It's Togo Time: Hot [headed] Season…

Breaking news! It’s hot here in Africa… yea … Well at least particularly this time of year in this region of Togo. I took a picture of my clock next to my thermometer one night… It was 9:54pm and 98°F.

Although to me it seems as though this hot season isn’t as bad as last year’s 2-month long scorcher. That dubbed a nickname by we the group of 5 from 2012, “Savannes: Butt Sweat and Tears”… Now we must just look like woosies to the new crew of 2013.

Work Updates:

DESK PROJECT:

As stated in a recent update, the director and I put half down to start the building! The carpenter has already purchased the wood and it is currently drying. Actual construction should start the week I’m in Lomé (the week of April 14^th), and so next weekend we plan to give the rest of the money to complete the project. The carpenter decided to lower the price of the desks for us; so now, we have complete funding (PCPP + Community Contribution)! I plan to go and visit either later today or tomorrow to check out the wood and see how things are progressing.

Also, we had a parent-teacher training at the school just the other day. We wanted to be on the same page with everyone and also discuss important issues such as how to treat/protect the desks, how to replace if desks or parts get broken, and how to replant some of the trees used in the making of the desks. If any donor has any questions or would like to see the meeting minutes, please feel free to email me! Thomsenk@gmail.com.

WELL PROJECT:

So there has been a forgotten project that went down in Tami-town… Well not exactly. Gretchen and Mark, as a Christmas present to Gretchen’s mom, donated money to help finish a well in my village. They donated enough money to help built the circular wall that protects children and animals from falling in! I had hoped to write Bev’s name in the well and send a picture (which is why it was kept a secret from my blog, as a surprise until proof of photo), but the man in charge is always in Ghana and we had some communication and scheduling issues. So one day I gathered him and a few workers to take a photo holding signs of gratitude in the name of Bev. The next step of this project is the metal closure. The metal-mason (I’m not sure of the name of this profession- blacksmith maybe?) started the work but they are lacking funding to complete. That is why he keeps going to Ghana for work, to build up the money.

SCHOOL GARDEN!

So this was a project that I personally really wanted to do, although my thumb has never been very green (Gretchen can attest to this). Mark brought to my attention that he had a family member who sent a check to donate money to the desk project (because of technical difficulties or confidence with the internet/computer), and asked if there was another project I had in mind that we might need money for in Tami. The amount couldn’t have been more perfect for the school garden I’ve been wanting to do at my middle school. The hardest part of planting here is the free-ranging animals (donkeys, goats, chickens etc) that come and eat and wreck everything! So the main thing needing funding was a good enclosure. Oh, not to mention that I requested that Gretchen and Mark bring seeds with them when they came to visit (this was before I received word of the Garden funding). They came loaded with huge bags of edible flowers and plants, some bought and some donated from a friend of Gretchen’s who has experience planting in Africa.

So I worked up a budget, Mark wired the money, we bought all materials and now we start! First step is the base of the garden wall, to stabilize the fencing we are going to use cement, so the bigger animals like donkeys can’t just plow it down. Then the students will help us dig holes to anchor the fencing and cement. After that we have a parent who is a carpenter donating a door that needs to be installed. And then on Earth day (April 22^nd) we hope to plant!

WOMEN'S GROUP:

My candidate for the WWEC (Women’s Wellness and Empowerment Conference) went to the conference and seemed to be quite influenced by the experience. She has already started helping me with the women’s group! I was a little worried/discouraged when she first came back because we scheduled a women’s group meeting for the Wednesday after and she was a no-show! She apparently had another meeting in Dapaong that went over the time that it was supposed to. She made it up to us by coming prepared for our next meeting, complete with condoms and wise words from the conference! I wish my camera battery was dead at the time because the look on some of their faces when she whipped out that “femidome” (female condom) and started talking about family planning, was just priceless. I hadn’t expected her to discuss EVERYTHING she learned but woman gave a good speech (or so I think she did—it was all in Moba and translated for me by Gobine).

