The Togolese Red Cross created its first clubs of mothers in 1994 in the Kara region. Its aim was, at the time, to support the social integration of ghanaian refugees willing to stay in Togo.
The Red Cross had decided to lend some money to the women, in order to help them start income making activities. To ensure the repayment, the loans had not been granted to individuals, but to groups of women who were therefore collectively. These were the first mothers’clubs. Seing how dynamic they were, the Red Cross started associating them to its programme for AIDS Competence in the Kara Region.
The Spanish Red Cross (one of the supporters of the Togolese Red Cross), impressed by the mothers’ clubs, financed the development of this network into the Maritime Region. Since then, the movement has spread all over the country : 650 mothers’ clubs have been created in the five regions of Togo. More than 360 have been trained to Malaria Competence and have made their self assessment.
The last region involved, the Savanes Region, is the most active with 160 clubs already trained and many others under way.
This initiative from Togo gained widespread acceptance : in 2008, Red Cross President for Bénin asked Mrs Gladys Tay Agbobli to come to his country and train his staff creating mothers’ clubs. Shortly after, five clubs were created in Bénin.