Letter from HTH supporter following recent visit to Togo

A letter from HTH supporter, Kevin Fiori, Sr, following his recent visit to Togo June 24, 2012 I just returned from my 5th visit to Kara, Togo. It was very satisfying to see the progression of the collaboration between AED-Lidaw and HTH after 8 years. To measure progress you need a base line and for purposes of this letter I want to go back to the beginning. My first trip to Togo was in spring of 2004 to visit my son (Kevin Fiori Jr.) who was in the Peace Corps at the time. I planned on visiting him in the summer but he insisted that I come earlier. He told me that he and a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Dr. Peter Davenport, were working with a support group of people living with HIV/AIDS and he wanted me to come as soon as possible. The support group was AED-Lidaw (Association Espoir pour Demain) which translates in English to Hope for Tomorrow. It was only a support group at that time because they had very limited funds, medical care or anti-retroviral drugs. They comforted fellow members (primarily women and children) with full blown AIDS as they passed away and supported each other as each of them prepared for their inevitable fate, death. My first visit in March of 2004 was a life changing experience for me. The home visits and meetings were emotional and overwhelming. My first home visit was to a lady who lived down the street from my son. She was a human skeleton. She came outside with her mother, sister and her children. She barely had the strength to sit up. We tried to help but she eventually passed on. I had never experienced the level of poverty and desperation witnessed in Togo on that visit. My wife and I were committed to help where we could since that moment. My son and his Peace Corps friends were experiencing this hopeless cycle on a daily basis. I know Dr. Peter Davenport, Jon, Jenny, Patrick and others in the Peace Corps were using their own money and soliciting funds from family members to help where they could but AED needed more. Kevin Jr. solicited the help of Paul Farmer and others at Partners in Health to look at structure and services. He then called on his brother Thomas and his two aunts (Dawn and Susan) in Boston to look at developing a non-profit for fundraising. After many months the US based non-profit Hope Through Health was born. It was an important beginning but only a beginning. What was the difference between this trip and my first trip? The most important difference is that AIDS has been transformed from a death sentence to a chronic disease. Organizationally, the collaboration between HTH and AED-Lidaw has transformed into an alignment of shared purpose, structure and financial accountability. The collaboration has been wonderful but not without challenges. AED-Lidaw is an independent organization and gaining alignment on structure, accountability and financial reporting systems has always been a conversation that required firm yet respectful dialog. I donate regularly to HTH but must admit I’ve been well out of the loop when it comes to the operational details. To see the mature systems and checks and balances in place when it comes to financial accounting was very reassuring. AED-Lidaw recently hired Christophe Gbelleou as managing director in Togo. I can’t say enough about this individual. He is highly educated, experienced in business and brings a high level of integrity and personal accountability to AED-Lidaw. He is respected throughout the organization. Death is not inevitable today in Togo when people are diagnosed with HIV but it is also important to remind ourselves that life is not assured either. There has been progress but yet there is much more to do. On February 11th Whitney Houston passed away. On this same day, a young orphan girl we loved named Massan died in Kara, Togo. Her funeral was the following Saturday on the same day as Whitney Houston’s. Massan was buried with much less fan fair but meant just as much to me, her sisters and friends. It is important to celebrate the successes but we also must remind ourselves of what would happen without the continued efforts of AED-Lidaw, HTH, its’ volunteers and donors.

John Kennedy once said, “Success has many fathers and defeat is an orphan.” There are so many people who have contributed and continue to contribute to HTH, AED-Lidaw and their fellow human beings in Togo. Hope Through Health has grown well beyond its’ humble beginnings with a diverse board of very talented and caring people. The strength of Hope Through Health is that its’ donations and volunteers are many and not dependent on any one individual or organization. I’m proud of my association with Hope Through Health, AED-Lidaw and all of you. With great respect, Kevin Fiori, Sr.