Dear Hope Through Health Supporter, I am privileged to work alongside Hope Through Health’s Community Health Workers in Togo and I can personally attest to the essential role they play. In a country with so few resources and so many challenges, Community Health Workers are dramatically improving access to healthcare by bridging the gap between patients and health centers. Through their efforts, Community Health Workers are literally saving lives. I have observed how Hope Through Health’s Community Health Worker program is a benevolent feedback loop: Community Health Workers help patients, who are then empowered to become Community Health Workers themselves, who in turn help more patients. I am honored to share with you Jeanne’s story, which illustrates this powerful cycle of health and hope. If you are moved by Jeanne’s story, I encourage you to help support her and other Community Health Workers by making a gift to Hope Through Health today. Thank you for helping to give others the best gift of all, the gift of health. Sincerely, Andrew López Program Director Hope Through Health 
Jeanne travels on foot to visit a patient at home.
As far back as she can remember, Jeanne has had headaches. Ranging from a minor twinge to a debilitating agony, “the pain was always there,” Jeanne recalls. Her family tried everything within their means, but nothing brought relief. Losing hope and unable to concentrate, Jeanne dropped out of school.
Years later, after testing positive for HIV, Jeanne was referred to Hope Through Health. She was assigned a Community Health Worker, named Phoebe, who made home visits to Jeanne to assure that her HIV treatment was going well. After finding out about her headaches, Phoebe referred her to one of HTH’s clinics. However, Jeanne was skeptical that anything would work. “I was just so tired,” she says.
With Phoebe’s encouragement and Hope Through Health’s support, Jeanne was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy. She is now under treatment and her headaches have subsided. “I’m much more of a confident person without all the headaches.” Furthermore, she says, “I never would have considered contracting HIV to be a blessing, but it’s what brought me to Hope Through Health.”
Freed from her headaches and inspired by what Hope Through Health had done for her, Jeanne wanted to give back. She realized that her Community Health Worker was the one who encouraged her to renew her quest for treatment and with her newfound confidence, she knew that she could help others, too. “I’m in it to save lives, just as Hope Through Health saved mine.”
Furthermore, Jeanne receives a monthly stipend from HTH. In an agrarian society such as Togo, it can be extremely difficult to find gainful employment. But the biggest reason why Jeanne loves being a Community Health Worker is the personal transformation that has taken place. “Fighting for others has given me the courage to fight for myself,” Jeanne says with a smile.
