St. Theresa Parish has been providing support to Nyassivé, in Togo, West Africa, for over 18 years.  Through your generosity, the village has seen many improvements. We have focused on two areas in recent years: the construction of a new St. Theresa Catholic church building which was completed in 2016 and education for the orphaned and disadvantaged children.

The scholarship program is our core mission right now.  This year we have financed tuition and supplies for about 100 students and additional teachers. We funded a cultural week which provided much needed training on health, career development, dance, music and drama.  Over the years, we have had success stories of many of the students from our scholarship program that have progressed from Primary school all the way to University and trade schools.

The previous school year total cost of our program was $8400.  This covers education for about 100 children, at a cost of $6600 per year for classes and supplies, as well as $1800 for 3 additional teachers that benefited the entire school community.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity.

As stewards of the donated funds, we want to be transparent with you about the challenges and decisions we have made.   The increased costs for the current school year were unable to be met.

Last year, in October, we sent a partial payment for the current school year. This is the first year we were unable to provide for the full financial request of over $9000.  This challenge was created by a natural shift in students who were eligible to attend University and the increased cost of supplies.

We are happy to report the scholarship recipients, including women, are successfully reaching higher levels of education.  But, within that success lies our challenge.  The annual tuition cost of a University student is $74 which is over 6 times the annual tuition cost of a 1st-6th grader.  In 2005, most of our students were in primary school.  Today we have as many university students as primary students. So our costs are rising as our students successfully advance in school.

In 2014, we capped the student scholarship to 100 students to try to maintain sustainability of our growing program..  This year we added a correlating requirement on the distribution of scholarship students to be 90% in primary school, and 10% in trade schools or University.  This will provide better cost control over what this parish is able to give as well as ensure there is adequate budget set aside for young students to enter the program and get a basic education.

This fall we have requested additional detail on current University students progress toward their degrees, and requested that they provide evidence of a sustainable plan for food and shelter before receiving scholarships.  While this is the right thing to do from a fiscal responsibility perspective, it’s been heartbreaking and emotional for those students that are so very passionate about completing their education.

Last but not least, supplies cost more than they did 10 or 15 years ago.  We partially funded supplies, but these funds were much less than the requested need.  Our committee is continuing to explore several ideas to manage this cost increase.

We believe our Christian Faith in Jesus Christ will aid our mission. Our abundance and shared faith with Togo St. Theresa parish provides the valued gift of education to the children of Nyassive.  Through education and Christian teaching these most vulnerable children can rise out of poverty and be more able to contribute to their community.

Our TOGO brothers and sisters need our continued prayers & support.