Missions group raises funds for Togo trip

June 8, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

By EMILY GIANETTI

Members from the Tabernacle Presbyterian Church sponsored a fun run in Austintown Park May 19 to raise money for their upcoming trip to Togo, West Africa.

Nearly 70 people attended the event, a good turnout, event organizer Tim O’Brien said, especially for the first time. The group raised about $2,000 in the end from both registration fees and T-shirt sales.

The money will go to organization Mentor Leaders. A nonprofit group, it provides education, water and sanitation to villages in need while maintaining the people’s culture. Tabernacle does its Togo mission work through the group.

“It’s showing the power of God’s love,” said college student Jillian Smith, who went on the trip last year. “It makes people do insane things.

This summer, two separate teams from the church will be sent to the Togolese village of Gbentchal, one of the poorest in the country.

One team of nine, leaving mid-June, will set up a summer camp for the kids, while the other team of eight will set up a medical clinic in mid-July.

“I do it because I like to help. I went right down to Katrina after it happened,” O’Brien said. “I just like to be there.”

This will be the second visit for many of the church members.

During their first summer, they witnessed the building of a well and the opening of a school. Teachers are natives from the country, from its larger cities.

“No one’s heard of the village,” said O’Brien. “Even those who live in Togo often do not know about it. We want to put it back on the map.”

Those who wish to donate to the cause can send money to Mentor Leaders, P.O. Box 1441, Crawfordville, FL 32326.