The month of April was marked by the arrival of the President of SPES International, Madame Dominique, and her husband Reinhard DOERFLINGER. Everything is going wonderfully in the two SPES Lomé centers. The entire administration, the management team, the children, and the young residents, both internal and external, are doing well. Just like last month, SPES Lomé currently has a total of: forty-eight (48) residents, including twenty-seven (27) in the center for the very young and twenty-one (21) in the adolescent center. The young people living in rented accommodations, with families, and in Benin, still under care, have returned to twenty-three (23) after some left the group upon reaching the age of 24. In total, seventy-one (71) children and young people were cared for by SPES Lomé during the month of April 2026.
The two new recruits are integrating perfectly into their new living environment.
SCHOOLING
The children and young people from the kindergarten to high school have resumed classes well after ten (10) days of vacation (from Friday, April 3 to Sunday, April 12, 2026) to allow them to properly celebrate the Easter festivities. The primary and middle school students have received their second trimester results. For most of our students, there was a slight improvement compared to the previous results (first trimester results). Supervision with the dorm uncles and aunts, as well as tutoring sessions with external tutors, continues at both the primary and middle/high school levels. High school students continue to participate in paid directed study sessions (TD) organized by their teachers at their school.
The students are at the final stretch of the 2025-2026 school year, and the exams and end-of-year tests are already approaching quickly. To better support our high school students in studying well and achieving good academic results at the end of the year, it was decided among the staff members to assign to the adolescent center all high school students who are currently at the children’s center. This will also allow them to join the other students (high schoolers) to form study groups and apply themselves better.
ANIMATION
Under the direction of Uncle Justin, sports and recreational activities, reading, and activities with the children take place both at the daycare and at the library. At the invitation of the French Institute, the children participated in an event called JAZZ FOR KIDS, which took place on their premises in Lomé on April 22, 2026. In total, eighteen (18) children accompanied by two supervisors took part and returned home very happy and joyful.
The administration is considering the development of the football field in the two centers of Lomé in order to allow children to train and channel their excess energy. It will also be an opportunity for both girls and boys to develop talents in this discipline.
SMILEY PROJECT
Under the supervision of Mr. BRUCE Elysée, the Smiley project continues with our young middle school students.
SITUATION OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STUDENTS
Our young internal and external students have resumed classes for the monsoon semester with serenity, and we hope that this semester will be decisive in validating all the teaching units, thereby allowing them to earn credits.
The young person in priestly training was on vacation in Lomé for two weeks. He has returned safely to Benin and has resumed classes.
The one in preschool teacher training is doing very well and continues her training. She is currently in the practical phase.
APPRENTICESHIP
Our young apprentices continue their training in their various learning workshops.
HEALTH
During this month of April, our children suffered from malaria accompanied by intestinal infections. Some were referred to the Jean Jacques Bazin Medical-Social Center in Kégué (Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Kégué, not far from the Center) and others to the Pediatrician. They were seen, treated, and cured. The new recruits also receive the vaccination doses indicated for their age.
Rehabilitation sessions continue for our young ones and things are getting better and better.
The Psychologist continues her activities in the two SPES TOGO Centers.
OTHER NEWS
On April 9, 2026, the staff received training from the director. This training focused on the theme of awareness. It mainly aims to transform the way a person perceives themselves, their emotions, their behaviors, and their impact on others. The ultimate goal is to promote better emotional regulation, more informed decision-making, and better adaptation in a personal or professional context. To conclude, she urged all staff to review the way they take care of the children while ensuring safety and enhancing the supervision of the site (the center).
The arrival of the President of SPES International, Madame Dominique, and her husband Reinhard DOERFLINGER, member of DOT, godfather and godmother of our children, made a strong impression this April 2026. Indeed, on April 9, 2026, the couple Reinhard and Dominique DOERFLINGER arrived in Lomé and was welcomed on April 10 by the children to the sound of djembes and songs at the Children’s Center. Dominique and Reinhard took advantage of this warm welcome to give advice to the children, particularly to the young girls, on their sexual and reproductive health. The visits continued at the Children’s Center and the Adolescents’ Center throughout their stay.
During their stay, work sessions were held with the management of SPES Lomé and the Board of Directors of SPES TOGO. Thus, on Wednesday, April 13, 2026, a meeting was organized between the Board of Directors of SPES Togo, the directors of the two centers (Lomé and Kpalimé), the psychologist, the project manager, and the couple Reinhard and Dominique DOERFLINGER (members of SPES International). This meeting made it possible to address the following points:
– Compliance of accounting with the standards of the Togolese Revenue Office
– Contracting with Mr. Vincent CORSELIS from the CORSELIS CONSULTING firm to support SPES TOGO
– Increase in the endowment in connection with the real needs of the children and the new salaries
– Recruitment of new children with the aim of increasing revenue
– Identification of new sources of funding by SPES TOGO and SPES International
– Revision of the salaries of childminders and proposal of a salary scale for staff by SPES TOGO for evaluation
It should be recalled that the DOERFLINGER couple donated books to enrich the center’s library and three (3) laptops intended for certain members of the management at the Lomé center out of ten (10) for the two SPES TOGO centers.
Eleven (11) of our children received a financial gift from them, as well as from their godfathers and godmothers through Mrs. Dominique.
From March 30 to April 4, 2026, a team composed of the director, the project manager and head of the adolescent center, the psychologist, and the facilitator carried out a tour to visit our young people who are living with families, in rentals, and with their employers.
A total of thirty-three (33) young people were visited. The report will be available soon, and individual information on these young people will be provided in their development report scheduled for July 2025.
On April 24, a staff meeting was organized by the director to discuss the reorganization of monthly staff meetings, the meeting with foster caregivers, the academic supervision of our children, and the organization of May 1st (Labor Day).
It was agreed that the first Monday of each month would be set aside for monthly staff meetings, and the second Thursday of each month would be reserved for meetings with the childminders.
During these meetings, the staff will present their activity program for the current month and review the achievements of the previous month, along with creating a new plan.
Regarding school supervision, since we are in the final stretch of the school year, the director urged all staff to redouble their efforts in supervising our children’s schooling in order to achieve good results at the end of the year.
Before discussing the organization of the May 1st celebration, the director reminded all staff that we are like a chain and its links, in which each link has a crucial role to play in keeping the engine running, and thus everyone must contribute or work for the advancement or well-being of the center.
The garden and vegetable garden
Market gardening activities have timidly resumed while waiting for the Austrian funds to be made available to strengthen them and also start livestock farming.
WEATHER
The great rainy season is in full swing in the south of Togo, thus making the landscape green. It is therefore on these benevolent notes that we wish you a good and fruitful month of May 2026.
The Director
Béatrice ODJO-ALOGNON