We’ve started making soap again! Using some funds that PHI granted to Gobine Emamanuel, he bought a stock of liquid soap ingredients for Tami and Naki-Ouest, so that the women don’t have to travel to Dapaong for the ingredients. This is important to me because it’s just been me buying the ingredients every time and that’s not sustainable at all after I leave. Also, as of the last batch of soap, Larba the WWEC candidate has started taking note of the payments for soap production. I hope to get her started on the micro-loans soon too! We created a board of leaders for the group, and both treasurers need to count and keep track of the money that Larba records. This helps keep a balance of power. Although Larba is the only one that can read and write, so she still seems to hold some power over the group.

Also! With the help of Gobine Emmanuel’s brother who works for “Affaires Sociales” (the social workers of Togo), we created a request to be a government recognized social development group. He came and asked us a set list of questions in order to establish rules and regulations and put in the request. We used the money from our liquid soap “caisse” (savings) to pay the fee of 7,500F. And together we came up with a group name… But it’s in Moba and I left the notes in Tami! I remember the translation though: Together against poverty.

BEE PROGRAM:

There was a Peace Corps Togo FSTF (Food Security Task Force) sponsored bee training in Mango. I sent one of the members of the Development Committee for Tami-Zongo. He’s a nice guy that speaks, reads and writes in French and he just so happens not to be employed (so free to take a 3 day trip down south). He came back and that same week did his own training! I was the guest of honor who probably annoyed the heck out of him with all my questions. He went through the process of building the bee keeping box (which was gifted to them at the training), how to prep for attracting bees, and what to do after the honey is ready. Then we went and set the box out near a tree housing some bees. It had rained that morning (oddly enough during HOT season) so the turnout wasn’t too great but he hopes to do another training when his box is done at the carpenters. He had a local carpenter take measurements to replicate the one given at the training. So hopefully if his attempt is successful (or shall I say WHEN it is), other people can go to the same carpenter and get boxes made too! No pressure.

5ieme CLASS “TITULAIRE”:

I don’t even know how to translate titulaire really… I guess it would be responsible or coach? So in the beginning of the year when they asked if I wanted to be the titulaire of a class, I had no idea of the responsibilities that would accrue. I fill out headings on permanent records (report cards), calculate class averages and rank the students (which is a lot more work without computers… doing everything by hand in village takes so much longer), hand out the report cards (and make corrections where necessary, even if it was another teacher that made the mistake), organize and control the students (arguments, cleaning, sweeping, raising money for picnics and soccer balls, punishments)… and now apparently I am their soccer coach?! I don’t even know that much about soccer! …. I just tell them good work and give them juice? Hey, that’s more than some teachers. My class is apparently cooking at my house now too for the “Semaine Culturelle” picnic… Maybe I’m being too nice?

PROJECTS IN THE WORKS:

GRASS ROOT SOCCER:

There is a group of PCVs that put together a national program to promote health in Togo using soccer… And they are doing so while giving out free INDESTRUCTABLE soccer balls! With the rough terrain in Togo, soccer balls don’t seem to last long. So let’s see how these new balls are going to work out! The tour starts soon and will be visiting one CEG (middle school) in each region (there are 5) of Togo. They will be arriving in Tami the 8^th of May and leaving the 10^th. PCVs from the south (the coordinators) and from all over the region are going to come camp out at my house and help facilitate the program. We have chosen 40 students (approx. 10 per class) to participate, all of whom will be receiving a ball (that’s still a surprise though shhhh). The program also will be donating 10 balls to the school too! I plan to distribute the balls amongst the 4 schools of Tami (1 CEG, 2 EPP, 1 Nursery).

CAMPS:

I put in applications to send participants to each of the 4 national camps for this summer. Trainers, students and apprentices were all nominated and wrote their letters of interest for me to send off to coordinators. I, myself, didn’t apply to any camps but maybe one may be lacking numbers and I get recruited like last year. I really enjoyed the camps last year, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that I have a bunch of things programmed and none of the camps seemed to mesh well enough with my programs. We shall see…

SAVANES BIKE TOUR#2:

The tour for nutrition in Savanes will be coming to Tami this June! There is still much planning in the works but I will keep you all posted!

SEMAINE CULTURELLE:

This coming week, the week before Easter break, is culture week! Because of the striking in the beginning of the year, we must hold classes during the mornings, but we are free to use the evenings to celebrate! I have my science class doing a volcano experience (we created the volcano last week), the Columbes Club doing sketches, some students doing traditional and modern dancing, soccer matches, and then a picnic on Thursday! I will try to take plenty of photos to share!

