Wow, where did I leave off?? So much happened in the month of August, and only now am I getting enough of a break to stop and think about what all I’ve been doing.
First, Camp Etoiles du Nord was a huge success. The girls loved it, and really it was hard to tell who was enjoying themselves more: the participants or the organizers. For me and my Mango cluster gang, it was lots of work and pretty stressful making sure thirty girls plus all of our panelists and other counterparts were having a good time, but when we had the chance to step back and appreciate all that was going on… it was pretty impressive. The girls were fantastic; lots of energy, participation, and great attitudes. We also had four female university students who grew up in the Mango area helping us out as counselors. They stayed with the campers at the center overnight, and were able to answer more of the girls’ questions, having already been through their same situations. They were a big help to us… I really don’t know how we would have done the camp without them.
One thing we’d overlooked was Ramadan. Our camp took place during the second week of the holiest month of the year for a town with a population that is about 90% Muslim. So, we had about 10 out of the 30 girls fasting, that is not eating or drinking water, from 4:00 am until 6:30 pm every day of camp. I know I would have had a hard time concentrating, but they really rose to the challenge and we had very few problems overall.
Camp Etoiles had three major components: panel discussions, educational sessions on different topics, and site visits. Our panelists were a great group of women (and a few men) from the Mango area who shared their different careers and experiences with the campers, and we as PCVs had a great time getting to know them. Really impressive people. We had a female civil engineer (the regional director for public works here in Savanes), a policewoman, an accountant, a nurse, the manager of the post office, teachers, NGO workers, etc. I think the panel presentations were just as interesting for us PCVs and the university students as they were for the participants. The part the girls liked the most was the site visits. We went to a microfinance/ credit union, the hospital, and the radio station. The radio station was the best; each girl got to speak on air and say her name, her village, and what she wants to be when she grows up (along with a few “Hi Mom!”s).
When camp was over (literally, the same day), I went down to Lomé and over to Accra to pick up my mom, dad, and Kevin. Yay family! They stayed for 8 days, and we saw it ALL. Lomé, Mogou, and everything else in between. It was so awesome to see them and be able to show them what my life is really like here. We had a party in village in honor of their visit…which was in the end a success but caused a lot of stress along the way. I didn’t realize that there is no such thing as a “small” village fête. The entire village came to eat, drink, and dance with us at the school. The chief made a speech, and Mom and Dad made one as well, which everyone loved. The Mogou women showed off their traditional dances and let me, Mom, and my PCV friends join in—really fun! Kevin and Dad had matching batik pagne shirts made for the occasion, and even Toby came to party it up with us. I was really impressed with how well my family put up with everything Togo threw at them: strange food, French, crazy/ uncomfortable travel in a bush taxi, chickens and radios waking us up at 5:30 in the morning… not quite a relaxing vacation.
Then, about a week later, Kelsey and Cindy came visit! Kelsey did a mini tour of West Africa, visiting Cindy at her site, then the two of them came to Togo to hang in Savanes with me. We saw the Moba caves, which are cliff caves that the Moba people hid in during the Moba-Tchokossi wars in the 18th century. We biked out there with one of my PCV friends who lives nearby… he forgot to tell us they were cliff caves and thus we would be climbing a mountain to get to them. But we rallied and the hike was totally worth it! Awesome views, a waterfall, caves, what’s not to like? The next day we kicked it down to Mogou, did the marché, and hung out on my porch watching the rain. Kels brought me pop tarts and cookies that she and Cindy baked… first of all, I love how she remembered my pop tart obsession. Second, wow, cookie baking? I need to step up my game. Although, thanks to chef Dad, I am now a confident okra-cooker! But anyways, Kels, GOOD LUCK at your new job! So freaking proud of you. And Cindy, I’ll need to plan a Burkina trip sometime soon so I can see these tall goats you’re talking about.
Well, my busy-ness didn’t stop there. I went right down to the Gender and Development Committee meeting in Kara, and while it was great to see all my friends, I could tell I’m in need of some village time. But, our first Lève-Toi Jeune Fille issue is out! We’re now working on our next issue, themed Community Action!, with a community service/ Camp Unite focus. Should be done by December, we hope.
So now, back to village. I might sleep for the first three days. Then, prep for the first day of school! I’m hoping to do a girls’ club at both the middle and elementary school this year, and I’m eager to get back and start planning with Affaires. We’ve been in Togo for one year now… some days it feels like we just got here, and sometimes it feels like I’ve never been anywhere else. Yikes!
