Camp Unite

I’ve talked about Camp Unite before in the past and on facebook. So . . . what is it exactly?  Camp Unite is a camp that Peace Corps holds during summer vacation. Volunteers nominate apprentices and students to attend a week long intense training where they learn subjects like gender equality, self-confidence, facts/myths about HIV/AIDS, relationships and abstinence, income generating activities, sexual harassment, puberty/adolescence, and child trafficking. 

I was so excited to have had the  opportunity to nominate some of Asrama's high school students and apprentices. The students/apprentices fill out an application which included an essay. Then myself, the school principal and the syndicate president reviewed the applications and sent out nominations  Asrama was fortunate enough to have a total of 8 kids accepted to go to summer camps.  We were thrilled!

 Here a few pictures that highlight the week of the  camp I worked in.

In this picture I am answering questions in a class teaching the boys about Sexual Harrasement.

 

Paggie is a sorceror who challenges the boys and interrogates them on the days  lessons.

 

We divided the participants into teams of colors and they complete a challenge (think challenge course at American camps).  

First Challenge: Cross the river in the same boat.  The boys were given two boards with string and they had to figure out how to  travel from one side to the other with all nine of them.

 

 

Second Challenge: Fire and escaping through a window

Third Challenge: Removing the bucket from the fire ant circle without touching the ground.

 

We have a culture night where the participants performed local songs and dances that are traditional to the different ethnic groups.  This is me and my building dancing a traditional EWE dance for Culture Night.

                                        

The boys also go to a nearby community and do skits for them teaching about the various subjects they learned throughout the week.  My group's skit was the importance of girls education and unwanted pregnancy.  The boy doing the skit on unwanted pregancy is wearing the pregancy pad. Throughout the week every boy had to wear the pregnancy pad for one hour

 

Another picture of my group performing their skit.

Here is a picture of the four apprentices that we sent from my village, Asrama (The boy behind me snuck in the picture. He is not from Asrama.) 

Our goal was to motivate the youth here so they will go back into  their communities and share their knowledge with others. We encouraged them  to be good role models . Basically, we empowered the boys to make positive change in their lives. Peace Corps Togo had an impact!

Unity is one of our most successful endeavors in Togo. I have seen a noticeable change in the students I sent. They have returned to Asrama ready and excited to work and pass the message along. The girls especially are full of confidence. I am really proud to have taken a part in  it!

 

Not Like Most Days

Most of my days in Togo are rather boring. I know what you’re thinking, “But you live in Africa!” However, when there is no work to be done (school is out for summer break) and your options are reading, cleaning, hanging out at the bar slow slipping a coke, or sitting with my Chief de Canton; then life can be pretty boring. The day I’m about to describe is not one of those days.

It was a Tuesday, so I had plenty of work to do (actually right now because of school being out Tuesdays are the only day I have work). First I had my meeting with the Apprenties at my tailor/coutiere syndicate. My homologue who translates my French into Adja never showed up, but I conducted the meeting anyways. I had all the apprentices I sent Camp Unity stand before their peers and explain all that they learned at Pagala. It made me so proud to watch them speak with confidence and be so enthused.

Next, I went to the baby weighing/vaccination at my clinic which happens every Tuesday in Asrama. I mostly help with the recording; registering new mothers and babies, writing in their pamphlets what vaccination they received as well as the babies’ current weight.

After that I thought the rest of my day would involve me hanging around my house reading and maybe if I was ambitious enough maybe going to the bar and drinking a soda. After taking my afternoon nap I got up and decided to go into town and spend some time with my Chief and give him an update on all my projects.

The second I left my compound I ran into my host mom. I had just been with her at baby weighing since she works with the Red Cross. She ran up to me and explained that there were eight new babies but that four had already died. I was of course horrified because I thought she was talking about human babies.

Confusion ensued until I realized she was talking about piglets. My host family raises pigs and apparently while I was taking my nap their newest additions were born. Everyone gathered around and we watched the new piglets squeal and explore their new home. Though I’m not fond of their parents (pigs are extremely loud and obnoxious even more so than goats) the piglets were pretty adorable.

I enjoyed the time talking to my host family and explaining what pigs are like chez-moi. My host mother asked me if I wanted a singe. That one threw me. I searched my French vocabulary for the meaning of the strange word. It sounded familiar, but it wasn’t until my host mother said it was an animal that it clicked in my head. Do I want a monkey?!? I exclaimed in English.