IN OTHER NEWS:

The parents of the Middle school had a meeting to collect and raise money to welcome my new replacement PCV. Previously the parents stated that they appreciated me and really wanted a PCV but that they couldn’t/didn’t want to pay for his/her housing. Word got around that I was refusing to request a replacement and voila! Problem solved! So come August, Miss. Larba will be leaving and a new mysterious Batoullie will be arriving to take my place.

There was a weird news-story about a man in Savanes that died and rose from the grave. Many African people believe in sorcery, and mysterious unearthly happenings (like spirits etc), so of course it was a huge riot! Some people were afraid (saying he was the devil or evil), some people were in inspired (calling him the modern Jesus), and some just flat out didn’t believe the hoax (and cussed at anyone talking about the subject). In other words, everyone was-a-talking! People were paying to see him but he and the family and neighbors were refusing to talk. It turns out that it was a brother in law of the deceased that had just come back from working in Cote D’Ivoire for awhile, who looks almost exactly like him. He had sat back in the crowd watching the whole funeral and then when it was over, the imposter approached the priest and requested all of the deceased’s belongings be returned to him because he has risen from the grave. The imposter just wanted the deceased’s cell phone and such but ended up stirring much drama and ended up in prison! Rumor is now that the imposter may have mental issues… But who follows rumors anyway?...

It rained the last week and was a bit chilly! Sooo weird… Last year, hot season felt deadly like stated in the opening of this post but this year, although it can get pretty hot, the season is definitely more mild.

But… The title of the blog stated hot [HEADED] season… So back to village gossip…
I had a run-in with one of the teachers at my school, who shall remain unnamed. I was sitting in the teacher’s lounge one day and not paying attention to the testosterone around me, when all of the sudden a teacher starting singing the “yovo song” (white person song). I tried my best to remain calm and politely ask him to stop and remind him that I have warned him I don’t like white/racist commentary/propaganda. He retorted by saying “what? You mean you don’t like…” and started singing again. So then, I got angry and ordered him to stop, telling him it’s my work place too, that it’s harassment and saying that I was going to the director… He yelled a bunch, called me a “salope” and left the school. He didn’t talk to me for over 2 weeks. Until one day, I put a granola bar in from of him, said “I don’t want any problems” and stared until he picked up the bar and agreed to hear me out. We must of talked for a whole class period… How I am the first white person he has ever liked/trusted and god, all kinds of stuff. We put everything out on the table and it felt really good to talk through it. It was anything but easy to apologize but I’m glad I stuck my tail between my legs and rebuilt a broken bridge.

On the other hand, I also had a situation with my major… I won’t get too much into detail about this situation because I don’t want to shed a negative light on my country of service. He basically did something I thought wasn’t right (against my nurse boyfriend), I questioned him about it (against the boyfriend’s wishes), he got angry instead of talking about it, and then ignored me for two weeks… Seems like a common theme these days… Anyway, with him though, I had sent him a text asking to buy a beer and talk (no response) and then gifting him an apple for health (it was returned to me by the student I sent to deliver it). I stopped trying for a bit and then one day, approached him head on while he was drinking at my bar with two of his friends. I insisted on apologizing, and he insisted on having the audience of his friends stay there for it (first thing that annoyed me). Without getting too negative of detail, he just made a mockery of my apology and insulted my nurse boyfriend in numerous ways on top of it all… In the end, I was the one angry, and he accepted my apology and said we have no problems. I guess its better that way. And I learned a lesson that I feel like I’ve learned previously the hard way in the past as well… Stay out of other people’s problems, even if it’s for a loved one/boyfriend.

Positive and Random:

I’ve been gifted mangoes a bunch of times from different people!
My fellow English teacher shook my hand the other day, like I would shake the hand of the village chief… When questioned about it, he said it was because he had much respect for me.
People help me all the time with random things, like walking my bike for me, transporting chairs or tables and carrying my bag… All signs of respect as well.
If I lose all hope of a good job in the future, I can apparently sell my mixed babies here in Togo… They are in much demand although I have never actually created one yet.