27.07.2021 The projects of Kekeli Togo in Klologo - as of July 1, 2021 The projects of Kekeli Togo e.V. cover the issues of poverty, health and hygiene, education and empowerment of girls and contribute to the progressive achievement of UN SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Our solutions implemented to date: Poverty: Kekeli Togo helped out with many in-kind donations - school uniforms and satchels in particular. However, our focus is on financial help to realize the projects. To support the local economy, we buy locally. We set up a financial fund so that women in Klologo can build up a livelihood with an interest-free loan Training included. The amount of EUR 60 has already benefited about 150 beneficiaries. We covered the training costs for eight young people, including a diploma course in the medical field, donated locally purchased sewing machine, tools and two bicycles for the way to the training. We helped with relief supplies (locally purchased food and masks) during the Corona summer. read more 27.07.2021 Where does my food come from? Goal 1 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, which should be achieved by 2030 (!), is: no poverty, goal 2: no hunger. After the pandemic year, which brought the poor countries in particular to their knees, both of these goals are in poor shape. More than 800 million people, almost all of them in Asia and Africa, are starving or chronically malnourished. Climate change is, and was even before Corona, the root cause. What can we do about it? We need to realize that our consumption and eating habits contribute to climate change. But we already know that. Only, the implementation is not so easy. Let's start with a small step: Let's pay attention to where our food comes from! 16.07.2021 Sturdy tables for the girls’ house, made in Klologo The beautiful tables for the girls' house are ready, as the photo shows. They are made of local teak, with interesting grain. Ten sturdy tables and two desks have been carpentered by the Klologo carpenters, among them Kodjo, the apprentice carpenter supported by Kekeli Togo. In this way, Kekeli Togo and the local project coordinator involve the local population in the project. The carpenters are of course paid for their work, but the money stays in the village. The same applies to construction projects: In Kekeli Togo's construction projects in Klologo, it is stipulated that craftsmen from the village are brought in to participate in the work, and are then entrusted with further supervision and maintenance. 10.07.2021 It takes some sex education... Klologo. ATBEF (Association togolaise du bien-être familial) is responsible for raising awareness and educating the population of Klologo on the subject of sexuality and contraception as part of the Kekeli Togo Girls Project. One of the aims of this project is to put an end to the unfortunately widespread early pregnancies that prevent girls from completing their schooling and escaping the poverty trap. Sexuality and contraception are absolutely taboo subjects; the competent advice and education provided by the people from ATBEF is very important here. The head of the regional ATBEF office is in charge of the project. On July 9, the first sex education seminar took place in Klologo. to the pictures 09.07.2021 Shell almost finished... Klologo . The sanitary building for girls - an important pillar of the Kekeli Togo Girls Project - is almost finished; the windows are installed, the exterior plaster is applied. The grand inauguration is planned for September. The sanitary building for girls with toilets and showers is an important contribution to improve the living situation of the girls in Klologo. For this part of the girls' project, Kekeli Togo e.V. has received funding from the Conrad Foundation and eudim. A quarter of the total amount is covered by the association's own funds. 09.07.2021 The contraceptives are here! Klologo. We can start with the chapter "Education and Contraception" within the Kekeli Togo Girls Project. The State Family Planning Center has handed over the contraceptives that were purchased for the girls' project. The association called Apotheker helfen (Pharmacists Help) provided us with the financial means. The hormonal contraceptives as well as condoms were handed over to the director (left) and the midwife (right) of the health center in Klologo, and some representatives of ATBEF are coming to Klologo to give seminars; the midwife of the Polyclinique in Vogan will support the midwife in Klologo regarding education about the effect and use of hormonal contraceptives. Olivier Kpakpa, the head of ATBEF at the district level, will accompany the project. On July 8, the first lecture on education and awareness was given. It's a good time because the school year exams are over. 09.07.2021 The building blocks are delivered... Klologo. The whole village joins in: The women of Klologo carry the mud bricks handmade by the men, which were stored at the high school, to the construction site between the marketplace and the elementary school - this is where the toilet facility with twelve cubicles, subsidized by government funds, is being built. The wife of the Chef du Village also joined in. The facility will benefit the school children as well as the women who supply or visit the weekly market. We were very impressed by the photos. It is so good to see the commitment with which the projects we have initiated and financed are being taken up in Klologo. We see with respect the efforts that the women take on when hauling the large mud bricks: Some have the toddler on their back, the tub with the bricks on their head - respect! Here is a comment from Séraphin, the project coordinator in Klologo; he wrote to Michel Frenzel-Assih: "Honestly, the community work done today is unprecedented since the 1990s. Both the men and the women came in droves. The men braved hunger and were determined to finish the excavation work. As I was worried, the principal of the elementary school offered us two liters of sodabi (a liquor distilled from palm trees) to encourage us. The Chef du Village and I had initially offered a liter of sodabi to bolster their enthusiasm. The women, for their part, were cheerfully at work with the bricks. At last the earthworks are over. Many bricks are still to be picked up in the next few days." to the pictures 02.07.2021 Here we go! In Klologo, the excavation for the toilet facility between the elementary school and the marketplace begins, the villagers help. The schoolchildren and the women who work or shop at the weekly market will be able to use the toilets and washbasins starting in September. Kekeli Togo received government funding amounting to 75% of the construction costs for the facility with twelve cubicles with flushing toilets. A modern, environmentally friendly latrine system converts solids into fertilizer; this eliminates the need for emptying the sump pit and reduces the depth of excavation. 