We had fund-raised some money before we left Canada to put towards what we thought would be three projects in Takpo: dry season gardening, the purchase of a grinding mill, and planting trees. When we arrived in the village, we found they already had grinding mills and gardens, so we quickly realized we needed a new plan.

 

We helped them establish a micro-lending system to manage the costs and profits of the items they make. The system works by pooling money from each widow, the group buying ingredients, then individual widows taking loans of ingredients which they must repay the value of plus 10% interest. The whole group benefits, but those who do the work benefit most.

 

We listened to the widows and tried to come up with some ideas that could address  their needs and desires. Many expressed to us a desire to learn skills which would allow them to make some money to support their families... We found a local skills trainer who taught the women how to make soap, bread, doughnuts, hibiscus drink, peanut-butter balls, and some other tasty things.

We left Takpo touched by the strength and joy of the widows, and the warmth of the whole community. We hope to continue working with them in any way we can.

 

Please email us if you have any questions about our trip, about the widows, or anything at all: greg_oscar@hotmail.com

After meeting Gifty Serbeh-Dunn last year, my partner Fabienne and I were inspired to help the Takpo widows. We were already planning to travel to Africa, so we decided to spend some time in Takpo.

 

We spent from the end of Jan 2011 to early April 2011 living in Takpo and working with the Takpo Widow's Association. We learned an incredible amount from them, laughed alot, and made so many heart-heart connections.

 

We had fund-raised some money before we left Canada to put towards what we thought would be three projects in Takpo: dry season gardening, the purchase of a grinding mill, and planting trees. When we arrived in the village, we found they already had grinding mills and gardens, so we quickly realized we needed a new plan.

 

We listened to the widows and tried to come up with some ideas that could address  their needs and desires. Many expressed to us a desire to learn skills which would allow them to make some money to support their families, rather than being given only infrastructure. We ended up putting our time and money toward helping them build a workshop where they can create value-added products to sell in the market, especially during the dry-season when there is little work. We found a local skills trainer who taught the women how to make soap, bread, doughnuts, hibiscus drink, peanut-butter balls, and some other tasty things.

 

We helped them establish a micro-lending system to manage the costs and profits of the items they make. The system works by pooling money from each widow, the group buying ingredients, then individual widows taking loans of ingredients which they must repay the value of plus 10% interest. The whole group benefits, but those who do the work benefit most.

 

We left Takpo touched by the strength and joy of the widows, and the warmth of the whole community. We hope to continue working with them in any way we can.

 

Please email us if you have any questions about our trip, about the widows, or anything at all: greg_oscar@hotmail.com