Special Projects support the ministry of the pastors by helping to address the spiritual and physical needs of their congregations. They may be one-time purchases or ongoing efforts. Some of our special projects are:
Other projects include purchasing song books for the churches, building benches (pews) for the churches, putting in a sound system to amplify a keyboard, installing electricity in some of the church buildings, purchasing a computer, and purchasing Bible study books for the Pastors.
If you would like to be notified of Special Project updates, please email us and ask to be added to our News and Prayer Letter list. Our newsletters are sent out approximately once a month.
Funds donated to Baptist Ministries of Togo are used for Pastoral Support, Construction Projects, Village Outreach, and miscellaneous Special Projects,
Periodically, we purchase copies of the New Testament in the local language of Kabiyé for the Pastors to distribute to members of their churches. At times Pastor Moussa has held a literacy class to teach the people to read their own language. It has been exciting to see the church services using the Bible in the heart language of the people. This is an ongoing project.
Pastor Moussa teaching a literacy class
Pastor Moussa teaching people to read their own language of Kabiyé
Bible study in Tchèou using the Kabiyé New Testament
Youth meeting in Soumdina
Philippe's daughter, Esther, playing the keyboard in Feign church
Missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators and other Bible societies in Togo spent years translating the New Testament into Kabiyé, Kara’s regional language. Although literacy classes are being held throughout the country, many people do not have the degree of literacy necessary to read the New Testament. A Kabiyé audio translation is available, but people cannot take advantage of it because they lack audio players and/or electricity. This is especially true in the villages.
A possible solution to this problem was found in solar-powered radios with SD card slots. During the summer of 2016, four radios were purchased at the local market and four New Testament recordings were purchased at the local Bible store. It was hoped that the pastors would find the radios a useful evangelistic tool and that Kabiyé-speaking believers would be strengthened by hearing the Word in their own language.
The experiment proved to be successful and two more radios and sets of SD cards were purchased within the following six months. There was a concern about the durability of the radios because they were relatively inexpensive and the conditions in Togo are harsh. However, in 2018, Loy found that the radios were still working well and the pastors who had radios agreed that the other pastors we support would benefit from having a solar-powered radio. We hope to purchase more as funding permits.
A typical village trail where teams do door to door evangelism
The central market in Kara where the solar-powered radios were purchased
A local Bible store where the New Testament SD Cards were purchased
Solar-powered radios play SD cards with the Kabiyé New Testament
Pastor Moussa unpacks the radios
Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in Togo. The Malaria Treatment Program in Lama Bou is an ongoing effort that consists of providing malaria medication to children (and some at-risk adults) who have come down with the illness. It is almost impossible to prevent malaria, which is carried by mosquito, but there is an inexpensive medication available to treat the disease. This life-saving medication is given in a series of three pills. In addition to the medication, we have purchased malaria nets to help protect families, and we have purchased simple, effective test kits to determine who has the disease.
We started the Malaria Treatment Program in the village of Lama Bou several years ago when we heard that children were dying from malaria there. With the help of Batcho, our contact person in Togo, we engaged the local nurse to handle the medication. One of the mothers from the village, Gnami (shown in photo at left), had lost two children to the illness in a year. She is now helping dispense the pills.
Medical facility in the village
Nurse testing a child for the disease
Children waiting to be tested
Mothers with babies are given mosquito nets
Installing a mosquito net in a village house
Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in Togo. People who are poor or who live in remote locations are particularly at risk because they have reduced access to testing and treatment.
Baptist Ministries of Togo has been involved with Pastor Sato and the Soumdina church for many years. In the summer of 2017, a woman named Mazalo returned to Soumdina after being trained as a midwife. Upon her return, we purchased some malaria test kits and medication, and Mazalo has been in charge of the Program. Within two month’s time, 38 of 40 children tested were found to have malaria. The Program has proven to be a great blessing during its first year.
Batcho presents Mazalo with the first box of testing kits
Children from the village are ready to be tested for malaria
Mazalo uses a ledger to track the testing
Blood and solution are combined in a test strip
Children and adults who test positive are given medication
The church in the village of Tchandida began as a Bible study led by Pastor Philippe. The village chief and his son, Tchaa, attended the Bible study along with their families and many villagers. Later, a missionary came and helped provide funding for a church building and a pump well near the church. Since Tchaa had been trained in the local Bible Institute, he became the pastor of the church.
Unfortunately, the pump on the well broke repeatedly, and the villagers (usually women) were once again forced to get their water from a spring located quite a distance from the village. Depending on the time of the year, the quality of the Tchandida spring water goes from bad to worse. In addition, the open water source serves as a habitat for disease-bearing insects such as mosquitoes.
In the spring of 2016, our pastors selflessly asked us to consider funding the well’s repair. In November of 2016, a special event was held in order to begin raising funds for the project. God provided a miracle and nearly the entire amount was raised! Greatly encouraged by this, the Tchandida church members purchased sand for the project.
The original plan was to convert the pump well to a traditional well, where water is drawn out in a bucket. However, the engineer who went to the village to bid the job felt that digging a new well would be more efficient. Digging began in February of 2017 and was completed within a few short weeks. The water from the well is plentiful and clean.
A spring was Tchandida's only source of water
A load of sand is dumped near the broken pump well
The entire well was dug by hand
Water is found!
A worker lines the well with cement
The well and the wall around it being built
The enclosure is nearly finished
The well and the enclosure are covered with cement
A verse in Kabiyé about Living Water is painted on the well's enclosure
The clean water has improved the health of the villagers