19.06.2021 Juneteenth now official holiday On June 19, 1865, slavery in the United States ended officially; enslaved people were free two months after the North won against the South in the Civil War over slavery: the Confederate States in the South wanted to preserve slavery. The day, called “Juneteenth”, (short for June the nineteenth) was unofficially celebrated across the States. Now, on June 15, 2021, President Biden signed a bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. It is seen as a fitting way to mark the successful end of a war fought to abolish slavery. Let's remember that most of the slaves were abducted from West Africa - that is, also from Togo, the country that is the subject of our projects. Source: The Washington Post, June 18, 2021 09.06.2021 News from Klologo Azoli yéyé, the new way, is the name of the girls' house, which can now be used soon. It has been connected to the power supply. Craftsmen from the village have done the work. And the 32 plastic chairs have been purchased, which will be used for meetings, training sessions and the like. Our partners in Klologo are handling the donations well: They were able to negotiate a discount. They were able to negotiate a discount on the price of the chairs, which are huge sums of money in Togo and other former French colonies. The chairs cost 180,000 F CFA, which is the equivalent of about 270 euros. (Rule of thumb to get the approximate Euro amount: Trim the F CFA amount by three zeros, then divide by two, times three. F CFA today means: Francs - Communauté Française d'Afrique; it used to be called: Colonies Françaises d'Afrique. The colonies have been replaced by the community (communauté). The UEMOA (Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine, the West African Economic and Monetary Union) is in the process of replacing the F CFA with a new common currency, the Eco. Which will again be pegged to the euro, like the F CFA. This was supposed to happen in July 2020, but fell victim to the pandemic situation. Togo is a member of the UEMOA. Solidarity "The new path" - this is the path of self-confidence, self-determination, cohesion, the path to academic success that the girls are now taking through the Kekeli Girls Project. Cohesion and solidarity now also prevail among the seven craftsmen trained by Kekeli Togo: Kodjo, the budding carpenter, the oldest at 24, looks after the younger ones. If there are problems, for example in their training, they can turn to him; he has pedagogical experience from a period as a substitute teacher. The group now meets regularly. Sanitary pads A thousand washable sanitary pads, part of our girls' project, are on their way to Klologo. Each of the girls in our target group - about 250 - will receive a basic set of sanitary pads. The transport box was picked up in Hof and brought to Düsseldorf, where it will be consolidated in a container and brought to Rotterdam. From embarkation to arrival in Lomé, the general cargo is on the move for four weeks. Then it goes by truck to Klologo. The transport cost was 100 euros; the price varies depending on the size of the box. As reported in the local press, the bandages were sewn by women from our region and by two companies; another local company donated material. We always try to get into the press with our projects - this gives us more publicity. Because of the articles about the bandages, we were able to record a lot of donations! Donations Extra money donations came in again from our own ranks: Two dressmakers from the group can be happy about donations that allow them to buy a sewing machine. And Madeleine, the head of the CPPJF, the Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Young Girls, is getting a new laptop. After all, it is our policy to allow as much as possible to be purchased locally in order to support the local economy. Another larger donation reached us for the girls' house facility: with the money, the girls' house will get a WLAN connection. Subsidies With the help of subsidies - this is done through applications in which we present the respective project, the target group and the desired effects - we were able to tackle two construction projects; as an association, we generally bear about 25 percent of the construction costs. For the sanitary building, which is under construction, we received funding from the Conrad Foundation and from eudim; for the WC facility, which will soon be built, we received funding from the Bavarian State. For the contraceptives in the girls' project, "Apotheker Helfen" has again supported us; we have also received grants from them for our portable hand-washing stations. Prize money Please keep your fingers crossed: The Rotarians Vogtland again launched the "Secret Heroes of the Vogtland" prize in 2020. With the description of the activities of our chairman and our projects we have reached the top three, so we have a chance to win either 500, 1000 or - first prize - 2000 Euro! This will be announced at a small ceremony in Plauen on June 23. We will report. 