Last week, my host community had a big celebration! During the celebration, there were speeches from local dignitaries (such as the village chiefs and the mayor), drumming, singing, prayers, a traditional sacrificial offering, food, drinks and even a big dance party. Can you guess what would cause such a joyful celebration?
We were celebrating the inauguration of our new health clinic and the arrival of a nurse, a midwife and a birth attendant in the village!
I live in a small, very rural village in Togo. Access to health care can be difficult throughout Togo, but it is especially challenging in rural areas. When I first visited my host village, the nearest hospital was seven kilometers away. There was another health clinic in the opposite direction about ten kilometers away. That may not seem very far— it may even be closer than the nearest hospital to you— but these hospitals are the only health care facilities! So, although in the U.S. the hospital may be more than a few miles away, every school has a school nurse and most neighborhoods have a pharmacy. Your parents might be trained in First Aid and have some medicine at home. All of that is a type of health care that does not exist in my village.
In Togo, there are traditional medicines that come from local plants.
