But the two parishes have Togo in common.
Togo is a little a slip of a French-speaking, West African nation squeezed between Ghana and Benin with 56 km of coastline and seven million people. A third of the Togolese live below the poverty line and over the last 25 years AIDS has exacted a cruel toll.
On the outskirts of Lome, the capital, the Jesuits have figured out that the cure for AIDS is education. They’ve founded the Centre Esperance Loyola (Loyola Hope Centre) to deliver HIV and AIDS education to young people. The Catholics of Consul and Scarborough think the Jesuits have it right and they’re raising money, prayers and hope in support.
In Consul, St. Stephen’s is putting on a concert with Ken Overcast, “last of the real singin’ cowboys,” Feb. 25. In the past the parish has raised money for Togo with bingo, which draws pretty well among the 450-or-so residents of the Rural Municipality of Reno, No. 51. This time they’re taking a chance on concert promotion in the hope of drawing more people and raising more money.
Nancy-Jean Taylor is printing the tickets off her computer, putting up posters and getting the word out to local media.
Even if St. Stephen’s doesn’t always have enough money to cover its own costs, pulling together to raise money for the Loyola Hope Centre is one of the things that makes the community a real parish with a purpose, said Taylor.
“When it’s that small and you spend all your time wondering whether you’re going to keep your own doors open, it’s nice to step away from that and know that while we do exist we can do some good outside our country,” Taylor said.
Part of the connection with the Jesuit project in Togo is that it serves rural people from small villages in a small country. In town of fewer than 90 people, that’s appealing.
“It’s one of the smallest countries in Africa and we connect with small,” said Taylor, who runs a ranch of 3,500 hectares.
The Ken Overcast concert isn’t the first time the Taylors have turned their connection with Togo into an extraordinary effort. The Taylors’ nephew, Craig Taylor, is a playwright in London, England. Hearing about the Consul connection with Togo, he organized a benefit performance of one of his theatre works, One Million Tiny Plays About London, that raised 3,000 pounds ($4,750).
While St. Stephen’s has been involved in Togo since 2006, Prince of Peace’s connection goes back to Toronto’s World Youth Day in 2002. Prince of Peace Catholic School was one of many asked to accommodate pilgrims at the last minute and hosted a group from the tiny African nation.
Then principal Bob Kalisz began learning about the challenges and aspirations of his Togolese guests.
“It ended up opening this incredible chapter in life,” he said.
Kalisz put out the word and banded 56 Catholic schools together to build a school in the village of Keve, outside of Lome. Kalisz travelled to Togo and discovered how much was needed and how much his school and parish in Toronto could do.
One of the first things they did was bring five-year-old Koku Assupo to Toronto for major surgery to correct a rare, disfiguring condition that caused his brain to grow into a nasal cavity. The boy spent eight months in Toronto as a guest of the school and parish while surgeons at the Hospital for Sick Children rebuilt his face. At 11 years old, Assupo and his family are still supported by the Prince of Peace community who want to see him complete his education.
When Kalisz retired from the school board he was invited to take up volunteer work as chair of the Prince of Peace parish council. Naturally, the parish’s involvement in Togo deepened. The parish is now committed to supporting a new polytechnical high school and eventually some post-secondary education.
Kalisz has just returned from his fourth trip to Togo, where he has learned from Loyola Hope Centre director Fr. Bernard Hounnougbo the connection between poverty and AIDS.
“Where you see poverty and no education for young people, AIDS isn’t far behind,” he said. “The long-term solution to the AIDS issue is people coming out of poverty and being educated,” he said.
Both the school and the parish have been transformed by their connection with Togo, said Kalisz.
“The school was a better place because we weren’t just focused on ourselves,” he said. “We were focused outwardly.”
As students brought their concern for Togo to church with them, it’s had the same effect on the parish, according to Kalisz.
“The parish can become insular. When the outreach occurs, I’m convinced that the parish, just like a school or a family, becomes a healthier community. That’s the thing about our faith,” he said.