Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionare
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Rural Togo’s Only Clinic Faces Critical Renovation
Monday, April 14, 2025
Nearly 50 years ago, a sweet baby boy was born in Tomegbe-Akloa in Togo. He came into the world in an aging facility that was built decades earlier. That facility, Dispensaire Notre Dame de Lourdes de Tomegbe-Akola, was constructed in 1943 by the Missionaries Catechist Sisters of Menton (France). Since that time, it has remained mostly unchanged. The clinic is now administered by the Sisters Our Lady of the Church. [Comboni Missionaries]
That bouncing baby boy grew up to become Fr. Jean-Philippe Lokpo, a Comboni Missionary serving in Chicago, Illinois. Now, he is seeking financial support to make much needed improvements to this indispensable clinic. The clinic serves people from Tomegbe-Akloa and ten surrounding villages. Nearly 500 people are seen at this clinic every month. Many pay only a nominal fee due to high poverty rates in the area.
Fr. Jean-Philippe who great up in this village says the area is rural, and this clinic offers the only adequate and affordable healthcare in the region. A lot of work is needed to update this aging facility. Construction would include a new maternity ward, laboratory, and rooms for hospitalizations.
Work would include:
- A new roof and ceiling
- Painting
- New electrical installation
- New restrooms and all toiletries
- New doors and windows
- Floor tiling
- Completion of a security wall around the property
“The availability of this new renovated building will help to provide a decent place for expectant mothers to give birth and their newborn babies,” Fr. Jean-Philippe explained.