The needs around us...

Togo is among the 20 poorest countries in the world....and many people around us live in poverty! At times, families who just manage to make ends meet, plunge into very difficult situations, for example when there suddenly are big hospital bills, when someone dies ore there is sudden unemployment. We are grateful that we are often able to help. Helping is not always easy....sometimes there are situations that make us wonder: what is wise? We always aim to avoid making people dependent, and only assist when there are unforeseen or one-off important expenses for a family.

Here are some examples of how we have been able to help in recent months:

• we helped pay for surgeries and/or hospital bills.
• we helped a girl across the street get her identity certificate arranged. (without this paper, it is impossible to ever get further education or find a job, and her family simple does not have the means to pay for this basic need).
• we were also able to help widows and orphans; from our church and the children of Alex's late uncle who also lost their mother a few years ago.
• we have helped young people travel to Lomé to take part in an entrance exam for college/university.
• Alexandre also always knows exactly which families are struggling to buy school supplies for all the children again. Bags filled with school supplies are very gratefully accepted!
• this holiday season we brought a bag filled with groceries to a few families.
• and then the many times we help people with 30 or 50 cents to enable them to take a motor taxi home, and so avoid a one or one and a half hour walk back home!

We are not sharing this to tap ourselves on the shoulders....but just to make you aware that this is very much part of our daily lives here. We cannot turn a blind eye when we see real needs. We are also very grateful to God for His provision to us and so we have only been sharing from His abundance to us! We do ask your prayers for much wisdom! Over the years we have also realised that financial help can sometimes do more harm than good!