Science!

I cannot imagine going through high school biology, chemistry and physics classes without having a lab component to see what I learned play out in practical activities.  Togolese students are expected to learn, memorize, and understand what their teachers lecture to them each day.  But with the lecture-based methods, students never have the opportunity to see science come to life.  On top of it all, Tchamba has all the necessary science equipment for experiments, just no environment to actually carry them out!

Help my bright students better comprehend the sciences by donating to the Tchamba Science Lab! This lab will not only give the kids a chance to run experiments, learn in a participatory manor, and be a hands-on way of learning, but it will also encourage girls to pursue the sciences as well.

Girls in the Tchamba high school are outnumbered by boys almost 8 to 1.  Girls are afraid to speak out or ask questions because they are afraid of boys teasing them and also because Togolese culture encourages them to be timid.  Few girls are enrolled in science classes, because science is tough! And without a full support system, the opportunity to ask questions or participation in class, girls fall unnoticed.  Give the girls the opportunity to learn science in a manner that is more conducive to individual learning, thus building their courage and their future in science.

Click here to be a part of this project:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=693-400&fb_source=message

100% of your contributions will go directly to building lab tables, installing sinks and plumbing equipment, installing electricity, and ensuring that there is proper drainage. I'll be sure to update you with photos of the construction as we go along! Plus everyone who donates will have their name painted on the wall of the science lab!

Djeri, the science teacher, teaching the students of the science club how to make  bleach The science club is comprised of 50 students and meets once a week.  The club either does review or experiments each week, but they are extremely limited by the room size and number of resources.

The science teacher encourages girls to prepare the experiments to teach the class.  Here, the girls are showing the club electrolysis of water.  Your donations will give the chance to every girl at the high school to understand and perform exeperiments!

The club breaking up into teams to race which team can solve a sudoku puzzle fastest!

The club crowding around the one table to see the experiment.   The science lab will ensure that every student can be a part of the experiments, rather than 50 kids surrounding 1 small table.

"Lauro de Alafia" is the women's reproductive health conference I did during the end of January.  I recently wrote an article about it for the CHAP (our health sector) newsletter, so I decided I should post an edited version of it up here.

Lauro de Alafia: A Conference for Women’s Health and Empowerment

This year I had the pleasure to carry the Peace Corps torch for the thrid year of “Lauro de Alafia”.  “Lauro de Alafia”, or “Women’s Reproductive Health” in Kotokoli, is a four day health and empowerment conference targeting 20 rural Muslim women.   Specifically, this conference was to give rural women who did not go to school a chance to learn about the reproductive system, family planning methods, and strategies on how to approach their husbands about family planning.   The women were chosen by their local red-cross mothers club in the Tchaudjo and Tchamba prefectures.  We asked each village mother’s club (10 in total) to send two women.  We asked that both women were animated and motivated, but that at least one could read in French. 

Group Discussion 

This conference was unique in the sense that it was held entirely in local language.   Most of the women in the conference had none or very little French skills.  Seeing how I do not speak Kotokoli, the success of this conference was all thanks to my wonderful counter-parts. Together we made the schedule, created the budget, and picked facilitators that would help us with the conference.  The facilitators we invited were already knowledgeable in the fields they would present.  The sessions on health and reproduction were held by women who work in the hospital, the sessions on gender equity and strategies to talk to husbands were led by Muslim men who have participated extensively in previous Men As Partners projects, and HIV/AIDS sessions were led by a member of EVT(local HIV/AIDS NGO) in Sokode.

Activities for the conference:

• Presentation of the goals of the training, Definition of sexual reproductive health, and the importance for women
• The reproductive life cycle for women and men (childhood, adolescence and puberty, adulthood and menopause)

Learning about male anatomy

•   Pregnancy
• What are the steps from becoming pregnant to birthing a child?
• Biology of Pregnancy: How to be in good health during pregnancy?

• Basic Hygiene and Sexual Health
• Risk of the 4 « Trops » and Polygamy
• Family Planning : Why use family planning ?
• Different methods of family planning
• Promotion of Positive Behavior : Talking to our daughters about sexual health

Condoms donated by Population Services International

•  IST/HIV/AIDS

                -the realities of HIV in Togo

                -Modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS

                -Prevention

                -Women and HIV

                -Importance of being tested for HIV/AIDS

• Gender Equity : How can we encourage gender equity in our villages ?
• Talking to your husbands about family planning

*This session taught the women different techniques and strategies on how to approach their husbands about family planning.  This is a difficult subject, especially in Muslim communities.

