Dear Friend,
I am Komlavi Peter Ataty, country director of Compassion Togo since 2009. Compassion started in Togo in February 2008 with 10 child development centers, and today it has grown to more than 160 church partners serving more than 40,000 children.
I sincerely thank you for the great love and hope you are giving to your sponsored child. Your contribution is precious.
In Togo, more than 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Poverty, health issues, lack of education, abuse, forced labor, and early marriage are some of the challenges children and their families are facing. More than 20 percent of school-age children do not have access to education. Although the situation has improved recently, as free education became available, some children and youth from impoverished rural families cannot access education just because of the costs of books, transportation, meals, etc. School buildings are often substandard and in deplorable condition. Primary classes may have 80 students squeezed into dilapidated, cramped rooms. HIV/AIDS is prevalent in Togo, and we have insufficient health personnel and a lack of appropriate health care infrastructure.
Child development centers help children develop their talents and grow holistically – physically, cognitively, socio-emotionally, and spiritually – through quality child-development activities. The goal of this approach is life transformation for all the children, helping them fulfill God’s plan for their lives and making a constructive impact on their homes, communities, countries, and the whole world. Church partners are also involved in evangelism and health education for communities, treatment of some diseases, and initiatives to provide clean water, vocational training, etc.
A mother whose child is in the program testified: “When my husband died, I thought we would die too, because nobody from either his family or mine will think about us. Since 2013, none of them has asked me how the children are doing. But thank God, Compassion is there. I was so comforted by the words in the letters my son received from his sponsor. Even though I am a single mother, I know I have some people caring for me and my children. These letters are a powerful source of encouragement to us.”
When sponsors write letters to their children and tell them they are members of the family, that they are loved and prayed for, and that their future is bright, it has a tremendous impact on the child and even on the family. Nothing can take the place of this sponsor-child relationship through letters. I encourage you to write to your child often. It is so valuable.
We continuously pray for you. Please pray for our work here, the children and workers, and for continuous peace and stability in our country.
Kindly receive my heartfelt gratitude for choosing to sponsor your child in Togo. I strongly pray that the Lord will continue blessing you and keeping you under His everlasting grace and favor from generation to generation.
In Jesus,
Komlavi Peter Ataty
If you would like to sponsor a child from Togo, please consider sponsoring
