Meg Dussault Memorial

Primary School of Dadzie
Project Partner: Action Enfance et Development (AED)

Togo is one of the poorest countries in the world. In and around the capital city, Laurent Dekalikan of Action Enfance et Developpment (AED) is dedicated to helping the poorest of Lomé’s children get a better start in life. He used to teach them. Now in this city of nearly one million, he brings them water. “I saw the condition of their life,” says Laurent. So he endeavours to improve it – by drilling wells, erecting water tanks, building latrines and handwashing stations. And he cares deeply.

It is here that clean flowing water is changing the lives of 847 students, in memory of Meg Dussault.

At the Public Primary School of Dadzie, the students had no proper bathroom and nowhere to wash their hands. They brought their drinking water from home – if there was enough to spare – or bought it from street vendors which can be an expensive and unsafe source of water. Children were often sick with water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, bacterial diarrhea. Many girls simply stopped going to school because of the lack of hygiene facilities.

Thanks to the generosity and caring of Meg’s friends and family, life has dramatically improved for the children Dadzie Primary School.

Clean Water Flows Up and Down

Students must have watched wide-eyed when the equipment arrived to drill a brand new well in their school yard. A well was drilled to a depth of 89 metres. Concrete columns 6 metres high were constructed to support a tank that holds water pumped up from underground, and then flowed down through pipes around the school facility. It was a happy day when the positive results of the water quality tests returned from the University of Lomé laboratory.

Piping Water to the Community

Not only is the school rejoicing with access to clean water, but so is the surrounding community. Two yard taps have been constructed. One distributes water to the school buildings and handwashing station. The other is piped over the school wall for the community. This makes clean water available to the 500 people living in the area, who before had none. They pay a small water fee, which helps build up funds for ongoing maintenance.

Teaching Healthy Habits for Life

Latrines at the school were in a terrible state of disrepair. The two latrines of six stances each have been refreshed, so students have a safe place to go to the bathroom. Everyone received WASH (water, sanitation & hygiene) education, and the teachers are trained to reinforce good hygiene practises among the children…washing their hands before eating and after going to the toilet. A committee that includes the principal, the hygiene teacher and the president of the Parent Committee ensures that the facilities are well maintained. A member of the community has been trained in pump repair and maintenance.

Dadzie is a school and a community that is finding its way to better health and a more hopeful future. The students of Dadzie Primary are now able to learn in a safe, healthy environment…and a much better chance of success as they grow. The legacy of Meg Dussault is helping put these children on a path to a brighter future.

Continuing the Legacy of a Gentle and Generous Nature

“A pure light to those who loved her.” If you’d like to honour Meg’s name with a tribute gift, please click here.

Meg Dussault, September 21, 1957 to July 30, 2013

Meg Dussault, September 21, 1957 to July 30, 2013