My host mother then told me that a monkey would be an excellent pet and that we had monkeys deep in the Asrama forest. She could have my host brothers capture one if I wanted. She called my young host sister in string of Adja and she came out the house carrying a bucket with a cloth on top.

I’ve been in Togo long enough that I watched that bucket draw near with a little trepidation. “What is that?” I asked in French. My host sister stopped with a big grin on her face and pulled off the cloth revealing a rather large dead monkey.

The monkey was a light grey with darker grey around the eyes and tail. Though I didn’t ask I assumed they were planning on either eating the monkey or selling the meat at my host mother’s pate stand. Momma took the monkey by the arms and made it dance. I was one part curious and two parts really grossed out. Apparently my host brother had caught it that day in the forest and killed it with rocks. Momma assured me that they are hard to catch, and if I ever wanted one to let her know.

So even having lived in Togo for ten months . . . life here occasionally still throws me a curveball.  

Looking Back

May 20, 2012

Togo has been my home for the last eight months. I have been living in my village, Asrama, and an official Peace Corps volunteer for six months. I wanted to wait to talk about the experience of the first few months at post after having gained some emotional distance. They say that the first three months of your service at your post is when you are most likely to drop out or Early Termination (ET) from Peace Corps because they are the most difficult months.

Having survived those first three months and beyond I have to agree that the first three months at Asrama so far have been the hardest. Training was a stressful, but extremely structured time period. We were told where to go and what to do, and everything we needed was provided.

All to soon training came to an end and it was time for the Swear-in Ceremony. It was an immensely emotional time for all of us. We had to say good bye to our host families, the stress of giving speeches in local languages before cameras, buying everything we would need to set up our posts, the joy of finally officially becoming Peace Corps volunteers, celebrating, and then saying good bye to go off alone to do what we came here to do.

I remember the ride from Lome to Asrama. Peace Corps had bought out bush taxies to take us and our belongings to our new home. I was in the van with two other new volunteers in my region; Rad and Alex. My village was the first stop. I was filled with fear, excitement, and worry as the van bounced along my horrible dirt road. The closer I got the higher my anxiety rose. We unloaded all my stuff onto my porch and the taxi drove away.

That first night was the hardest I’ve had in Togo so far. I don’t know what I would have done without my dog Swarley that first night. I felt so alone and overwhelmed. The Togocell tower in village was out that night so I was unable to call anyone for moral support, which made things so much worse. My homologue, Akpo, who was the only person in village that I really knew at the time was in Benin. I laid on my bed wondering what I had gotten myself into. Doubt clouded my mind. Could I really do this? Live here? Was I strong enough?

Togocell continued to be out for the next few days. My first conversation back home was to explain to my Dad not to panic, but that I was on my way to Lome having been bitten by the Chief of the Gendarm’s dog.  I’m so happy for that dog biting me now. Going to spend three days at the Med Unit in Lome was really wonderful. It allowed me to have a moment to mentally process everything and talk to my Dad, who has always been good at getting me to move beyond my fear and encourage me to do my best.

Things got better after that, but were full of disappointments and challenges. Getting projects started was painfully slow. The first three months I concentrated on integration and setting up my home. I went to marche on Mondays, hung out with the Chief de Asrama, talked to Akpo, made visits to the school, and drank coke at my buvette. Integration is full time job when you arrive in village, but it doesn’t feel like you’re accomplishing anything. It’s frustrating learning to navigate a community whose first language you know nothing about and second language is only spoken by the educated.

Then there was the constant sickness, which thank God has finally seemed to calm down. For a while it seemed every two weeks I was horribly and violently ill. The med unit kept telling me it was probably food poisoning, but that sounded like such a mild and an unsatisfying diagnosis for what I was experiencing. I was worried something really bad was wrong with me that the tests were just not catching. I expected to be sick joining the Peace Corps and living in a third world country, but not that sick. However, my health seems to have leveled out.

When I began teaching at the lycee is when life in village really improved drastically. People stopped calling me yovo. Now wherever I walk I hear people shouting my name. Teaching not only gives me something to do, but it also gives me a sense of accomplishment. Makes being here worth all the initial heartaches. Plus, I honestly love working with the kids. They are great and make me laugh. This is why I joined Peace Corps. I wanted to make an impact.

