Togo Facts

Bonjour! That’s how you say “hello” in French, the official language in Togo. This country in West Africa is known for its palm-fringed beaches and lush, forested hills. Learn more interesting facts about Togo here.

five Facts About Togo

Here are five fun facts about Togo:

  1. Togo is one of the smallest countries in Africa and is located on the western coast of the continent.
  2. Togo’s artisans are skilled in creating beautiful woven textiles, wood carvings, pottery and metalwork, showcasing the artistic heritage of the nation.
  3. Togo has diverse and delicious cuisine. For example, if you visited Togo, you might have fufu for dinner, which is a yam, cassava or plantain paste served with soup.
  4. Togo is home to Lake Togo (which is technically a lagoon), the country’s largest lake.
  5. Togo is a multilingual country, with French being the official language. Other languages include Ewé and Kabiyé.

Where is Togo?

Togo is in West Africa. Togo shares borders with Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso. Currently, over 8 million people call the country of Togo home.

Key Challenges in Togo & Our Response

While Togo is known for its rich culture and beautiful, coconut tree-filled beaches, it’s also a place many impoverished families call home. And children in these communities suffer through the damaging consequences of poverty.

Lack of Education

Education is not prioritized throughout Togo. While many children attend primary school, only about 41% of children are enrolled in secondary school. Only 60% of teens are literate, and recently, 59% of students failed the government final exam for their grade level.

Education is powerful. With educations, children can obtain stable jobs as adults, allowing them to provide for their families and break the cycle of poverty. But without education, the cycle of poverty continues.

Our Response: Ensuring Vulnerable Children Can Attend School

In partnership with the local church, we ensure all students registered in the Compassion program attend school. We provide tutoring and teach parents about the value of education.

At Compassion Togo, 85% of registered children (and counting) are thriving in their studies.

Improper Nutrition & Medical Care for Infants

Prenatal and early childhood development care are pressing needs throughout Africa. Without proper nutrition, vitamins and medical care, many infants in Togo suffer stunting and even death.

Unfortunately, recent data shows that 27 infants out of 1,000 born in sub-Saharan Africa die. And many of these deaths can be linked to inadequate medical care for moms and their babies.

Our Response: Providing Moms & Babies With Critical Care

Our local church partners in Africa are on the frontlines of developing and delivering Survival programs. Through these programs, we offer pregnant moms access to health services, such as prenatal vitamins, medical checkups and birth attendants.

Support continues through the infant’s first year of life, a critical time for both mom and baby. After that, the child is placed into our child sponsorship program, where they receive ongoing encouragement and care.

Increased Natural Disasters

Many regions of Africa regularly face natural disasters that threaten the livelihoods of families. In Togo, many regions face flooding during the rainy season that destroys homes, crops and lives.

When disaster strikes, children in these communities face exposure to the elements, hunger and emotional trauma. These challenges can erase the progress children have made toward leaving poverty behind.

Our Response: Delivering Emergency Relief

Our Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) helps care for communities facing crises, including those in Africa. Through the DRF, Compassion provides communities with emergency food and water, temporary shelter, counseling, medical care and future disaster preparedness.

In partnership with the local church, we use this fund to keep children and their families on track toward journeying out of poverty, despite their circumstances.

A group of boys in school uniform eating outside

A group of boys sit together and eat nutritious food at their child development center.

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A mother holds her twin toddlers outside the child development center

A mother holds her twin toddlers outside the child development center.

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Children eagerly raise their hands in the classroom

Children eagerly raise their hands in the classroom.

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A teen boy holding a soccer ball

A boy holds a soccer ball while sitting on a wall.

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A mother holds and kisses her young child

A mother holds and kisses her young child.

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Children gather happily outside their child development center

Children gather happily outside their child development center.

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A young girl sits and colors

A young girl sits and colors.

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A group of children play joyfully on a playground

A group of children play joyfully on a playground.

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A girl standing outside in front of a bike

A girl leans proudly against the wall of her home.

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A girl holds hands with her grandmother

A girl holds hands with her grandmother.

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Our Impact in Togo

Compassion has been working in Togo for years. Throughout our time serving the country, we’ve helped release thousands of children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

76,858

children served (and counting).

340

churches serving

15

years serving

God Answers Reine’s Prayer Through Compassion

Reine from Togo is one of many children who have had their prayers answered through the Compassion program. For Reine, this meant receiving a life-changing gift of a musical instrument.

Sponsors Help Reunite a Family in Africa

When Ablavi’s father was forced to move to another town to find work to provide for his family, her heart broke. But through one gift sent by Ablavi’s sponsors, her family was reunited again.

How You Can Help Vulnerable Children in Togo

You can join Compassion’s fight against child poverty in Togo in three key ways:

  • Pray: Jeremiah 33:3 tells us that if we call on God, he will answer us. When we lift children living in poverty up in prayer, God hears us, and we can trust he's working on their behalf. Join us in praying daily for children living in poverty by becoming a prayer partner.
  • Donate: Children living in poverty face many challenges, from a lack of medical care to dangerous living conditions. You can provide immediate support by donating to fulfill a right-now need.
  • Sponsor a Child: By sponsoring a child, you empower a local church to meet the critical needs of a child's body, mind and spirit as they journey out of poverty. Through sponsorship, you'll help deliver medical care, hygiene training, education, malnutrition monitoring and so much more to a child in need. But most importantly, you'll help introduce them to the hope of the gospel, which changes everything.