Wyamdé Village: Blacksmithing, Strength, and Labor in Northern Togo

Togo

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The country is very underdeveloped economically. The basis of its economy is agriculture, generating around 40% of the GDP and employing around 60% of the working population. Togo is among the countries with the lowest level of social development.

Overview:
  • poverty is everywhere, especially in the rural areas, where around 69% households live below the threshold of poverty
  • the basic factors that lead to poverty are: lack of food security, insufficient access to health care, unemployment and insufficient number of jobs, especially among the younger generation
Every year, the pharmacy helps around

3600

patients

21.02.2024

The small village of Wyamdé in the northern part of Togo is covered in soot, giving the landscape a somewhat lunar appearance. The heart of the village beats loudly, rhythmically, healthily, hammering stone against red-hot steel.

– How much does that stone weigh, 10-15 kilos?

– The heavier, the better. It depends on the blacksmith. He must strike the red-hot iron firmly. He cannot afford a mistake.

A mistake means a serious injury, and accidents do happen. There are no fancy machines, no professional tools here. A woman diligently fans the flames in a clay furnace with two cowhide bellows. A man waits for a piece of steel rim to glow red-hot. Instead of a blacksmith’s hammer, a granite stone; instead of an anvil, a piece of granite rock.

People built of titanium, machines of blood, bone, and muscles hard as granite, give new life to old car rims, turning them into hoes and plows.

The furnace emits intense heat, with 40 degrees even in the shade. The air hangs heavy and stagnant. Sweat pours from my forehead just from watching the blacksmith at work. I know of no harder job. I am grateful for my own. The people of Wyamdé have my utmost respect.

Mateusz Gasiński

We need to dry out the buildings as quickly as possible

Urgent help for flood victims

The most vulnerable are the elderly and disabled, living in remote rural areas and small towns, where reaching them is difficult. You’ll be informed about every penny spent to help them. 100% of the funds raised will go directly towards targeted, precise aid tailored to the needs of those affected.

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