Here are the photos we have been waiting for. All of you who have contributed to this project should take a moment to realize what your support has accomplished. Through your efforts, you have reached half way round the world and made a significant difference in the lives of over 200 children. We applaud you and thank you.

We have two more final items to deal with. We will be furnishing the new classrooms with new desks and chairs. Recently the Togolese government passed a law making it illegal to cut down trees. We understand they are trying to do a good thing; however, this law has caused the cost of wood to skyrocket — which means our desks and chairs will be more expensive. Not much we can do about this.

Also, we have been discussing the water situation in the village. As you may recall, we furnished the school with a cistern for clean drinking water. We have determined that another cistern is needed and want to provide this. We have also determined that this village is not ready for a well. We know that sounds strange, but to justify spending the money to dig a well (which is very costly), the citizens of the village must be very organized and able to maintain the well once it is built. We feel they are not quite ready to take on this kind of responsibility. Another cistern will adequately serve their purposes for now. It is important that we take our time and not rush this. We want to allow the people the time to demonstrate that they are making progress towards this goal. As we will be monitoring Dédékè for the next few years, there may come a time when we can revisit the idea of digging a well.

We will continue to keep you posted on our efforts with the desks, chairs and cistern.
Thank you for making this a great start to the new year!!
Natalie