Pastor Lare Damitote Bertrand with church officials.

?I needed chains because I was doing everything wrong, and I destroyed everything I found on my way. But now that I'm detached, I realize that I am correct, and I no more do wrong things. I am more willing to arrange things, than to destroy them.

I hope I will never be attached again, because being attached is not a good thing. I expect that God will improve my health, and he will give me health so that I can live normally.?

Brothers Tadja Yendja (left) and Tadja Lenle (right) in the village of village of Sibor Toti in northern Togo.

Tadja Lenle is a farmer suffering from mental illness. He was able to get temporary relief through treatments at a nearby hospital, but doesn?t have the money to continue them indefinitely. Without the medicine, he quickly relapsed. Though he?s cared for by his brother and sister-in-law, he?s weighed down by the reality of his condition:

"I hear voices and I have the impression that something strikes me?I?ve undergone rituals and I?ve made sacrifices with traditional healers without success. I have also been to the hospital for medical treatment?All my life is only suffering because I am no longer the person I was."

Yacouba Salamatou is a farmer in the village of Sibor Toti, northern Togo, who lives with a mental health problem. She recalls the sudden arrival of her disease, and longs for a return to a normal life with her family.

?I hope I will have treatment for a better future. I want to take care of my children who are in Lom?[Togo?s capital city].?

?When he has an attack, he reacts like a crazy person, and I am not safe, neither are our children. I often go to join my father and then, when he calms down, I come back." Says Kany?a, describing Dampotine's illness. "Many people make fun of him. Sometimes he gets out, especially at night, and he goes into people's homes to spoil their things. Sometimes he is beaten for destroying things?People make fun of me too. They often ask me why I still live with him. But I can?t leave him. We have three boys, two at the university, and the last in college. I think about their future.?

Kany?a, a tailor and now the breadwinner, feels weighed down by this burden: ?I take care of him like a son?It's really difficult, because I can?t compare myself to my colleagues. We are all tailors and I work more than many of them, but we do not have the same level. Because there are some whose husbands help them, while I used all my money for my children and my husband. It's really hard? I hope everything will be better in the future, and this disease will not affect me, and none of my children will suffer. I want my husband to feel better too.?

For many in the region, the treatments they receive here can enable them to keep their jobs and independence. Lamboni Lare is a mechanic living with a mental health problem. The medication he receives at the Centre allows him to continue working.

?I am here because I was not going well mentally. Before I could not sleep, and sometimes I go out for a walk without any desire to return. Sometimes I spoke disorderly. But since I'm having the treatment, I?m fine?The Centre has helped me with treatments. When I had no medication, it really bothered me. But now that I take it, I feel myself changing. I could not even work before treatment. Now I work well without problem from morning until evening.?

Sankalengue Baraon also receives treatment at the Centre. He used to be a mason, but had to stop working due to his disorder:

?My mental disorders do not lead me to hurt people. It just makes me sing, and I sing for long times. Sometimes it makes me walk long distances. Sometimes I hear voices, and they give me instructions. For example they can point me to go into a strange house at a certain time to have food, and when I go, I actually find people eating and I have my share.?

"Since my daughter was born, she does not speak or walk?We can?t know what happened to her?Our biggest challenge is to get a good treatment so we could change her life. I am financially exhausted? seeing her like that really makes me pity. Girls of her age are not like that and it tears me to see her like that.?

Another one of the Centre de Sante Mentale?s goals is to teach patients a life skill, that they can use to earn a living. Kolani Kondougue came for treatment and was given medication. When she became healthy, she learned how to make soap to sell in the community.

?I can say that I have no more challenge, because I sell things at the market and I live a good life with my children and my husband? All I want is to have health. This is precisely why I regularly come to the health center to take my medication. I do not want this disease to come back in my life again.?