Kailend Newsletter Issue 1, June 2015
The Living Stones English Language Resource Center (TLERC) - Kim Founded in 2013 by Mrs. Olatokunbo Ige, the Living Stones is an English language resource center for children. The center serves as a library facility and book club with the aim to teach children English and encourage them to read more. The ages of the children are between 4 and16 years old. Since November 2014 the center also has been giving out donations of educational books to Aimes-Afrique, the Christian International School and other communities. In recent months Kailend volunteers have been assisting in sorting out books for donations and serving as mentors and teachers for the Book Worm Club, which take place every two weeks on Saturday.
Mama Charity Our main goal with Mama Charity Orphanage has been to raise funds to allow the children to move to a new house, which will meet their urgent need for more space. We are well on our way to covering the cost of the required deposit at the time of writing, and will continue to raise money to allow additional costs to be covered, including new school resources and kitchen essentials. Otherwise, our main contribution has been spending time with the children to give them the care and affection they deserve. We try to ensure that children of all ages are treated to equal attention, as we understand that the older children are easier to overlook in favour of comforting a crying baby. Two of our volunteers Amanda and Renato have shown exceptional dedication to the orphanage, staying overnight to support Mama Charity when she was ill with malaria and had no other adult help, as well as leading afternoon trips to the volunteer house to allow some of the older children to leave the orphanage for the first time.
Kailend Newsletter Issue 1, June 2015 Katanga Clinic - Sheridan At Katanga we have been shadowing the doctor during minor surgery and the nurses during general consultations. Even after a few minutes the differences between this small clinic set in a fishing neighbourhood and a UK hospital are evident; patients using their savings to pay for diagnostic tests, a hostile looking ceramic tiled table in place of a bed for women during labour and a metallic horn used in the place of an ultrasound scanner to determine whether a baby is still alive. We were able to pass equipment to the doctor and comfort a lady through her pain during a small operation to stitch a wide gash in her shin, made as her husband struck her with an object during an argument. On another occasion, we helped to make a pregnant lady stable on the bed during a seizure to enable the doctor to give her medication. In the near future, we plan to explore the needs of the hospital with the outlook of fundraising and collecting donations to fill these gaps.
Teaching – Trinity Gems- Pav One of the main projects I have been involved in was working in a local school called Trinity Gems. It has been an extremely pleasant experience where I have gotten to know the students very well and have felt like part of the staff from day one. My main purpose there is to teach maths lessons but Kailend also helps the school by providing more resources such as stationary and textbooks. In return for volunteers teaching at Trinity Gems, Kailend is working on getting some of the street kids we do sports coaching projects with into the school. Students at Trinity Gems are taught in English but Kailend is also working with other local schools that teach in French.
Street Kids – Dodou One of our projects involves Sports Coaching for the vulnerable street kids of LomÊ, which encompasses both mentoring and spiritual guidance. We started this mentoring programme eight months ago and progress has been good. We are currently training kids between the ages of eight and seventeen years in basic soccer skills and fitness. Recently the kids had their first competitive match, which helped to boost their confidence and motivated them to training more regularly. After each training session we provide for them with food and water.
Kailend Newsletter Issue 1, June 2015 Aneho We took a day trip to Anaho in the group minibus, which proved a fine way to experience the turbulent and bumpy roads of Togo. Our first stop was the Palace of the 8th King of Anahoe, where even the cleaning staff were immaculately dressed. We then continued towards the point where Lake Togo meets the Atlantic Ocean, which coupled with the backdrop of fishing boats and a blue sky provided an immaculate setting for photography and Albert to take his selfies. After a brief stop to investigate a grumpy alligator we were back on the road (or at least bouncing a few inches above the road) to reach our final destination, the slave house. Here there were many lessons to be learnt, and the slightly dilapidated building only increased the harsh reality of the evil trade that this house helped to propagate. The slave owners lived in luxury above, whilst beneath their floorboards the slaves lived cramped and forced to crawl for an undetermined time before being relocated by ship to their new masters. Outside the house, a small market provided an opportunity to buy intricate local handmade crafts. Overall, the day was hugely satisfying and provided a very different glimpse of the Togo we had so far experienced.
Kpalime One of our trips this month was a journey to Kpalime, a nearby town in the south-west of Togo. The first thing we visited in Kpalime was a Roman Catholic Church, which allowed sometime for spiritual reflection. We then moved onto an arts centre, where local craftsmen exhibited their handiwork with wood and local fabrics, and we took part in some well-earned shopping. The main portion of the trip was the botanical forest walk, where our local guide showed us the many fascinating and diverse medicinal plants growing naturally in Kpalime. Highlights included plants that could be used to make temporary ink for tattoos and others beautiful paints, as well as the mimosa plant whose leaves curl up when they are touched. A rain shower failed to dampen our spirits, merely helping us to feel more strongly like the hardened explorers we believed ourselves to be. On the way home, a final stop for some delicious fruits and the promise of dinner awaiting our return ended the day on a high note.