Who we are

Background: A seed was planted in West Africa a long time ago and in 2004, Allyson Taché began to work on fulfilling her dream of making a difference in the world. It started with a home for 20 children which Allyson funded personally. Walking through a Lobi village in southwestern Burkina Faso in 2005, every child that Allyson encountered met the “eligibility criteria” for her home: obviously living in extreme poverty, unclean, unhealthy, under-nourished, without access to education and little hope for the future.

Today, Allyson is a co-chair of the Toronto-based charitable organization that she founded in 2009 – Refuge Enfants Pour Tous (literally, “Refuge for All Children”) – and as a group we now have over 10 years of experience working to support children and education in Burkina Faso. Oversight of REPT’s activities is provided by the organization’s Board of Directors in Toronto – most of the members of which have been involved in the organization since its inception. Our other co-chair is Brigitte Roussel, who is also a French immersion teacher with the Toronto District School Board. When our co-chairs are not in Burkina Faso delivering REPT’s programs in person, we work through local intermediaries.

Humanitarian work in West Africa is challenging. To succeed one needs vision, determination, dedicated volunteers and donors but above all one needs to care. REPT is fortunate to have all these attributes in abundance: our Board Members, Local Partners and a wonderful group of loyal supporters in Canada all come together to make it possible to achieve our ambitious goals. We are all motivated by knowing that we are paving the way for a better future one child at a time.