About
GENERATIONAL IMPACT FOR TOGO
Francis + Benedict is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that exists to empower skilled Togolese women through dignified, sustainable employment and spiritual discipleship.
Through our handcrafted fashion and generous mission partners, we invest in seamstresses, community leaders, and next-generation changemakers in Togo, West Africa—creating jobs, funding local initiatives, and restoring hope for orphans, widows, and families in poverty.
Our Story
Katie Walters is the founder and visionary behind Francis + Benedict. God ignited her heart for the women of Togo when she visited there in July of 2015. Francis + Benedict is the marriage of her love for well-made, fashion-forward clothing and seeing women worldwide excel at what God has called them to.
Our Namesake
Francis and Benedict Avoyi are our partners on the ground in Togo, encouraging and equipping the seamstresses as well as navigating all overseas operations.
BECOME A MONTHLY MISSION PARTNER
$15 a month is just the beginning.
We run Francis + Benedict as a partnership empowering the leaders, Francis and Benedict Avoyi, to continue to make a generational impact in Togo, West Africa.
With your donation, we are seeing women empowered and children’s lives changed in one of the most vulnerable communities in the world.
You can make this tax deductible donation and see your money multiplied as YOU EMPOWER LIVES AND CHANGE GENERATIONS.
Meet the Togo team
Francis Avoyi
Dr. Francis Avoyi is the leader of Pioneers, an international missions organization where he oversees all of SubSaharan Africa. He pastors church planters and provides oversight for church planting and expansion. He is an entrepreneur that has launched a number of businesses in addition to overseeing a number of construction projects. He recently received his doctorate in leadership and organizational management.
Francis and Benedict have been married for 23 years and have 3 children, Gods Will, Jeffrey and Grace.
His heart is for the hopeless and those outside of family including widows and orphans. Francis and Benedict have been sponsoring street children in a church based foster care program since 1995. He is also our partner on the ground in Togo that helps keep Francis and Benedict running as an NGO company.
Benedict Avoyi
Benedict is a wife to Francis, mother of 3, and the leader of our sewists team at Francis + Benedict. Her skills and leadership are invaluable to our team and they started developing years ago. She remembers a time when she would walk 28km each day to learn how to sew. Every morning before they start their work, she leads the seamstresses in a devotional. She says it's one of her favorite parts of the day. She knows each seamstress intimately and truly cares about them, their families, and their futures.
It's indisputable that Benedict is known as a loving, generous, and hospitable mother figure in her neighborhood, community, and all over Togo.
There's no other person we would rather have leading the Togolese team.
Meet the Seamstresses
Celestine
Celestine is the sole provider for her family. She has two children and supports her siblings. She worked diligently as an apprentice to learn how to sew, but was unable to find employment as a seamstress for over three years. Resources were scarce at home and she was beginning to lose hope. About that time Lili, Celestine’s good friend, started working with Francis + Benedict. Celestine began to notice a change in her that was intriguing. Shortly after, she met with Francis and Benedict and asked for a job. This step has dramatically changed the trajectory of her life. Since working with Francis + Benedict so many things have changed. "I now have a way to take care of my needs and I feel like I am a part of a family.”
Celestine is a cheerful worker and loves to look at the pictures of the women wearing her skirts tagged on Facebook or Instagram. Her hope is that a person wearing one of the skirts she has made, “feels happy, and when others see such a beautiful skirt they would ask about it, so our name will be known.”
Yvette
Yvette was shunned and poorly treated by her only family member: her brother. Her dad was Muslim, but he died. Afterwards, her mother gave her life to Christ and Yvette was saved as well. While her mother was alive, her brother took care of her mother, and Yvette lived with her. But once her mother died, the family didn't want anything to do with her and made her move out of the house into a room in the back, not providing any help. So Yvette found some work with a friend's wife, where she began to teach her to sew and then introduced her to Francis+Benedict.
Juliette
When Juliette was younger and still in school, her family was having trouble making ends meet. In order to help support her parents and her two siblings, Juliette decided to learn a trade. She began learning how to sew from a seamstress down the street and hasn’t stopped sewing since. Now, she is a talented seamstress, and a mother to an adorable baby girl named Margaret. She loves working with intricate patterns and embellishing garments with beading. She’s been sewing for Francis + Benedict for a few years now and says that her employment is helping her work towards her dream of opening her own sewing shop.
Jeannette
After her husband’s sudden death, Jeannette was living a difficult life trying to support herself and her son. She was overwhelmed with negative thoughts and she felt as if her world was crumbling. Jeannette heard about an opportunity to pursue her passion of sewing with Francis + Benedict and has been an important part of our team ever since. She is a very talented seamstress, an extremely hard worker, and has such a strength about her. Jeannette says, "being a part of the Francis + Benedict team is encouraging because everyone brings me so much joy and laughter." Now that she is able to provide for herself and her son, she feels that her mind is at ease. Jeannette says that she is grateful for the prayers, love and the daily encouragement that the Francis + Benedict family gives her.