02.06.2021 Bravo, kids! Keep up the good work! In Germany, the USA, China and many other countries, International Children's Day is celebrated on June 1. (In addition, there is World Children's Day on September 20, which was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of children's rights worldwide). International Children's Day aims to celebrate children and raise public awareness of their needs. For the second time, Children's Day is now being held under Corona conditions. That is, with the now familiar restrictions. These corona months, what a difficult and unnatural phase in the life of a child! The children miss out on so much! The children suffer a lot from the extreme contact restrictions. They cope with it well! Let's take today's Children's Day as an opportunity to shout a loud "Bravo, well done" to the children! And a "Hang in there!" Let's celebrate the children even without a big party, let's meet the children in our lives, in the neighborhood, at the supermarket , on the bus and train in a friendly way - let's reward them with a smile! 26.05.2021 "Our" girls - self-confident Klologo. Something special was the entrance hymn to the service on Pentecost Sunday: girls accompanied the singing with a small, solemn choreography. We received the short video from the head of the committee that works to promote teenage girls as part of the Kekeli Togo Girls Project. As proof that the self-confidence of the girls has already risen; they show initiative and contribute to shaping community life. 25.05.2021 Malaria? Not in Klologo Klologo. In Togo, malaria is still one of the main causes of death among children under five. To mark World Malaria Day on April 25, we asked Klologo what the situation is like there. The answer from those responsible at the local health center, which is run by "Médecins d'Afrique," an NGO, is very encouraging: Klologo and the surrounding area are virtually malaria-free. Prevention measures such as the removal of potential breeding sites of the Anopheles mosquito near the houses and nightly protection by mosquito nets are consistently well observed, pregnant women receive prophylactic treatment against malaria, and children who have a fever are tested for malaria. Those in need receive the permanently insecticide-impregnated mosquito net free of charge. 25.05.2021 The sanitary building for the girls is under construction Klologo . On March 11, the contract was signed (see photo), and in April construction began: the sanitary building for girls is taking shape. As part of the girls' project, Kekeli Togo and its partner in Klologo, the village development association CVD, are building a toilet facility with modern toilets and showers for the students of the secondary school and high school in Klologo. The girls' project is carried out on a voluntary basis by the Committee for the Promotion and Support of Girls in Klologo (CPPJF). In the photo, from left to right: the Chef du Village R. Gati IV, the chairwoman of CPPJF Madeleine Atoukouvi, the chairman of CVD Nicola Hoinsoude, and architect Chris Atakpa. 15.05.2021 Promoting girls in poorer countries London. Worldwide, the Corona crisis has had a detrimental effect on education, and in poor countries specifically on girls' education. The aim is to counteract this. Advancing girls' education is a goal of the G-7: By 2026, an additional 40 million girls in poor countries should be able to attend school, according to the 87-point communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which took place in London in early May. Another goal: to increase by 20 million the number of girls who can read at age ten or by the time they graduate from school. " We reaffirm that education is a fundamental human right, and a bedrock of gender equality and poverty reduction," the statement says. The G-7, which are the seven economically powerful Western democracies Britain, Germany, the United States, France, Italy, Canada and Japan. The foreign ministers and development ministers of these countries had met in person, not online. Foreign ministers from Africa have also been invited to another meeting in the fall. (The communiqué: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/g7-foreign- a  n  d  -  d  e v  e  l  o  p  m  e  n  t  -  m  i  n  i  s  t  e  r  s  -  m  e  e  t  i  n  g  -  m  a  y  -  2  0  2  1  -  c  o  m  m  u  n  i  q  u  e  /  g  7  -  f  o  r e  i  g  n  -  a  n  d  - development-ministers-meeting-communique-london-5-may-2021 ) 09.05.2021 Happy Mother´s Day One year after the pandemic was declared, the effects of the changes in world trade, in society, at the workplace and in family life are still felt – and women across the world, and especially mothers, are bearing the biggest burden. Women’s and mothers’ lives have been more disrupted than men’s lives because of the disproportionate impact of corona virus on women, and even more so, on women of color. Mother’s Day is a good moment to thank all the mothers in the world, the new mothers with their newborns, the mothers of toddlers, of school kids, of teenagers, the working mums – everywhere, not matter what the circumstances, mothers do their best to organize household, work and family life and to create or hold open the doors for their children to a bright future. May they all be given the respect and gratefulness, the love and admiration they deserve! May they all be allowed to feel joy in their motherhood, despite all the troubles the pandemic has brought. 07.05.2021 In Memory of Joseph Akoété Kekeli Togo mourns the death of Joseph Akoété, who died on May 7 at the age of 35. After an injury to his foot that led to sepsis, he required two operations on his spleen. He seemed to be doing well after three weeks of inpatient treatment, but then complications arose to which he eventually succumbed. Everything had been done to save his life; he was last treated at the private American Clinic. Joseph Akoété was a chauffeur by profession and drove a lot for Kekeli, in many cases also as a courier. We have always been able to rely on him completely. The Kekeli delegation that went to Klologo in January 2020 for the inauguration of the fountain knows him well - his good humor was always a blessing. His nickname with us was "Mr. Alles- Klar", because with everything you wanted from him, he always said, in German: Alles klar! (Alright!) We are very upset and saddened by this tragic, untimely death; our condolences go out to his family and friends. He will be sorely missed by all of them; he will be missed by us too! We will not forget him and will always cherish his memory. 05.05.2021 Between two and nine generations… For the young ones to be upwardly mobile – that’s the dream of most parents: