Hope during the Pandemic: Sivame Child Center Reopens

Background

Throughout these past couple of years, the pandemic has taken a detrimental toll around the world, infecting the weakest individuals: the elders, the impoverished, and the unhealthy. There has been an upward surge in pandemic cases, including the new variant of COVID, the Omicron variant, which spreads faster than the Delta variant. Because of this new surge of pandemic cases around the world, there is no insurance to determine who is safe or unsafe. Virus protection requirements, such as mask mandates, have died down slightly, and various communities are slowly becoming more and more active. Businesses large and small are continuing to follow safety guidelines, and some schools require exposed students to stay home for the risk of having caught the virus. Although issues related to the pandemic this year haven’t been as intense as issues in the past couple of years, COVID cases are still ramping up. And it’s not just hurting people like us. It’s especially impactful on people who live in poor communities on the other side of the world.

Families who live in poor, unstable communities and villages, especially in various regions of the Eurasian and Africa, have suffered greatly during the pandemic. The global lockdown has left rescue missionaries and development centers closed to the still unreached population. Rescue support for millions of families who cannot survive physically and financially has been cut for a prolonged period. Many solutions in this treacherous pandemic included homeschooling, food and health kits, and cash gifts. Nevertheless, now that 2022 has finally arrived, many rescue and development facilities have finally opened, providing major hope for future generations. One of these centers reopening was the Sivame child development center.

A Loving Community

The Sivame child development center is a Christian center located in Togo, a country bordered by a gulf in the Atlantic Ocean in northwestern Africa. The center spreads education and faith to the many children who live in the savannah outskirts of southern Togo.

The center was closed on March 20, 2020, although the staff created ways to minister to the children, such as visiting their homes and providing supply kits. Gathering at the center remained an undeniable necessity. Because the local church partnered with Compassion, an international child development organization that supports impoverished children through sponsorship programs, the Sivame center became a crucial part of the children’s lives because of the education it provided. The children who were learning various skills through activities such as sports, music, and choreography, grew disappointed during the center closure.

After the lockdown was over, the center reopened its doors, causing widespread rejoicing. Parents and their children and church staff members were exhilarated over the fact that the children would resume their learning.

On April 10, 2021, the center doors were reopened, and post-lockdown requirements and qualifications were set to faculty policies: classes were disinfected, hands were cleaned, and reusable masks were distributed. Although extra-curricular activities came to a halt, classes helped fill gaps in learning that the children missed during quarantine.

The importance of one of these schools opening is not only the joy of the matter but the fact that miracles can still occur during such a harsh pandemic. And in the words of the community, “prayers being answered”.