Partnering for Global Impact-Togo Africa

Understanding the Impact

Pioneers Togo and Seacoast

Hope Smiles Together was happy to partner with Pioneers Togo and Seacoast on their medical mission trip this winter.  Seacoast has worked with Pioneers Togo for the past 25 years and has brought medical and dental care through a multitude of professionals volunteering their time and skills to help those in Togo Africa. In the villages of Togo, families face the dangers of inadequate housing, limited access to clean water, and insufficient medical care. Tragically, children in these areas often die from preventable illnesses.  Medical and dental trained professionals were able to assist in life caring treatments and bring supplies which will give hope and aid to these communities. Here is the reflections of one of the volunteers of his time and experience with this winter’s trip.

Here is my interview with Hugh Molten- volunteer:

• Where were you in Africa? How long were you there? Togo, Africa.  We were there for one week, 4 clinical days
• What services did the clinic provide? How many patients did you treat? How large was the mission team? The clinic performed dental services, medical and vision services.  We performed multiple lipoma removals, distributed reading glasses, dental extraction, and treating systemic issues such as high blood pressure. We saw over 1500 patients with many suffering from malaria, high blood pressure, vision issues and hernias. Our team consisted of 14 volunteers which was a smaller group on this mission trip. 
• What is the next medical/dental trip planned for Seacoast and Pioneers Togo? We will be planning another trip March 2027.

Stories from the Field

“Togo is a country that changed my life. It’s a place of joy. A place of poverty. A place of suffering. A place of worship.  A place of the most amazing people. In many ways the people of Togo are the ones who have it figured out. They were content, gracious and patient. The Children didn’t cry and could entertain themselves for a whole day with things they would find. The adults could sit for hours and be content in each others company. Daily, I was in awe at their resilience to adversity.

Many of the people I met and their stories, are not happy endings. Many of them, we met at the beginning of what will be a long and painful journey. In Togo, medical care is not guaranteed. It’s not free. Without financial resources, many people will die prematurely of preventable and treatable conditions. This was hard to reconcile. Through prayer and reflection however, I have come to understand that part of what we are bringing  them is answers. We can’t cure everyone, but we can give the patients and their families a meaningful and dignified diagnosis to what is affecting them.

One such story was a young women named Emma. We happened to find Emma in a  back room of the local clinic while looking for an autoclave machine on our first day of clinic-Monday. The smell of rotting flesh was overwhelming as soon you entered the room. It was immediately clear her leg was about to kill her. The skin was sloughing off. It was black in places with large open weeping sores. Emma was radiating heat as she fought a high fever. Through the interpreter, we learned she was diabetic, did not have money for treatment and was essentially left to die in this room turned cell. We immediately started her on acetaminophen and then sought permission from our host to treat this patient outside of our clinic.  The local doctors were surely annoyed at having this outside group stepping in to take over treatments but our team persisted. We also simultaneously found out that her leg was in fact the result of a dog bite. We started her on every antibiotic we had access too. With limited local resources, one of doctors had the good idea to use vinegar as a soak to help clean and dry out her wounds. After 4 days on site, we had come to know her parents, who never left her side, and her sweet baby Noah who was 1. As our time in country came to an end, we had to leave her. We arranged for a payment of $130 which would fund her ongoing treatment and food for her and her family.

Since our departure, we have been checking in, and Emma is alive and on her way to a full recovery. We saved her. Within a day or two, she would have died from sepsis. With a divine intervention, we found her at just the right time.”  Hugh Molten, volunteer

Garrett

How You Can Help

• Donate Supplies: New, travel-size dental supplies can be dropped off at our collection location.
• Financial Support: Monetary donations help us purchase supplies in bulk.
• Volunteer: Join us in organizing supply drives.
• Spread the Word: Share our mission with your network.