Outreach to Togo

The photo here is of the church I attend, Glen Cairn United Church in the Glen Cairn sub-division of Ottawa. A month ago, Abdou, one of the people that looks after our autistic adult son, asked Anne and I if we would help him in his mission to help poverty stricken children in his native land, Togo, in West Africa. We agreed and gave him a small donation of clothing and cash to help him.

Abdou's plan is to take a huge container of clothing and school supplies to Togo, and when it arrives there to personally distribute the donated material to children in rural villages who have very little.

Anne and I asked if we could seek the help of members of the church's congregation to help him. Abdou agreed, and the outreach co-ordinator of our church, Kim, accepted the mission as the Outreach Project of early November.

Two weeks ago, Abdou attended the morning service to promote this project. Last week the church bulletin contained a detailed account of his project. And this week Abdou once more came to the church to collect the materials members had donated. We and he were overwhelmed by the congregation's response. Abdou filled his car with the donations of clothes and school supplies. I picked up a child's bike later in the day to add to this collection. And the monetry donations were overwhelming too.

Later this week or early next week, Abdou and his friends will spend three days filling the container. It will then head to the docks at Montreal to be shipped to Togo. It will arive there early in January. Abdou will be there to meet it. He will then drive truckloads of the donations to the rural villages to distribute the much needed supplies.

On his return, Abdou will come back to the church (and other donors) to present a video of the distribution. The local Rogers TV has given him a camera so he can do this.

It is people like Abdou who make a difference in the world.