1 yr in Togo & 1/4 century old!

13 Septembre 2013

So, it’s been quite some time since my last post… Sorry!

Last time I wrote my rough summer schedule outline, well…

What my schedule actually was:

July 16 - 20: Camp Unite training of trainers (Pagala)

July 20 - 22: Chef du voyage Unite (went to Dapaong and back to get participants)

July 22 - 27: Camp Unite Girls (Pagala)

July 30 - August 5: Sick in village (Tami)

August 7 - 9: New PCVs Swear-In Ceremony (Lomé)

August 14 - 24 : Camp Etoiles Du Nord (Mango)

August 26 - 30: Mid-Service Training (Pagala)

August 31- September 3: B-day festivities and beach! (Lomé)

September 4 - 11: Camp Scientifille (Pagala)

September 12: B-day festivities for 3 friends (Kara)

Now: In Dapaong until maybe Sunday (the 15^th)

… In other words, I have spent VERY little time in my village since June (when I was there for most the month), after returning from South Africa.

Health:

That statement I made about heating water… Well, I was doing that one day in village and burned some of the skin off the top of my right foot.  Not only was I not able to wear shoes for a few days, but it hurt (a lot).  It’s now just another great scar to my collection, haha. 

Also, I struggled with Giardias for awhile.  And by awhile I mean pretty much for the whole month of August, due to technical difficulties with the PC med unit.  I had a rough week between Unite and swear-in, where my host family was nervous and thought I was crazy for waiting until the “Lomé Limo” to go down to Lomé (but it was a free ride and I’m tough).  Upside: I’ve gotten complimented a lot on how good I’m looking (I lost about 12 lbs through it all).  It’s not the healthiest (or intentional) weight loss plan ever, but ca va aller.  And I’m back to “normal” now and don’t feel nauseous every time I eat, yay!    

And luckily I am still Malaria free =)

Camp Unite (Girl student week):

Such a great experience.  This camp taught me a lot on good session prepping and performing.  I presented sessions on “The Importance of Girls Education” and “Time and Money Management”.  I was also “chef du jour” with the one-and-only Kelsey Miller and we were responsible for ice-breakers, the day motivation-keeping, snack prep, hand-washing-station upkeep, and time-keeping for the day and for all sessions.  There was an AGR (income generating activity) fair, where I did popcorn making and understanding profit (revenue – expenses = profit).  And there was a “mock election” where the girls were able to vote for the meal they wanted to eat the last dinner.  I was the Togolese dish of “Akpan” (which no PCV likes to eat) and I put up a good fight, and even came up with an Akpan dance (and luckily I didn’t win).  The last day, the girls were shuttled over to a local community where we put on a “causerie parade” and they pre-coordinated dances and sketched to show and share what they learned in camp.  We also did a women’s panel, where myself and several other women (Togolese and American) were invited to share our stories, motivate the girls and give them a chance to ask questions.  The “candle ceremony” made me tear up on the evening before our departure… during the lighting of the candles (every person held one and we passed the “light” from one person to us all) a few of us shared what we learned/appreciated during the camp, and one girl said that my session of “The Importance of Girls Education” made her want to go back to school (apparently she had just abandoned her studies this past year).  I remember being told in the beginning of my service that it is highly unlikely to see direct benefit from our work while in PC service, that normally with development work it takes years to show/see impact… but in that moment, during the girl’s confession in the candle ceremony, I felt it: my impact in Togo.      

Camp Etoiles Du Nord (stars of the North):

What a two weeks! This camp tested many boundaries for me but I’m really happy we made it through.  There was a significant change in some of the girls towards the end of camp and everyone’s effort was appreciated greatly.  I got to work with some dandy PCVs and met some great Togolese work partners.  I presented sessions on: “The importance of girls education” and “puberty, adolescence and reproduction”.  I was also “chef du jour” one day and responsible for starting games/ activities, keeping girls motivated, and keeping time in sessions.  During this camp we also had the chance to go on 2 field trips: to the local hospital, and to a local radio station.  The goal of this was to give the girls examples of great professions in their community.  This camp was a combination of the Unite Camp and “Take Our Daughters to Work” program; both of which promote girls education and gender equity.  I helped out a lot with organizing during the formation and so I’ve also been invited to be an organizer for Etoiles du Nord 2014.       

