Amy's Togolese Adventures

Projects!

2007-07-05T19:28:00.000Z

I thought that I would just share some great news about my Peace Corps service with you all! I recently applied for a grant for a small (in American standards, HUGE to the Togolese) for my Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC). My grant just got approved, so I am currently in Lome picking up my $400! My project is a Club OVC. Its a monthly, and during the school holiday's weekly, club where all 518 of the AIDS association I work withs OVCs are invited to come. I have a group of 30 regulars, which doesn't seem like many, but considering the kids situation's here its pretty good, many of them are the primary care takers in their households, most of them are the only ones that can work in the fields because their parents are too sick, they do all the chores of the house, and still go to school - or try to. The main purpose of Club is to provide these AIDS orphans a safe place where they can come, be around other children in their situation. Ideally it will also be a means to help their development through art and creative activities (that they definitely don't get in schools), and through other life and practical skills like self confidence, gender equity, and learning certain income generating activities. What I am really happy about is that they approved the portion for the Big Brothers and Sisters so that these kids will be mentored by model young people in village. I am so very happy this project came through, it is scheduled to last till December, so hopefully by then we will see some real changes in these kids! Funded projects in Peace Corps Togo are few and far between, hopefully this will be worth it. I am sure it will be, if not for my own sanity as sometimes its the kids in Togo that keep me here!

Here are some of my favourite OVCs that come all the time. They also come to my house about 5 times a day to just play on my porch. I have never been so popular in my life!

Not OVCs but just some raelly great cute kids!

If you're happy and you know it..

2007-02-26T11:39:00.000Z

Here are some photos from my AIDS orphan club. I proper update is on its way.

Some of the girls perfoming.

Netta and I showing them how a 3 legged race works.

Picture update

2007-01-10T09:36:00.000Z

3/5 members of the Bassar/Diversity Cluster enjoying a delicious "Christmas Dinner." Thank you Netta!

Me giving a talk in my village (Bitchabe) on the importance of HIV testing, and HIV and nutrition. The man next to me is meant to be translating from French to Bassar, but apparently I am so boring that I am causing him to look at his cellphone, which doesn't get reception in Bitchabe...

Watching a skit by CEG (middle school) students about AIDS.

More Togo Photos

2006-12-10T15:12:00.000Z

December 1st, World AIDS Day. The march to kick off the day. Looking back on the march, all you could see was a sea of khaki. There are countless children following us! Hopefully they learnt something...

My host mom, Gertrude (whom all of my stage lover, particullary Jonathan who had a crush, the size of her booty, on her) from Govie and host brother, conveniently named Brother, at our send-off party.

More send off party fun!

Swear-in at the Ambassadors residence. The may be the nicest or most ridiculous that any of us will ever look in Togo. Thank you Govie host families for finding the most crazy pagnes possible.

My roommate from Philly, Gwyn.

The CHAP/GEE 2006 Stage!

Photos!

2006-12-09T08:46:00.000Z

Thanksgiving in Aedta. I wore a booboo so that I could stuff myself, kind of like a turkey.

The cutest and fattest baby in Togo. He also happens to be my 16 year old host sisters son...

The 30 new CHAP and GEE Peace Corps Volunteers!

à Bassar

2006-11-09T15:41:00.000Z

Sorry it's been a while… but alas here I am. I'm currently in Bassar nearing the end of my one week post visit. Post visit came at just the right time. My patience with 5 hours of language classes a day was wearing very thin. Unfortunately the different compartments of my brain for the different languages that I'm surrounded by have started to mesh together. Sometimes when my host family speaks Ewe to me or when people here greet me in Bassar, I respond in Thai.

Post visit has been great. I have a slightly unique situation as I have 2 work sites. My primary site is the city of Bassar . It's a fairly large town (it's actually on most maps of Togo), with almost everything that I need. In Bassar I will be working with A.V.L.S (Association des Volontaires Lutte contre le SIDA) and NGO in Bassar and the Kara region that specializes in "conseil et de prise en charge" for people living with HIV/AIDS. Today I spent my morning at the HIV testing center were I sat in on pre and post test sessions. It was great, a group of high school boys came in to get tested, so I got to grill them on the ABCs of HIV/AIDS prevention. My homologue at AVLS is great and already has projects in mind for me, so I'm excited to get back here to start working. Bitchabé my small village 26km away from Bassar is what is considered here in Togo to be en brousse, aka in the sticks. It's a village of about 2000 people; there I will be working with the dispensaire and doing mother-child care. I feel thought that I am going to be spending the majority of my time in Bassar as there are 2 other PCVs here, Netta and Jeff.

