For the average member of the "first world", it is going to prove quiet a challenge to successfully picture this undeniably "third world" West-African capital of Lomé. In order to grasp the full extent of the human suffering facing Togo, perhaps you could start by imagining every human right and infrastructure that you enjoy as a Westerner. Think of your salary that easily provides food and housing, the access you have to efficient education and health care and maybe the water and sewerage that you cannot live without. Now you need to destroy all of these essentials and imagine a life without them…

Fortunately for Togo, this country is also blessed with a human spirit that seems to transcend the most impoverished conditions plaguing the society. Astonishingly, the people of Togo still manage to smile, laugh, and carry a sense of pride that manages to withstand all but the harshest of human indignities.