Rita
"My name is Rita and because of difficult life situations I went to live with my sister in Nigeria where I was working a small business. Because I went to go live with her, I wasn't able to go to school.
I came back to Lome, Togo to learn my own trade, sewing. That is when I found Francis + Benedict. After I joined F+B, now I can provide food for my family. I promise to stay with F+B because it's the best place where I have peace. Now, when I am not at work, I feel bold." -Rita
Roukiya
Roukiya was in her teens when she started earning an income for her family. Her mother and father are elderly and unable to work or help provide for the family. She is a very skilled seamstress and came to Francis and Benedict with incredible sewing skills and has dreams of doing even more. She was our first seamstress to decide that she would like to go on to open a shop of her own one day.
Nadége
After the passing of her father, which led to financial hardships at home, Nadége had to walk away from continuing her education in order to help take care of her mother and four siblings. A local seamstress took Nadége under her wing and taught her everything she knows about sewing. She continues to work tirelessly to hone her craft. Seeing people admire and enjoy garments that she has created brings her great joy and satisfaction. Because of her employment with Francis + Benedict, not only is Nadége making a wage that helps her support her family, but she is also gaining the freedom and independence to dream big dreams for her future.
Marie
"I grew up in a very poor family, so I could not go to school. I was in a position where I had to move around a lot. I tried to find a place to stay to learn sewing. When I finished learning how to sew, I had the opportunity to meet Francis and Benedict through the lady that taught me how to sew because she always receives girls and women in difficult situations to help them. Now that I work with Francis + Benedict, my life has changed and I have dignity. With what I am paid, I am able to take care of my elderly parents and because of poverty, they are not in good health. But now I am able to provide for them with the food and medication they need. I love to sing!" -Marie
Lilli
Lilli is married and doing her best to provide for herself and her two children with little support. She lives with her in-laws but she feels the burden of caring for the children falls solely on her. So when her friend told her about the job she had just gotten with Francis + Benedict and invited her to come and join her, Lilli jumped at the opportunity. We are so glad she did. She is now an integral part of our team, always laughing with Celestine while working diligently with precision and skill. Her home life is difficult, but she now has a second home, one where she and her children are seen, known, loved, and supported.
Rose
Both of Rose's parents died when she was an infant. Rose stayed with her older sister, who was also young at the time, and was forced to drop out of school. The only thing she could do was learn to sew. The woman who was willing to teach her understood her difficult situation and taught her without charge. After her husband died, this woman introduced her to Francis+ Benedict. Benedict accepted her because of her generosity and her love. Rose is now able to provide for her two chlidren. F+B is the only source they have to survive.
Martine
Martine is our leader of quality control in Togo. She is in charge of making sure all of our skirts are leaving Togo ready to be sold in the U.S. with as minimum issues as possible. Martine's husband passed away a few years ago, making her a widow. She has three children between the ages of 6 and 13.
Martine is excited to have joined the Francis + Benedict team. She can tell how much love is invested in this team in Togo and she is very grateful to have been given the opportunity to join this family.
Debora
Debora and her family were renting the apartment behind the new Togo building. After F+B moved into the new building, we gained a relationship with her and her husband, learning that her husband had recently lost his job and they were struggling.
Benedict reached out to Debora to offer any help needed and she learned that Debora was a trained seamstress. She now works for Francis + Benedict and is able to help provide for herself and her family.
Francis describes Debora and her husband as "the most faithful people [he] has every met in Togo."
Meet the Seamster
Djima
“I grew up with my elderly father who was unable to send me to school. I was a child in a very difficult situation. I had a hard time expressing myself because I felt inferior to those around me.
The only opportunity I had was that I played soccer very well. I always played soccer to hide my inferiority complex. There was a time I was selected to play in a European soccer league, but because of certain circumstances, as well as disapproval from my father, I wasn't able to go. I eventually left my father's house to find my own way and that is how I ended up in Lome, Togo.
While in Lome, I went to learn how to sew by myself and I also learned how to fix the sewing machines. It wasn't easy work, but God has made it.
I have faced a lot of difficulties and abuse in Lome, but when I joined Francis + Benedict, I found peace and I found love."
Meet the U.S. Team
Katie Walters
Chief Executive Officer + Founder
Allison Dillon
Chief Operations Officer
Amanda Smith
Senior Director of Affilate Operations
Amber Gant
Senior Director of U.S. and Togo Operations
Amy Welch
Senior Art and Events Director
Mackenzie Lueken
Director of Non-Profit Operations