How much has your life changed in the past eight months? Some of us can say that our lives have changed due to big events, but most of us, including myself, will say that not that much has changed in that short amount of time. However, the work that GPiH has been doing is literally changing thousands of lives in only a few months.
I had the pleasure of being able to travel back to West Africa for my second trip to Togo. This time I was able to return with my best friend in the world, my mom! Ever since my trip in July for the health center dedication I have been sharing stories of encouragement, gratitude, and excitement about the work GPiH is doing. So upon returning, I invited her to share the experience with me.
Traveling to Togo with my mom as mother and daughter allowed me to have a greater appreciation for all the work GPiH is doing for mothers and children. I saw a new appreciation for the fact that clean water wells allow women and children to save time from having to walk to gather water and in return can go to school or work. That when women go into labor, a health center is equipped to deliver babies and offer life-saving care. That women can take their children to get vaccinated and receive medical attention. All of these common necessities were not available in this area of rural Togo eight months ago.
On my first trip, I was amazed by the health center and all the joyous people we met–how excited they were for the health center to open. On this trip however, I was actually able to see the health center full of staff and patients.
I was also amazed when we traveled back to the village where we had gone in July. Eight months ago, the village celebrated the announcement of a water well, and this time we were able to celebrate the dedication of that water well. The first trip to the village was such a defining experience for me because they showed us where they had been drinking their water, which was a small pond over in a field that they utilized for their cattle, bathing, and drinking. In only about eight months between my trips, a whole village had been changed. The people in the village now had received a basic fundamental human need and the energy of the people had changed.
So much around the world can change in just a few months and so many lives can be changed. In only eight months, thousands of people have access to clean water and medical care where there was none before. What is most amazing is that in another few months, there will be even more progress and even more lives can be touched by GPiH. Ultimately, I returned home with a sense of celebration–the celebration of life-giving water and medical care, the celebration of people and families, and the celebration of hope!