• How to animate a session on family planning and reproductive health in your village.
• Income Generating activity : Neem Lotion and Feasibility Study

*I am a GEE volunteer so I used this time to talk about the importance of sending their girls to school.  This is the one session I lead with a counter-part to translate. We talked about the obstacles of sending our daughters to school and how to overcome them.  We made a list of potential IGAs, I taught them Neem Lotion along with the benefits of prevention against malaria, and then learned how to do a feasibility study.

• Candlelight vigil

Learning how to make Neem Cream as an Income Generating Activity

•  Women’s Rights
•  Go to local hospital to animate sketches on family planning

At the hospital, getting ready to perform a skit

To fund “Lauro de Alafia”, I applied for USAID's Small Project Assistant funds.  The money was enough to pay for each woman's transportation to the conference and her room and board.  Each village (2 women) took home two packets of typed notes with information from all the sessions in French, a boite d’image (a book with pictures and captions), a wooden penis and a ton of condoms (Thank you Winnie and PSI!!).  

This project has been one of the most rewarding projects I have ever been a part of.  Despite not understanding what was going on 90% of the time, I could see the women’s faces light up with interest.   This was an intense conference packed with sessions, and not one time did I feel the women losing interest.  The women left feeling confident, excited to have participated, and enthusiastic about sharing the information they learned with their friends, daughters, and husbands.  On top of it all, I did practically nothing!  The organizers and facilitators took control and did a fantastic job; a Peace Corps volunteer’s dream!  

Ok, so America is great. But so is Togo.

I'm back in Togo.  Actually, I've been back from America for about 3 months now, but I've been super suuuuppeerrr busy!

America was awesome, as expected. But what was not expected was how my trip home would change the way I view my life here in Togo.  At the end of my two week trip, I was all sorts of ready to head back.  I know I previously wrote how things that frustrate me in Togo, but I realized that there are equally as many things that frustrate me in the States.  It's totally normal, and expected to have those feelings anywhere in the world you are.  The whole time I've been in Togo, I fantasized about being in America.  Once I was actually in America, I couldn't stop thinking about my life in Togo.  Now i'm back and happier than I have felt in a long time -- even after being back for over 3 months.

I will, however, take the time to appreciate...
Seeing my family and friends.  I've missed them tons.
Hanging out in DE with the boy and his family.
Driving in a car...not in a taxi stuffed with 10 more people than there are spots.
HOT showers and getting that layer of dirt off my body that I cannot seem to escape here.
Eating cake popsicle things (what are these?! these are amazing.)
Basically, just eating whatever I want, when I want. (I had 3 lunches one day. Oh and I gained back 6 of the 10 pounds I've lost since coming to Togo in two weeks. Oops.)

And I won't forget to tell you what I did miss...
Seeing the watchi lady every morning to get my fair share of rice, beans, and noodles in the morning.  I came back and found out she is pregnant!
Playing with the twins next door, seeing them grow up.
Sitting under a tree and just people watching for a while.
Riding my super sweet Trek bike around town.
Motorcycle taxis to Sokode.
Getting to be a part of amazing projects that I would never in a bajillion years get a chance to do in America.

I love Togo.  It just took a little reminder of the life I've lived before to see how special I have it here.

I AM FREAKING OUT! I WILL BE IN AMERICA IN 6 DAYS!

So I am just going home for a brief visit to hang out with family and friends during the holiday season, but I don’t think I have ever been more excited about a vacation in my LIFE.  And it’s to a place I’ve lived for 22 years.  Of course, I’ll be doing new and fun things like hanging out with the boy in nyc and meeting his family, but I’ll be right back to the old and the familiar DFW metroplex after a few days.

So why am I SO excited? More than any other trip I’ve ever taken? Because I need a serious break from this Togolese life.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Togo.   I love my village, my house, my neighbors, the cute babies, and all the people I’ve met.  Rice and beans have become a comfort food…I think I crave them more than I crave cheeseburgers now.   So what’s up? Why have I been feeling blue lately? I think most of this blog has been about the amazing kick ass times I’ve had, but rarely do I ever go into if I ever feel frustrated or sad.   Being a Peace Corps volunteer isn’t all about holding cute babies and sharing cultures, it can also be frustrating and eye opening.