Mid Service Conference (MSC):

I learned a lot about Food Security during this training.  I got lots of info on Moringa, the super plant that grows fast and provides many vital (and lacking) nutrients in the Togolese diet.  I hope to use this with my women’s group and with my school clubs as well.  I learned how to make several different types of gardens (raised/sunken beds, plastic sack, Voltic bottle, and old tire), and we even made a few there at the center.  I hope to start a school garden to help feed students who come from far away to attend school (some students ride their bikes 45 min’s each way to attend school in Tami).  That way, if they can eat lunch at the school, they can stay for after-school programs!    

I joined the GAD committee, as the new coordinator of funding.  GAD (Gender And Development) is a group that raises money to donate to projects promoting gender and education in Togo.  I get the chance to brainstorm and put into action ideas to raise said money.  So far, I helped run the auction at MSC and have already started some other projects/event planning with my fellow GAD gals (there are 3 of us).  Emily is in charge of communications and causeries, and Julie is our grant gal (head of reviewing grant applications received and dispersing of funds).

I picked up a new project from the MAC (Malaria Action Committee) to do in village to help spread awareness about malaria.  I’m teaming up with another PCV and going around taking photos of people in our communities with their bed nets (one of the most effective ways to prevent malaria) and asking basic questions on Malaria.  After that, we will print the photos and post them on a board to hang up in the local clinics and we will do joint causeries (including a pre and post test to see if there was any change/impact after the program).

I also did a session, myself, on Soy milk: how to make it, the benefits, and possible work ideas to use in village. 

Camp Scientifille:

By the time I started this camp, I was kind of “camped out” but still managed to get a lot out of the experience.  I was able to have 3 girls and 1 science teacher from Tami to come and learn with us! The way the camp is set up is they have teams of 3 girls and 1 teacher come from about 10-11 villages around Togo, that way when they go back, the goal is to have them work on setting up their own “Scientifille” club.  I presented a few sessions during the week: Clubs (why do, how to start, and ideas to animate them- session for professors only), MAP x2 (this was to help promote gender equality by making male advocates in society- session for professors only), and Natural Disasters (discussed and showed through experiments various disasters around the world and then brought it back to Togolese issues- session for all participants).  There was also a science fair, where all formateurs did different experiments to make science fun.  I did a Density demo with 2 other PCVs and we showed the density difference of several liquids and solids (and made a pretty layered display with each of the 5 groups/teams).  Other sessions included Astronomy, microbiology and ecology (to name a few).  Each session making sure to make science and math as fun as possible, to help motivate the young girls to finish their studies and to possibly seek careers in math/science realm!     

HCN bf: Official and happy, with the occasional communication issues… And that’s all you get to know!  =)

And thanks to everyone for all the birthday love! I have received packages from Bev, Gretchen/Mark, and Alyssa… I feel so loved! I spent my actual b-day day on the beach with Emmanuel, eating pizza and drinking champagne…  It was a nice way to ring in a “quarter of a century” of life on Earth.

So, I’ve got some GAD work to do, my MAC survey/photo project to start, my VRF (volunteer reporting form) to complete and then I’m off to village! The date for the start of school is tentatively October 7^th (but one never really knows in this country with all the strikes …), so I’ve got to start lesson planning soon too! I’m not sure which level I will be teaching, but hopefully I will find out when I get back? Also, I have to “shadow” and “be shadowed” by two new EGE PCVs in my area.  I can’t do that until school starts though because my APCD wants us to have part of the shadowing be focused on the classroom.  I hope I can get in a women’s group and school club meeting for them too!

Oh, and Gretchen and Mark (my sister in NM and her bf) are officially coming to visit in Togo, starting December 26^th (the tickets were purchased)! So an itinerary is in the making; can’t wait!

Hope all is well with everyone! Can’t believe there’s only one year left to go…