Dopé Akpeko Tengue Epse Teo

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Thanks to you and 14 other Kiva Lenders, the 925.00 loan requested by Dopé AKPEKO TENGUE epse TEO in Togo has been 100% funded. The loan will be used for the purpose of: To buy and re-sell jewelry.

Over the months of this loan, Kiva’s Field Partner in Togo, Women and Associations for Gain both Economic and Social (WAGES), will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Discussions of Africa seem to inevitably evolve into discussions of health. Hot button issues such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and infant mortality suddenly become unavoidable topics of conversation and often leave us feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. This fact is no less relevant when it comes to discussions about Togo. This tiny West African country sandwiched between Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso is home to 6 million people. Thankfully, the HIV/AIDS prevalence hovers around a relatively low 3% of the population, but bacterial and viral infections including malaria are widespread. The Togolese face a life expectancy of just under 60 years and the country rates 42nd in the world for high infant mortality. It is all too easy to feel enveloped in statistics. Yet an extraordinary amount of work is being done to keep the Togolese population healthy. Individuals just like you are taking action, helping others, and using the profits to support their own families. As a Kiva Fellow working with Women and Associations for Gain both Economic and Social (WAGES), I had the opportunity to meet some of these inspiring individuals. The following journal entry will focus on four extraordinary women, all of whom work as nurses or midwives in the Lomé area and received Kiva loans from WAGES.

Akou Damali runs a large prenatal and family planning clinic. Born in Nigeria, Mrs. Damali now works in the Akodésséwa neighbourhood of Lomé. With the help of her loan officer acting as a translator, we conducted our interview in a combination of English, French, and Ewe. When asked how many hours she worked a day, Mrs. Damali laughed and said, "Twenty-four hours." In reality, the clinic must always be open to serve her patients. She used her $1,125 loan to purchase medications, injections, pills and other products for her clinic. At times, Mrs. Damali can struggle to deal with sudden declines in her patients' health. Patients experiencing complications in their pregnancy can fall ill beyond Mrs. Damali's care and she is forced to send them to a hospital. Nevertheless, Mrs. Damali maintains that running a clinic is, in fact, a very profitable business. As a single mother of three, she is able to use the profits make ends meet at home and support her own family.

Edjoè Abiassi works as a midwife and pharmacist in the Hédranawoé neighbourhood just north of Mrs. Damali's clinic. Mrs. Abiassi takes pride in her work. She enjoys helping the sick and finds joy in saving the lives of mothers and babies. In addition to a personal sense of satisfaction, the profits from her business help Mrs. Abiassi support her four children. She used her $650 loan to purchase medications for her business, and she has used the profits to help cover school fees and food costs for her children.

Given the difficult nature of her work, Mrs. Abiassi can face extremely trying situations. Currently, she is facing a mass expiration of stock and has been forced to either dispose of some of her medications or send them back to the manufacturer. Like Mrs. Damali, Mrs. Abiassi must overcome complications in her patients' pregnancy or during childbirth. At times, the outcome can be disheartening. As a result, Mrs. Abiassi plans on building a small clinic in the future. There, she will be able to better care for her patients and perform deliveries in a clean and comfortable environment.

Afi Maimounatou Kouloungou and Anoko Lawson run two sister clinics a few blocks apart in the Hédzranawoé district of Lomé. Both clinics offer services such as prenatal care and family planning as well as general services for the ill. These hardworking women must be available twenty-four hours each day in order to care for their patients. Although exhausting, Mrs. Kouloungou maintains that it is worth the work for the sake of "aider l'humanité," helping humanity. Both women used their individual $625 and $975 loans to purchase medications, beds, and other supplies needed to better serve their patients' needs.

It can be difficult to operate a clinic, but Mrs. Lawson has seen the benefits. She divides the profits from her loan in two, using one part to reinvest in her business and putting the remainder into savings. She says that her loan has had a huge positive impact on her family. After the elections, Mrs. Lawson hopes to receive another WAGES loan to purchase land and build a house. Mrs. Kouloungou's family has also benefited from her loan. She says that this loan from WAGES has "changé la vie." It has changed her life and everyone in her family is very happy. In the future, Mrs. Kouloungou would also like to take out another loan with WAGES in order to purchase land and build a house.

The loan officer with whom I was working commented that this seemed to be a common long term plan among WAGES' female entrepreneurs. Mrs. Lawson laughed and said that women cannot just wait for their husbands to provide for them. Instead, they must fend for themselves. She stated wisely that sometimes, "Il faut être maman et papa au meme temps." You have to be mother and father at the same time. Evidently, this line of work has significant challenges. In addition to the difficulties shared with Mrs. Damali and Mrs. Abiassi, Mrs. Lawson mentioned the hardship of working such long hours. Mrs. Kouloungou also addressed a specific situation where patients will require her services, but cannot pay for her care. This puts her in an extremely difficult position. Despite the obstacles they face on a daily basis, all four of these women remain committed to their work and their patients.

All of these dedicated women are thankful for their loans. They ask that Kiva lenders continue to support WAGES so that they may continue to benefit from WAGES loans. As an institution, WAGES also does its part to keep the community healthy. WAGES goes beyond providing financial services to offer health seminars focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and malaria treatment. Mrs. Damali, Mrs. Abiassi, Mrs. Lawson, and Mrs. Kouloungou strive for this goal independently and are collectively supported by an institution dedicated to the same cause. As a result, the extended WAGES community is working to ensure the ongoing health of their fellow citizens. Empowerment is not possible without health and these four women are lifting themselves out of poverty by helping others do the same.

On behalf of these four women, WAGES, and Kiva, I would like to thank you for ongoing commitment to lending, empowerment, and poverty alleviation.

Lend to a WAGES entrepreneur here. Show your support for WAGES by joining the lending team.

Best Wishes,

Taylor Akin

Kiva Fellow