While In Benin, Togo Smiles

The Mercy Ships Dental Team recently travelled to Lokossa, Benin, in order to run a two-day dental clinic at a nearby refugee camp. The camp of Agame was formed in 2005 to accommodate Togolese refugees who fled neighboring Togo shortly after violence erupted during elections.

Agame became home to more than 12,000 refugees, most of whom had lost all their possessions in fleeing the escalating hostility. The population has since decreased to around 3,000, with many of the refugees either resettling in Benin or returning to Togo.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has had a prominent presence within Agame since 2005, helping with the provision of shelter, basic health, water, and sanitation, as well as facilitating the establishment of a refugee-led council to manage social issues.



Though the camp has become self-sufficient in the past four years and no longer requires aid, several organizations still assist where they can. Mercy Ships was requested by the UNHCR to visit Agame and address the need for dental care.

Jessica Campbell, Dental Team Coordinator, and her team of 22 happily agreed to travel the three-hour journey from the port of Cotonou to the camp of Agame. “We performed only extractions and saw every person that requested treatment, which was around 160 people,” she said. “Some required the extraction of frontal teeth. With the assistance of the UNHCR, they will be brought to the Africa Mercy within the coming weeks to receive dentures.”

Cooperation between Mr. Ebri Koku, Health Administrator for Agame, Mrs. Florence Fassassi, UNHCR Facilitator for Benin, and Mr. Nicaisse Satoguina, Camp Manager and Benin Government Representative, ensured that the Mercy Ships Dental Team was provided with accommodation, food, and a suitable area of operation, as well as organizing the names of refugees that required treatment.



“Everything at the camp was very organized. We had no problems,” said Campbell. “The whole team loved the experience. It was great to get back to the basics of dentistry without all the fancy equipment and to help people who are in serious need and have no other means of help,” she added.

Belinda, a refugee who fled Togo with her husband and four children, was one of many patients who had their lives improved by the free service provided by Mercy Ships. Suffering from a severe cavity in one of her molars, Belinda required a tooth extraction. “It was not too painful when they took it out, but I feel free now,” she explained. “I can laugh again. I feel free.”

Mr. Koku expressed his gratitude for the work done by the Mercy Ships Dental Team: “Since Mercy Ships has come, we have been made aware of the need for oral hygiene in our community. We are very happy about the treatment we have received. We want to thank Mercy Ships for all the work they have done here in Agame.”

This brief partnership between Mercy Ships and the UNHCR has provided 160 struggling refugees with relief from toothache and has educated hundreds more on the importance of oral hygiene. With the 2010 Field Service planned for Togo, Mercy Ships hopes to continue bringing hope and healing to the Togolese people and their country, and indeed all of West Africa.