Global Alliance for Community Empowerment,

Working with community trainers, we enlist pregnant women who cannot afford health care and directly fund their prenatal, delivery and post natal care at public health clinics. Our trainers partner with health clinics to provide training on preventing female genital mutilation, as well as birth spacing, nutrition & sanitation. When a mother falls ill or dies in childbirth in Togo, her remaining children's chances of education, adequate nutrition and rising from poverty are greatly reduced, creating a deadly cycle of poverty and more teen childbirth mortalities. We can protect mothers during pregnancy and childbirth for under $100 per mother, a fraction of the health care cost in developed countries. Alaffia works with World Health Organization guidelines to reduce Togo's MMR and IMR.

Togo had the highest rate of deforestation in the world from 2004-2005 and the result is depleted soils and water aquifers, so that many farmers face starvation or log additional lands in a further downward spiral. Drylands deforestation is a critical issue that is neglected in the international focus on saving tropical rainforests. Shea trees are unique to the African Sahel and the nuts are highly prized for cosmetics, yet shea are being logged out of desperation and breakdowns in community. Shea trees produce valuable income for 80 or more years as a living tree supporting local and planetary ecosystems. Our goal is to plant and steward 300,000 trees in Northern Togo to fight the process of desertification and the human misery it creates. This is in a region dubbed a global "hotspot" for climate change. GACE's tree nursery staff partner with schools, health clinics, and cooperative producers. Improved species are selected for their income potential, nitrogen fixing or crop shading, medicinal and livestock fodder values. Species with high value to community stakeholders are managed long term by the beneficiaries. The program is effective because it ties tree stewardship to Fair Trade agreements that pay a premium to Fair Trade compliant producers. Our program trains women shea collectors in parklands management and reforestation. With additional fund support from USAID, GACE also is training women in business development, warehousing and improved processing of shea nuts to achieve higher incomes.

It is extremely difficult for visually impaired to obtain eyeglasses in Togo. An exam may cost 1 month's wages, a pair of eyeglasses may cost 4 months wages. Eyeglasses are collected in the USA and an optometrist is employed to correctly fit and distribute the eyeglasses. This program relies on many Alaffia brokers, consumers and store partners, who donate to our annual eyeglass drive at more than 200 participating stores in the United States and Canada. This program is a great example of how people can help the disadvantaged with simple coordination and corporate support.

Since 2011, Alaffia fair trade enterprise has built 14 schools in Togo, with the goal of continuing to build 2-3 schools each year from Fair Trade premiums. Teachers and children in remote areas have a difficult time completing schoolwork when they lack buildings, toilets, water, desks, benches and basic supplies. Alaffia's work in Togo has shone a light on these extremely disadvantaged communities, and attracted many others who wish to join this effort. GACE provides a way for individuals and organizations to donate money, supplies, and skills to support Alaffia's work.

Each year Alaffia stores and brokers support Alaffia's work to improve the school attendance rates in Togo by encouraging customers to donate school supplies. In Togo, the cost of a child's school uniform and supplies is often insurmountable for rural families. Alaffia provides shipping funds and GACE staff make student supply kits from the donations received and coordinate with schools. Each kit has about US $5-$10 of supplies including pens, pencils, markers, chalk, and other items. Over 35,000 student supply kits have been distributed since 2003.