So what am I trying to get at with this entry? I know there is a new stage arriving in Togo in July and that there are other future Peace Corps volunteers waiting eagerly for that departure date searching the internet for any tidbit of information about their new life. I want to say that yes, those first three months are going to be filled with heartache, illness, challenges, and overall adjustment. However, if you stick it out Peace Corps can be so rewarding.

I can’t imagine leaving Togo for anything. I truly love it here. I’m looking forward to teaching again in September. I have Camp Unite this summer. I have plans for future projects like a Homme Comme Partener (Men as Partners) formation in October, a Mothers Nutrition Day at my CMS, and Take Our Daughters to work the following spring break.  I think that joining Peace Corps has been the best decision I have every made for myself. Sure, I had moments of doubt and I’m so grateful I was able to persevere past them.

Lost in Translation

A week ago I was in Atapkame for Easter/Passover weekend to spend the holiday with volunteers and to go to the bank. I decided while I was there that I wanted to do some baking since we have a toaster oven at the maison and I had been craving cookies. So, there I was in the marche looking for the needed ingredients. I knew where to find all but one, flour. I entered the building and went straight to the women who sell dried goods (like rice, beans, and gari) thinking they were my best bet to find some flour.

After asking the first woman how she was doing and how was work and the family I asked her if she had “la fleur” and proceeded to describe flour as white powder used to bake bread. Her blank expression told me clearly she had no idea what I was asking for. However, Togolese people are extremely helpful so she called over another marche momma (this is a term volunteers use to call women who sell at the marche). I repeated the process to the new comer who also did not know what I was searching for. The two women conversed in local language for a few minutes before calling over a young man and I explained again that I wanted “la fleur” to bake with.

Somehow he thought I wanted bread (since I said flour is used to make bread) and he escorted me to the bread ladies. I told him that I wanted to prepare the bread myself. He was very sweet and offered to walk with me until we found someone who knew what it was or had it. I thanked him and said that it was not a big deal that I would look for it another day. Still, I was very touched at the lengths the women and the young man were willing to go through to help me.  

As a final last ditch effort I went to the local yovo store, Parmare’s, which is run by an Indian couple who speak English. I asked the woman if she had flour and luckily she did have a bag in the back. All the hard work had finally paid off and now I could make my chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. I purchased all the other ingredients and went back to the maison to start baking.

It wasn’t until much later that I realize that I had been asking for “la fleur” which is the French word for flower as in a rose is a pretty flower. What I should have been asking for is “la farine” which is flour that you bake with and what I should have been saying. I wonder if any of the Togolese thought it strange that I wanted to bake bread with pretty flowers.

Updated Packing List

Now, I posted my packing list and said that I would update after I had been in country for a while. Instead of going line by line listing what was useful and what was not. Instead I’ll give a general discussion. I will list the items I have found are absolutely necessary as well as the items I wish I had brought more of with me.

I remember packing and preparing for Peace Corps. It was a stressful experience to say the least. I was entirely convinced that I needed to bring everything. I kept thinking “I’m going to be in Africa and won’t be able to get any of this stuff.” I also think that obsessing over packing was a coping mechanism. Preparing for Peace Corps was scary and packing was a way to control the situation and way to funnel my fears into sometime productive.

Looking back now having been in country for seven months now, I realized that I over packed. It wasn’t like I didn’t read the journals from other volunteers cautioning about over packing. I believed them, but was unable to make the tough decisions on what to get rid of from my bags. Everything seemed important and something I couldn’t live without. There is a big chunk that I haven’t even touched since getting here.

Though it is true that I can buy most things in the capital, I have found some items to be difficult to find or very expensive. Here is a list of things that are hard to find, impossible, or expensive:

-Conditioner (shampoo is easy enough to find, but conditioner is next to impossible)

-Disposable razors (can find by they are not very good quality and are expensive)

-Deodorant (I have never been able to find any even in Lome other than the spray kind . . . bring plenty)

-Sauce packets for pasta

-Unusual Spices (you can get the basics here but any unusual spices you like bring plenty)

-A good quality but small book bag (I’ve bought two marche bags and both have broke)

-Maple Syrup

Here are items that have been invaluable to me here:

-Solar charger

-Battery operated fan!!!! (There is a small one called O2 Cool that uses D batteries)

-Solar battery charger

-Good frying pan

-My two good kitchen knives

-External Hard drive

-Headlamp (love this thing)


-Nokero Solar light bulbs

-Bug Hut 2

-Exficio underwear

-My Eagle Creek Bag

-Nice pillow

-Fitted queen sized sheets (you can get the flat sheets, but not fitted easily)

Things that I didn’t bring that I wish I had:

-Hammock

-Nail polish (You can get it in marche, but it’s not the same quality

-More cotton tee shirts

-More Capri pants (you can have pagne skirts made really easy)

Things that didn’t work out as planned

-Nalgine bottles (I got two with wide mouths and they don’t work for bush taxi rides. Love them but buy one with a smaller mouth unless you want to be wearing your water).