Reason #1: I am tired of getting sick!! I’ve had more ailments here in Togo than my entire life (probably an exaggeration).  Yes, part of it probably has to do with the way I take care of myself, but a lot of it has to do with the fact I’m living in Africa.  A general list of maladies I have had since coming here: Colds, Food Poisoning, Malaria, Amoebas, Pink Eye, Bronchitis, Gall Stones (I’m not sure if I believe this one),  and general other stomach pains that I have no explanation for other than the fact I eat street food every day...

Reason #2: Work here is hard. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maya-lau/what-the-peace-corp-taugh_b_1099202.html

I have had more failed projects here than I’d like to count.  English club at 8:00AM on Saturdays? Nice try, but no way are people coming to that one.  Computer Club? HA, half of the computers are broken today.  A funded project that you wrote a grant for and got approved to receive funding for? Woops, your check is still somewhere in the DC vortex.  Getting stuff done here is HARD! I guess the major problem is that I see so many avenues for projects, but finding the time, the resources, and the right motivated people can really just bog you down.

While this is a huge reason why I am frustrated, it’s not the end of the world.  I have had some incredibly successful projects, such as starting a new science club at the middle school, the high school science club which is entirely run by students, Leve-Toi Jeune Fille, various summer camps,  working on the UNITE team, etc.  It has just taken some time to slow down my American-Paced attitude about work and getting things done right away. 

Reason #3: I really really really miss America.   I miss having privacy.  I miss not hearing “WHIIITTEEE PEEAARRSSSOONN” being yelled at me once I step foot out of my door.  I miss going to a grocery store where I have options. I miss going swimming. And most of all, I miss my family and friends.  Life is going on with or without me in the states and that has taken a lot of adjusting to get used to.

So, I’m off to America to recharge, to get my fill of draft beers and cheeseburgers and Mexican food, to see my lovely friends and family, and to put my life here in Togo back in perspective. But after all of it, I know I’ll want to come back to Togo; I have a life here! I have a house, a cat, a best friend for a neighbor, a boyfriend, and so many amazing volunteers I love hanging out with.

Happy Tabaski! Or Happy Eid al-Adha for those not in West Africa!

FAIR WARNING!: these pictures get kind of gross.

Yesterday was Tabaski, the “festival of sacrifice”.  It celebrates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God, but God stepped in and Abraham only had to sacrifice a sheep instead.  This is the holiday of holidays for people in my village.  I would say it is the closest thing to Christmas (not in a religious context, but more for the intense amount of celebration).  Everyone puts on their finest clothes, spends insane amounts of money on a family animal to sacrifice, and parties it up with sodas and treats. 

Looking REALLY good.

In the morning, Justin and I got all dressed up in our Togolese-finest to go to prayer.   Men and women must separate for prayer; the women have to pray behind the men.  Because of this, Justin went off with my neighbor Salim and I went off with my two friends Nahid and Whitney to go pray with two women we work with at the hospital.  We headed off to our colleague’s house to learn how to properly wash ourselves before prayer. 

Learning the steps to washing.

Justin and Salim

People from Tchamba (pop. around 13,000) went to the central elementary school to all pray together.  Hoards of people packed in the courtyard and laid out their prayer mats to stake a place to pray.  There were people riding horses, beating on drums, and selling popcorn and treats everywhere.  Tabaski is also the time to give to the poor, so people were shelling out coins left and right to give to those asking.  

Cute girls at prayer

At 9am the Imam started off with the prayer.  I have never prayed before so it was a lot of me watching out of the corner of my eye to see what others were doing.  It was an amazing experience to see a sea of women in veils praying all at the same time.  In muslim prayer there are several steps that start with one standing, then one bends down, then one sits with forehead to the ground.  Imagine hundreds of people doing that all in sync!

So many people! This is only a tiny tiny portion.

Nahid, Wembe, Whitney, and Cherifa

After the prayer, which only lasted maximum 4 minutes, we all filed out and headed back to our colleague’s house.  They had made a delicious meal for us of foufou, rice, and cous cous with a ton of beef in it.  We ate as much as we could but knew that there would be more meals for us to go to later on that day. 

