Each beverage costs $0.05. If she sells 40 in one day then 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 go to school, assuming her mother does not ask for any of her earnings to help feed the other children. As if that hurdle was not big enough, market day only happens once a week, which means that with sales at 100%, and none of her profits being allocated to other family expenses, the 18 days become 18 weeks, just about half the school year.

Despite those odds, Akuvi and countless others all over West Africa yearn so strongly to go to school that they are out there doing everything within their power to overcome the challenges of poverty.

These are the children in whom The Children of Lavié has been planting the seeds of change with direct, common sense and result-oriented assistance. Our philosophy is rather simple: the fulfillment of our mission will equip every child with the ability to succeed, and in turn serve as an able catalyst for change and development in their families, and in the global community.

We bought the remaining 8 bags 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.

 

Were it not for The Children of Lavié, Akuvi would be in that market each week fighting an impossible battle to live the dream she longs for. Her future would be eerily similar to that of Dela’s where young children experience things nobody, regardless of their age, should ever experience. Or worse yet, Akuvi could be caught in the child trafficking phenomenon (reported by Human Right Watch) in the region where school aged children are lured in on appealing but false promises of education and professional training.

Tests this year

Each year poses challenges that come with where we do our work and this year was no exception. The first is time management. As we happily expand our reach and the number of lives we touch the more people there are to see and the more people there are that want to thank us personally. This challenge comes as a consequence to our positive growth. The second challenge is transportation within the region. Finding a taxi willing to go to all of the villages and schools for the duration of the trip is quite difficult. The roads are unpaved and not well maintained; sometimes, simply non-existent. This year there were incidents where the car got stuck in the mud while attempting to get to a village so remote there are no roads to reach it. These challenges however are a small price to pay for the reward of helping these children. Looking at the happy faces of those who come out to greet us makes it all worthwhile. The commitment and dedication to achieving our mission is far stronger and certainly more important.

There were hurdles not previously faced such as the exchange rate and an increase in the school fee to about $8 per year. We also experienced a rather difficult fundraising environment. However, you showed strong love and caring, which to us, reflects not only your understanding of the problem but also your commitment to doing all you can to help plant the seeds of change in these potentially great minds that remain kept in the dark. The result of our work will equip children in the region with the ability to succeed and in turn, act as catalysts for change and development in their communities. You are essential in the fulfillment of this great and worthy work. We hope you continue to show this. It is, without a doubt, crucial to what we are all working to achieve.