By Kristen Thomason
In the remote farming village of Vogan in Togo, Africa Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s field personnel Karen Alford, a family nurse practitioner, runs a small wound-care clinic providing high quality health care at a low cost. Even patients from as far away as Ghana and Nigeria have journeyed to Vogan seeking medical care. So, when CBF Global Missions became a partner with the Baptist World Alliance in the Acacia Project implementation, Alford not only represented CBF, but became a partner to provide medication to participants in the Project. “The Acacia project dovetails with my broader community health ministry. Strengthening livelihoods strengthens health.” 
The full name of the Acacia Project is the Acacia Financial Empowerment for Elderly Caring for their Grandchildren Through Conservative Agriculture and Livestock farming in Northwest Lomé. Alford says the initiative is “serving vulnerable families in Tabligbo, Togo, particularly grandparents raising grandchildren by themselves.” The rising cost of food and increasing urbanization has caused 48% of Lomé’s residents to adopt crisis strategies to access food. Many of these are grandparents who are struggling to feed themselves and their grandchildren on limited incomes.
To combat food insecurity, the Acacia Project is teaching these families to grow their own gardens using sustainable agricultural practices. During the program, participants learn how to apply organic fertilizer to revitalize rurales nutrient-poor soil as well as natural methods to combat the caterpillars and beetle larvae that prey on seeds. CBF is providing the 20 households enrolled in the Acacia Project with six months’ worth of food to sustain them until their crops are ready to harvest and BWA is providing for training, animals cares and tuition for the grandchildren’s school.
Participants also receive training in animal husbandry with lessons on how to breed and care for rabbits, pigs and ducks. “A key component is the
‘pass-the-offspring-forward’ model, where participants share some of the offspring of their animals with other families in the program, until each family has a breeding pair of each kind of animal,” Alford said. “Then some of the offspring will also be shared with new families entering the program as a way to keep the program growing and self-sustaining while multiplying the impact across the community.”
As a product of the International Humanitarian Action and Development Intensive Course offered by the BWA at the 2024 Annual Gathering in Lagos, Nigeria, the Acacia Project emerged from a working group where CBF was represented by Rev. Laura Ayala, CBF Coordinator of Global Missions. As per the group agreement, once the project “won” BWA’s support for implementation, the Children’s Department of the All-Africa Baptist Fellowship became the lead organization. The group also supported its implementation in Togo with the dream of replicating the project in other African countries. The financial support was given by the Baptist World Alliance Forum for Aid and Development (BFAD) and CBF Global Missions.
Once the project was to be implemented, Ayala invited Alford to represent her in the project’s dedication worship on
June 1, 2025. “This initiative reflects the strength of global Baptist collaboration,” Alford said. “Together, these partnerships allow local ministries to access global resources while ensuring the work remains locally led and culturally grounded. Such collaboration increases accountability, sustainability and shared learning across contexts.”
According to Alford, the Acacia Project is already making a difference. “We are seeing increased food security and small income generation with the animal husbandry part of the project. The sharing model fosters dignity rather than dependency. Families are not only receiving help—they are becoming helpers. That shift changes community dynamics in powerful ways.” Inspired by the program’s success, the All-Africa Baptist Children Ministry hopes to replicate the Acacia Project in other areas of Togo and other African countries where more than 50% of children live in extreme poverty.
“With a $15,000 contribution from CBF Disaster Response Fund, the lives of these 20 families (over 79 children) have been transformed, creating a lasting impact on their community for years to come,” Ayala said.
“The first-year budget for this project was $34,760. Thanks to its sustainable model, the program is self-sufficient starting in its second year, and these families are expected to achieve food security and stable incomes within three years.”
Given that we are just getting started and that it takes time for crops to be harvested and for animals to mature before beneficiaries can expect to see any income, we encourage those who want to provide extra support to the valuable impact of the Acacia Project to do so through prayer, monetary donations and advocacy. “Churches and individuals can contribute toward livestock purchases, training support, animals care, agricultural tools or materials and ongoing mentorship,” Alford said. “Sharing the story also helps expand the network of support and encouragement.”
The motto: ACACIA, HOPE RISES FROM OUR LANDS!