Rice, foufou and couscous

On my way home, I certainly saw the essence of a “festival of sacrifice” as goats, sheeps, and cows were being slaughtered in the streets.  I headed straight to Salim’s house where I found Justin, scarred from the mass-slaughter he had witnessed.  Apparently, he had gone around with all the men to kill the various animals in my neighborhood.  (By that, I mean Justin took his camera around and followed everyone blindly into one situation after another).

Sweet little Manaf ignoring whats happening behind him

Salim's impressive cow.  He's so proud!

Each family sacrifices one animal for this holiday.  1/3 of the animal goes towards the family, 1/3 of the animal goes towards friends, and 1/3 of the animal goes to the poor. (I now have a freezer full of beef that I’m currently googling marinades for).  Animals are CRAZY expensive with cows going for $600! Needless to say, this is a huge deal and families are super proud of their haul.

The family across the street and their lamb.  (You can't tell in this picture, but they were going pretty nuts).

The rest of the day was spent at my friend Moctar’s house.  His family cooked up another meal of foufou with sesame sauce (yum) and a yummy salad.  After that we headed to his brother’s dege (ice-creamish stuff with couscous inside) shop to indulge in their Tabaski gift to us, free dege!

There were a ton more celebrations happening throughout the night but I decided to turn in early and rest up.  I just got over having pink eye in both eyes and my eyeballs are still pretty dry and get tired quickly.  Plus this party lasts for 3 days!

Fine Cooking in Togo

Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Garlic Bread!

First, you start off making the cheese, the closest thing to ricotta.  Lome is the only reliable place to buy cheese and since that is 8 hours away on a good day, homemade cheese is the way to go. Boil up some powdered milk, add some vinegar, and watch the curds separate from the whey.  

Make some sauce from a can of tomato paste, water, chopped up onions and tomatoes, and mushrooms from a can.

Make homemade ravioli pasta.  We also use the same recipe for making lasagna noodles.  Some flour, eggs, and water. Let it sit for 30 minutes before you start molding it around.

Stuff each of the ravioli shells with the ricotta cheese and your spinach.  But spinach doesn't exist in Togo so you gotta use gboma, the closest thing to spinach but a little more bitter.

 Pinch it all up!

Cook your raviolis in some boiling water until you think it's done (we totes guessed).

Garlic bread.  If you're lucky like me and you live next to Bouba, a Germany bakery in Togo, you can get some yummy breads.  Bouba is actually in Sokode, 34k out of Tchamba, but some lady always comes to my village with a giant box full of bread probably weighing 50 pounds. She walks all around my town with that huge box on her head selling bread. Pretty unbelievable. Anyways, we got some plain old bread, drizzled some olive oil on it, garlic, and italian herbs.

And then you eat delicious food!

Unlimited Amounts of Internet!!

I now have unlimited internet, which really knocks out any excuse I had about never updating this blog.  I’ve had an usb modem that allows me to connect to the internet, but it was pay as you go.  But, I’ve decided it is worth it to splurge some of my money and to try out this unlimited internet.  So for about $30 a month I can use the internet anytime a want for as long as I want. Ridiculous!

Being that it’s October now, one can assume I’ve survived the maelstrom of summer camps.  I participated in 5 different summer camps and loved every single one of them.  Besides from Camp UNITE, which I already wrote about, I participated in:

CAMP INFORMATIQUE

Camp Informatique is the computer camp that Katy and I put on at the beginning of this summer.  The top boy and girl in seconde (the equivalent to a sophomore in college) from each high school in the Centrale region were invited to attend this camp.  The boys followed by the girls had a 4 day long computer camp in the regional capital, Sokode.  During the 4 days they learned the names of different computer parts, why one uses computers, how to use a mouse, how to type, how to open programs, how to type letters on Word and how to explore the internet.  While they weren’t learning something new about computers, they were playing games, singing, playing soccer or going to sessions on the importance of gender equity, self-confidence, or HIV/AIDS.

It was incredibly inspirational to see how quickly someone who had never even seen a computer to learn in 4 days how to surf the internet and write word documents.  The girls who participated in the camp received valuable training that they would have been very likely to never receive elsewhere.  Camp Informatique provided these students with the basic knowledge of computers that would allow them to confidently walk into their nearest computer café.  Thank you for everyone who donated to this project, it was a huge success!

