Off to the Bush Bush Bush - The Mercy Ships Agriculture Program in Togo

One of the fun parts of my job in Togo was getting to work with the Agriculture Program. This field service Mercy Ships Agriculture Program partnered with local NGO's in Togo to train them in sustainable farming practices, animal husbandry and nutrition. The goal was to train the trainers, who will then go and continue to teach the concepts in their communities. The participants were provided with teaching, demonstrations, print materials and animals. It was always an adventure to go and teach at the sites, it was really rewarding to see how receptive and enthusiastic the students were to learn. It was also an experience to go out in the "bush bush bush" as Eliphaz, the main trainer for the Agriculture program, said every time we drove out to the remote sites. 

Demonstrating how to give chickens injections in the animal husbandry portion of the Agriculture Program

Eliphaz teaching composting to the trainers

Students reviewing the nutrition teaching handouts with each other

Agriculture teaching upcountry in Togo

One of the NGO's healthy African chickens

My translator, Esther, and I doing our nutrition teaching under the palms in one of the villages

Rabbit cages for the animals donated by the Agriculture Program 

All of the  NGO's fed us lunch and buckets of sweet tea :)

Growing Moringa trees at one of the Agriculture sites. Moringa is a plant high in many nutrients that grows easily in West Africa. One of the goals of the Agriculture program is to promote all the different uses of the Moringa plant and encourage people to grow it. Since it is a good source of protein and many vitamins it can help improve the health of rural communities and prevent malnutrition. 

The last participants posing in front of a successful compost pile