For any perspective volunteers, remember to not over pack. Your back will thank you.  Don’t wait to the last minute to pack your bags. Pay attention to the weight of your bag (you’re going to be lugging it around).

Update on life

Probably one of my favorite things I’m now doing in village is teaching at the high school, or lycee. I am teaching four grades: 6eme, 2^nd, 1ere, and Terminal. The 6eme is the first grade at lycee and terminal are the seniors. I’m teaching roughly one hundred and fifty students and have been given free reign from their principal, or provisor, to arrange the class how I want. The course covers the two manuals that are the bread and butter of the GEE program, which are the Life Skills and MAP (Men as Partners).

It’s a bit of a rush for me to stand in front of forty students and teach in French. It gives me a lot of pride that I am able to keep control of high school kids in a language that is not my own (trust me it’s not easy). It makes me realize how far along my French has come since my arrival at Lome six (almost seven) months ago, and also how much I’ve grown as a person.

The students are great and eager to participate and learn which I find remarkable. My 2^nd class can be a bit high energy and hard to rein in, but overall they are great. The boys can be bit of a handful too (I’ve had a lot of proposals from them). I plan on continuing next school year as well with teaching this class at lycee. 

Life in village is finally starting to pick up for me. Asrama has been a challenge and full of bumps along the way, but that’s pretty normal. I feel that I am well integrated with my community. People now know my name, which is a vast improvement from being called yovo everywhere I go. I’ve come a long way and am eager to meet this to the finish line.

This summer I am going to be a part of Camp Unite up in Pagala. Unite is a Peace Corps operated camp where volunteers are trainers and nominate local students and apprentices to be a part of a weeklong Life Skills crash course. There are four sessions in total: girl apprentices, boy apprentices, girl students, and boy students. I have nominated several apprentices and students and hope that several of them will be selected to go to Pagala this summer. I will be a trainer for the apprentices boys week.

I’ve got more training coming up as well myself. I will be going to Pagala with the lycee teacher I work with Mr. Bikore the week after the next. I will be going again in June for Mid-service training (Peace Corps loves training). I also would love to be a trainer for the new stage coming to Togo this July.    

As hard as it is living here, in Africa, I think making the decision to do Peace Corps and to come here was the best decision I’ve ever made for myself. Here I  learn so much and experience so many remarkable things.  

Swarley and Me

This is a little ode to my Peace Corps dog, Swarley. I’m the third volunteer to have this dog and he’s something else. What can I say about my lovable and slightly neurotic dog? The name originated from the TV show “How I Met Your Mother” and at first I wasn’t too sure about the name for a dog. However after spending time with him I realized how well Swarley fits him.

He’s a bit tall for a Togolese dog (about three feet to the top of his head) and he’s a skinny thing. I’m working on fattening him up a little bit. He’s red brown in color with some white markings. What does he eat? I make him rice and mix that with dried fish flakes and typically one raw egg. He loves the stuff.

Swarley is an excellent guard dog. He loves me and likes my host family, but he hates everyone else. I feel very safe with him. I always know when I have a visitor before they have the chance to call out my name since Swarley always alerts me to their presence. He’s a bit on the aggressive side, but I appreciate that because I know he will protect me and my home.

He loves terrorizing chickens and goats. Always great entertainment watching him chase them out of the yard. He’s also great about chasing children out of the yard as well. This came in handy when I first got to village and had children camped out at my house either staring at me washing dishes, chanting the yovo song, or asking for money. Now when I’m doing work in the yard Swarley always accompanies me.

Don’t know what I would do without him. He helps fight off the loneliness especially in my first few months at post. He’s always making me laugh with his crazy antics from eating stinging ants to sleeping in my latrine when I’m gone. I love coming home from a trip to Atapkame and getting off that moto and having him practically jump into my arms.