Two villages, one circle: five days at the Happy Kids camp in Togo

From 28 July to 1 August 2026, in the villages of Koudassi and Segbedjikope, 407 children came together for five days of the Happy Kids camp — a Happy Kids Togo initiative, in partnership with Children of the Earth. There were 236 children in Koudassi and 171 in Segbedjikope. Every child who came was welcomed. Not one was turned away for lack of space.

Many of these children don’t go to school. Some no longer have families. Others have already seen things a child should never see. But they are not strangers to us — we have walked alongside them for the past two or three years.

We didn’t discover them on 28 July. We didn’t leave them behind on 1 August.

There were no textbooks or blackboards. The children learned through picture boxes, role-play and their own local language — five days of talks on hygiene, children’s rights, living together, and how to protect themselves. Children who had never held a book sat, listened, raised their hands, and asked for more. School hasn’t welcomed all of them. But the camp did.

There was no sports field either — just packed earth and lines drawn in chalk. It was more than enough. One rule was non-negotiable: no one sits on the bench. Girls and boys played on the same teams, the youngest alongside the oldest, and the children no one knew were picked first. Two villages became one circle.

And there were 6,105 meals — morning, noon and night, for five days, for 407 children, without exception or condition. For many, it was the most substantial meal of their day; for some, the only one. A hungry child cannot learn, or play, or sing. Everything else rested on those plates.

There was music, and there were games. When a shy child finds the courage to sing before the whole village, that is confidence being born. When children from two villages dance together, that is peace.

Joy isn’t an optional extra. Joy is an intervention.

The children went home on 1 August, but the work did not stop. This camp was a milestone in a longer journey, not a brief encounter. Since it ended, the team has been visiting families — checking in on the children, and understanding why some could not come this time.

407 children. 6,105 meals. Five days of learning, playing and growing. The camp is over, but the commitment remains. Building the future with our children.

To learn more or support this work, visit happykidstogo.life.