we made it to togo
(6/28/11)
We found out that our web page is not blocked by the government, just our web host site. The missionaries said that it is actually not blocked, just not government paid for. It might be free of charge for us in the US, but either the Togo government or the web host site would have to pay to have it international and accessible here in Togo. Neither has chosen to pay for it, so we cannot access it.
We were also told that the elephants we saw on the way here must have wondered in from Ghana. They told us that they will never make it out of Togo. The people here will kill them and eat them. They don’t have much in terms of animals, because they eat everything from rats to elephants. The only big animals that they have in this area are the hippos. Mango is in one of the poorest parts of Togo. It is because it is so dry that they only have one harvest season. The areas south of Mango have two harvests.
We were also told that the elephants we saw on the way here must have wondered in from Ghana. They told us that they will never make it out of Togo. The people here will kill them and eat them. They don’t have much in terms of animals, because they eat everything from rats to elephants. The only big animals that they have in this area are the hippos. Mango is in one of the poorest parts of Togo. It is because it is so dry that they only have one harvest season. The areas south of Mango have two harvests.
It is very safe here. The people are extremely friendly and are always trying to help us. Even the police love that we are here. The only thing that is a little strange is that many do not like us to take their pictures. The only exception to this is the children. They love to have their pictures taken and to then see themselves. They don’t have mirrors and they get so excited to see what they look like.
We were able to visit the hospital compound. We were amazed at how big it is. You can’t even see across to the fence on the other side. It is astonishing how beautiful it is. It was almost mind boggling to see that they have to mix the cement by hand and shovel it into a mold to make each and every cement block. The wall that encloses the compound (up to this point) has taken 150 thousand blocks, all made by hand. The people here are such hard workers and yet they are so poor.
We are here in Mango until Saturday. Saturday morning we will make the 10 hour drive down to Tsiko, which is where the southern hospital is. It is supposed to be cooler there and a lot different than Mango. The hospital there has been in Tsiko for more than 25 years. We will be able to see how things will run once the Mango hospital is done being built. Tsiko has more modern conveniences, but it’s in a valley and doesn’t have very good internet reception. I may not be able to write at all in Tsiko.
Thank you for your support and prayers.
Thank you for your support and prayers.