CAMP ESPOIR

Camp Espoir is a week long summer camp for children who are affected by HIV/AIDS.  This could mean that they themselves are infected with the disease, or the disease has significantly influenced their lives, such as losing a parent to it.  The kids participating range from 6 years old to 18 years old.  Camp Espoir aims to provide these kids with the best week of their lives (ie actually being allowed to be a kid), providing an environment where they are not marginalized or teased for being affected by HIV/AIDS, and providing them with useful sessions that will help them make healthy life decisions. 

The camp was filled with fun, traditionally American activities such as a camp fire where they roasted marshmellows, a scavenger hunt, and a carnival.  There were also educational sessions like human rights, nutrition, income generating activities, hygiene, etc.  I was super lucky to have the youngest girls, so I got some nail polish and lipstick and we all went to town.  Needless to say, this was the saddest and hardest camp to leave.

CAMP SCIENTIFILLE

Camp ScientiFille (a blend between the French words for scientist and girl) was a week-long camp that brought together 11 villages throughout Togo.  Each village brought the Peace Corps volunteer, a science teacher, and 3 female students.  Getting girls to go to school in Togo is a challenging task, but even more so is getting girls to pursue a science track in school.  Students have to choose at a very young age what “track” they’d like to do, whether it’s the arts or sciences.  Girls that do want to follow the science track are often discouraged by their teachers and parents.  Camp ScientiFille aimed to encourage the girls to follow a science track, show the teachers that girls can and should be scientists, and showed how to make science fun through experiments. 

AMENONS NOS FILLES AU TRAVAIL (Take our daughters to work)

This was a week-long camp for a little over 20 girls in the Centrale region.  Every region had their own version of take our daughters to work, but I obviously helped out with the best region.  Heh.  Anyways, during this camp, girls from rural villages came to Sotouboua, the 2^nd largest town in Centrale and spent the week learning about different career paths.  The week’s activities included touring a radio station, being a part of a radio show, listening to panels of women speaks about their jobs, and sessions on various life skills, such as self-confidence or planning for a future.

Teaching about computers.

----------------

After all of this I finally took a vacation! Family came to visit so Justin and I hopped over to Accra to spend a few days there before we picked them up from the airport. Basically, Accra is just like America to a Togo PCV.  There is everything there.  Paved roads, ice cream, iced coffee, KFC, A SHOPPING MALL, a movie theater; the list is pretty endless… We ate about 5 meals a day plus snacks, caught two movies, hung out in air conditioning, took hot showers, and used the fastest internet I’ve used in over a year.  Overall, it made me super happy but also incredibly sad.  It seems silly that all this is a short 4 hour drive away from Togo, but Togo can’t even begin to compete. Even in Lome, Togo’s capital, there are few paved roads, internet is abysmal, and all the delicious food we have in lome is thanks to the Lebanese immigrants.  Oh, Togo.

With my family, we traveled throughout Ghana.  We visited about 3 slave castles, two national parks, and one of the biggest markets in West Africa.  It was pretty stressful.  Despite English being Ghana’s official language, I only understood/could communicate a few things.  Once we crossed over to the Togo border, I was relieved.  Not only because I could easily communicate with everyone but because I knew 100% what I was doing.  In Togo, we visited the tambermas in Kante, hung out in my village and got to know all my neighbors, ate a bunch in Kpalime, and saw the few tourist attractions there are to see in Lome. 

Cape Coast castle

Mole National Park

The Tambermas (tatas)

And now, I’m back in village. Finally.  But, I’ve been having to travel in and out for various meetings and getting paper work finalized for my next project.  I received funding for a project that I picked up from previous volunteers, “Loro de Alafia”, or reproductive health in English.  It is a 4 days conference for 20 rural, muslim women to come in and learn about the reproductive system, family planning, and how to talk to their husbands about gender equity and family planning.  It will be all in local language since for the most part, these women have not been to school or they have been to very little.  Luckily, I have some great counter parts and partner organizations that are essentially planning and putting this project into action while I handle to paperwork and budget side of it all.  It’s happening in about a month, so I’ll let everyone know how it goes!

School has started back up and so have my science clubs.  My two science clubs have been the most sustainable projects I’ve worked with.  I’ve been super lucky to find counter-parts who are motivated and willing to work with me.  I’ll be starting my third club in the near future, as soon as school starts to stabilize a bit more. 

And finally, Leve-Toi Jeune Fille, the magazine I’m working on with two other volunteers has put out the first issue with the new editors.  Plus, I’m about to wrap up all the articles for the next issue, Community Action.  So exciting!