By Andrew Lopez, Kara, Togo It’s tough being a kid in Togo. Children here often go to bed on an empty stomach. School studies take a backseat to life-sustaining but back-breaking household chores like farming and fetching water. The heat can be unbearable for young children. Now imagine going through these difficulties with HIV. This Saturday, I had the chance to witness some of Hope Through Health’s truly inspiring work with children at Club Hope. This club was created to provide a safe space for kids infected with or affected by HIV. Partnering with the United States Peace Corps, children who are enrolled in Hope Through Health’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program can come for a morning full of fun, games, and participate in educational activities on topics such as hygiene and communication skills. When I first walked into the room, the first thing that struck me was the atmosphere among the children. Kids were playing Uno, Chutes and Ladders, Frisbee, and Jump Rope. In Togo, where the best toys that can be found are little toy trucks fabricated out of old tomato paste and soda cans salvaged from the trash, I had never seen anything quite like it. When the kids got to play musical chairs, those who were knocked out of the game still danced to the music as if they didn’t have a care in the world. One would never know that the majority of them were orphaned or HIV+. They were allowed to be just kids and life was simple.
- Musical Chairs!
I asked Samuel, a child in the OVC program, why he likes Club Hope. He said, “Here at Club Hope, we aren’t ‘those HIV kids.’ We get to meet up with friends and forget about our troubles.” It’s clear that Club Hope is having an impact on the kids because they come to club in droves: more than 90 percent of the kids in the OVC program showed up. Furthermore, the entire morning was facilitated by former OVC program members who had aged out of the program. Recognizing the impact that Club Hope has had on them, these young leaders want to give back. At club, they led a participatory workshop on the nutritional value of the Moringa tree and gave bags of its seeds to the children so that they can plant them in their homes. The morning’s activities were rounded up with a delicious and nutritional meal. “That’s a good part, too,” said Samuel.