Highlights/fun stories:
I am 99% sure that I had a worm in my ankle and that it moved to the other side of my leg. I am pretty sure that it is gone now as I can fully rotate my ankle again.

I have now mastered the art of riding my bike in a pagne. Although the bruises on my leg dont show it. I may or mayu not have run dirently into Jeff on my bike. opps.

My taxi brousse/bush taxi ride back from Bitchabé was maybe the most interesting ride of my life. Since there is only one car that comes back to Bassar from Bitchabé a week everyone that wants to get in pretty much has to. In the rest of the 15 seat car were at least 25 adults and countless babies and chickens (hello bird flu), and lest I forget the 5 people holding on the top. This doesn\'t sound so bad if you\'re going down the interstate, but no, this road is basically all rocks and potholes. I\'m not looking forward to the day that I have to bike it.- I have now mastered the art of riding my bike in a pagne (African cloth that you wear as a skirt).

- My taxi brousse/bush taxi ride back from Bitchabé was maybe the most interesting ride of my life. Since there is only one car that comes back to Bassar from Bitchabé a week everyone that wants to get in pretty much has to. So because I'm a yovo I was fortunate enough to be one of the 4 people sitting in the front seat. In the rest of the 15 seat car were at least 25 adults and countless babies and chickens (hello bird flu), and lest I forget the 5 people holding on the top. This doesn't sound so bad if you're going down the interstate, but no, this road is basically all rocks and potholes. I'm not looking forward to the day that I have to bike it.

I have successfully eaten real Togolese food. I say successfully because I've tried all the staple dishes (fufu, pate, a spaghetti filled fired dough ball and something that is like a rice noodle but the shape and size of a small football) and haven't gotten amoebas or crazy stomach problems like the rest of my stage.

Less than a month until I swear-in as a Peace Corps Volunteer, yay! If any of you happen to be watching Togolese TV on December 7th, keep an eye out for me. I will be the one in the outrageous outfit. My host mother is "secretly" making my ensemble for swear-in, so there is potential for lots and lots of ruffles around the neckline.

Burma

2006-09-15T07:42:00.000Z

To see some of my photos from my recent 3 day trip to Burma/Myanmar check out: Burma Pictures

Tick, tick, tick...

2006-09-13T05:40:00.000Z

5 days till I leave for Staging (Stateside Peace Corps orientation) in Philadelphia… tick, tick, tick.

I leave for Togo, West Africa, in a little over a week, where I will be serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I will be in the Community Health Expansion and AIDS Prevention (CHAP) working as a Health and AIDS Prevention Extension Agent. I wonder everyday, and will probably continue to wonder, how my International Relations and History degree has prepared me for this. For now, my primary duties are to health services management improvement, community health promotion, heath education, and youth education on population issues and AIDS/STI prevention. Hopefully I will be able to also start a small side project working with young women. For the next three months I will be in Pre-Service Training (PST), which includes lots of language classes and job training, and in December will officially be swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer!

Below is a little information about Togo. I won’t know where my post is until November, so for now I’m learning as much as I can about the whole country.

Please please please keep me updated on your lives. Write, email, smoke signal… anything. I can promise now that I will respond to every postmarked letter! Ask any of my age old pen pals, I am good at the letter writing deal. Hopefully my next post won’t be too far away, and from Togo!

TOGO

Population: 5.1 million (UN, 2005)

Capital: Lome

Area: 56,785 sq km (21,925 sq miles)

Major languages: French (official), local languages

Major religions: Indigenous beliefs, Christianity, Islam

Life expectancy: 52 years (men), 56 years (women) (UN)

Monetary unit: 1 CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc = 100 centimes

Main exports: Cocoa, phosphates, coffee, cotton

GNI per capita: US $350 (World Bank, 2006)

AT-A-GLANCE

Politics: President Faure Gnassingbe succeeded his father in a manner condemned internationally. Opposition-government reconciliation talks are under way, but progress appears slow

Economy: Togo is among the world's poorest countries. Isolation has further aggravated its weak economy

International: Togo faces international pressure to hold credible parliamentary elections and improve its human rights record. Thousands who fled 2005 election violence remain in Benin