Holding My Breath

I have been holding my breath for days now.  Togo had it’s second (ever) election March 4, 2010.  The country has been ruled by the same family for the last 43 years.  First the father, and now the son.

Faure Gnassingbe has been declared the winner.  http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88337 He is the son on the dictator who ruled Togo until his death five years ago.   Union of Forces for Change — the opposition — has declared an unfair election.  Their candidate,  Jean-Pierre Fabre, has been calling for protests.

This requires that I still hold my breath!  I can only hope that the protests can go on peacefully, and that the Army will not use lethal force against the protesters.

From what I have seen and heard, Faure Gnassingbe is what I would call a negligent Dictator.  He neglects the needs of his country and people.  He neglects the infrastructure that would make life there better.

No matter who ends up being declared the winner, our work will continue.  The people want change for the better.  They want a better life for their children.  I believe that change will come through education.  Once a population has the ability to think critically, and to articulate these thoughts, it becomes much harder to “dictate” to them.  Therefore, our mission continues — village by village. 

One more piece of information — we have raised to date $29, 900!! We need to raise $1,000 more to be 100% funded for Phase I of the school building project.  Thank you to all who have helped us get this far.  If you would like to help, now is definately the time to do it.

Cheers.