Karen Alford

Karen Alford is a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel serving in Vogan, Togo since February of 2020. Before that, she served in Uganda for three years helping meet the medical needs of incoming refugees, and in Indonesia for nine years, providing earthquake and tsunami relief, as well as treating patients and building a long-term community health program.

Now Karen is partnering with the Mission Christian pour le Development Communautaire au Togo (MCDC), or the Christian Mission for the Community Development of Togo, a Christian Mission started by a local pastor and his wife in Vogan.

Nearly 81.2% of Togo’s rural population lives under the global poverty line. This makes Togo one of the world’s poorest countries. Child welfare is a huge issue, as 49.5% of those impoverished are under 18 years of age. One out of every eight Togolese children will not live to see their fifth birthday. Many face disease, as well as violence and exploitation at the hands of corrupt labor forces and human trafficking. Although the Togolese put a lot of value into education, most children are unable to continue schooling, as their parents cannot afford it.

For years, Togo has been the target of criticism for its human rights policies and poor governance. Developmental aid for Togo was halted in 1992 due to poor governance and human rights issues. In the past, it has gained notoriety as a transit spot for ivory taken from poached elephants and rhinos. For many, this criminal behavior is an act of desperation, as poverty in Togo is so high that many see no other alternative.

Vogan is a small rural town about 1.5 hours from the capital city, Lome. The Togolese pastor and his wife originally started a church, and have gone on to build a school and small medical clinic. This part of Togo, incidentally, primarily practices the voodoo religion, so their mission is to bring the love of God to Vogan by addressing its most immediate needs: education and health care.

The need is tremendous: high levels of malnutrition, maternal death, malaria and infectious diseases due to lack of hygiene, and yet the government is doing almost nothing to address these issues.

Among other things, Karen is in Vogan to:

• Provide primary health care consultancy to patients at MCDC Vogan clinic.
• Capacity build the health workers currently working in the clinic including training new workers.
• Create community health programs involving outreach to nearby villages and schools to provide community sensitization, health seminars, and trainings on topics ranging from nutrition, pregnancy, malaria, maternal child health, pediatric illnesses etc. This will include building relationships with community leaders and working in partnership to create holistic programs to meet the medical and health needs of the respective communities.
• Provide first aid/health care seminars and trainings within the church and community of Vogan.
• Foster professional relationships with any government medical programs/workers in the area and offer to partner with their programs as appropriate.
• Assist with development and support for expansion of medical clinic services and community health activities.
• Other medical or health care projects as needs arise and in partnership with MCDC and the church.
• Support the church’s presence in Vogan through participation in worship activities.

Connect with Karen at kalford@cbf.net.