FEBRUARY: Chicken Soup Spicy Fishy Bony Beans and Rice for the Togolese Soul
February
got off to a running start, working on the grant proposal for PromoHandicap, preparing
for the women’s conference, all the other activities, and with everything else
happening in the month, February seemed unending, until it finished with a bang
and a case of strep throat.
PROMOHANDICAP
Every week,
Alisha and I have been working with PromoHandicap. Our proposals for the projects were due at
the end of February, and we spent so much time going over them- again and
again. I never thought I would spend
that much time on my computer in Togo. Alisha
and I have chosen to start a school- build a school and dormitory for this
group. I was in charge of the Small
Project Assistance (SPA) proposal and work.
SPA is a grant provided for Peace Corps volunteers by USAID. So, I wrote a proposal for this grant for the
drilling of a water pump, construction of a shower area, and 2 latrines. Simultaneously, Alisha wrote a proposal for
PCPP for the construction of a dormitory and school. PCPP will put this project on a website, and
we will solicit donations from our lovely friends and family. We just found out both projects were
approved! This is so exciting. So, the SPA project, of which I am the
leader, will begin once the check arrives, probably in late March/early
April. April and May will be incredibly
hectic with construction projects, and I imagine I will be over at the site for
the majority of the time.
(Unfortunately, that’ll also be the worst of hot season). Then, In June, construction will hopefully
begin on the dormitory and school.
During all this time, Alisha and I, with the PromoHandicap crew will be
doing educational trainings in the community- about hygiene, water, the rights
of handicapped individuals, and the importance of education. I’m already exhausted after all the work for
the proposal, and thinking of all the work ahead makes me more exhausted, but
at the same time, I am incredibly excited.
I am so happy to be working with PromoHandicap and so excited to be able
to give them the means to really take education of handicapped children to the
next level. Tomorrow, the work with this
group continues- we are meeting with the chief of the whole Kanté area to
explain the project again, make sure we have his support, and ask him to
mobilize community members to start collecting sand and gravel for
construction. It is the small things
like this that really make me understand the importance of living here for at
least a year before understanding things.
There is no way a volunteer could come in and immediately understand the
culture and know the people and hierarchy and method you must use to get things
done. But, it is so amazing to see this
come into being. To be able to take all the little knowledge and understanding
of the community, and apply it to a project so that the project moves and ends
up fulfilling an important basic need of the community.
DIRECTRICE
OF PEACE CORPS VISITS KANTE
For the
first time, the directrice of peace corps-Togo decided to visit Kanté! It was so exciting, and also a bit nerve
wracking. I am used to just mosying
along, doing my own thing, having kids run around in/out of my house, walking over
to visit Pauline at AED or whoever, and basically not being stressed. So, when the executive secretary called,
asking about lodging in Kanté and informing me of the schedule and expectations
of her visit, I felt a little bit nervous.
Lodging and food in Kanté, and my house, are by no means fit for a
directrice. Lack of plumbing, doors that
are broken, dust, heat, food, lack of hand washing areas…. Everything I thought
of seemed insufficient. But, she was
coming one way or another. The visit
actually went well. There were some
problems with the hostel, and some problems with the restaurant, but she was
able to meet PromoHandicap, observe them teaching the children who are deaf,
and visit the site of the future school.
HEATTTTT
Hot season
has begun. About the middle of February,
you could feel the sun just burning your exposed skin, even with suntan
lotion. And, you began sweating
constantly. Nights don’t cool down anymore,
and I am left lying with minimal clothing on my cot, ensuring that no part of
my body touches another part. Usually
the fan is pointed directly at me, ensuring that the constant sweat dries as
soon as possible after touching air.
But, ironically, hot season is the time of year for electricity
problems, and many times, the fan does not work, leaving me to just lie and
sweat. This is when I really feel like a
peace corps volunteer. Nights when the
electricity doesn’t work, lying on my cot in the dark, windows and doors opened
to allow for any possible breeze, just dripping in sweat and waiting… you can’t sleep, you can’t read, you can’t
move.
WOMEN'S
EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE (WEC)
In early
march, women from the two northern regions of Togo, Kara and Savans, will get
together to learn about health and all this other good stuff. It’s a huge deal, since women usually work
from before dawn to after dusk taking care of the family. So, this month, we have been preparing for
this one week. A bunch of Peace Corps
volunteers got together in the beginning of June to hammer out the schedule and
make it work, and since then, I’ve been working on preparing my own individual
parts. I’ll be in charge of a about
nutrition and also one about germs, and will be helping with a session about
communicating with your significant other about family planning. I helped develop the menu; we’ll be using
local foods, but are planning to cook it in new ways to increase the
nutritional value and give women ideas on how to use available ingredients –
and do some cultural exchange (one of the meals will be a burrito/taco type
thing). And, at each meal, we’ll go
over what we’re eating so the women understand exactly what it is and why it’s
good for your health. I’m super
excited. I really like being a part of
something like this; it would be incredibly difficult and not nearly as
effective to do something like this on my own- but as a group- it’s just really
fun- because everyone, with their individual expertise/talents/ideas can put
this whole thing on. I’ll let you know
how it goes in the next blog.
HEALTH
ISSUES
Throughout
the month, I had random things that I attributed to either dust (sty in my eye)
or heat (weird rash), but at the end of the month, after I submitted the
PromoHandicap SPA proposal, I just dropped.
Not literally- but energetically- I guess. Anyway, I was just soooo tired, and slept for
most of 3 days, until I woke up, felt like 100% crap, and called the med
unit. After some awkward phone calls of “can
you see your throat in a mirror?””hold on, it’s dark, I’ll go outside””ok, I’m
outside, all my neighbors all staring, but I can see my throat in the mirror””what
does it look like?””It looks red”... it was figured out that I had strept
throat. Although there’s no test, (unless
I wanted to go all the way to Lome) I guess the symptoms were pretty obvious. SO, I grabbed a moto, sped over to the pharmacy,
and bought amoxicillin. Before I knew
it, I felt much better, and soon, the strep throat was gone. My neighbors were worried about me, though,
and every day, as I was sleeping, a kid would appear by my cot “Mary Mary Mary” “ughhh… bonjour” “Mary, mama gives this to
you” I look down and see a bowl of beans, sometimes with rice “Oh, merci
beaucoup” and sure enough, it was some incredibly fishy beans, with the little
fish bones still in it. I had no
appetite and the fishiness of the smell did not stimulate even the smallest
craving of food, but I ate it none the less, sharing it with Poppy the dog and
Buster the cat. Sometimes though, my
neighbors would call Poppy to come over and give him some of the leftover rice
to eat. Poppy, obviously, knew he had better
food at my house, so he would stay and eat the fishy beans. But, I would freak out- I didn’t want the
neighbors coming over to see why Poppy wasn’t responding to their calls, only
to find him eating the fishy beans that had been given to me. So, I pretended to be angry with Poppy,
threatening to hit him and kick him, until he was scared enough to leave the
house. Then, I secretly set aside some of
the fishy beans for when poppy came back after eating with the neighbors. This plan seemed to work. I don’t think my neighbors ever realized that
Poppy ate most of the food that had been given to me.
MALARIA ACTION COMMITTEE
So, the World Health Organization (WHO) contacted the malaria action committee and wants to work together, which is exciting! Nothing is really set, and ideas are still getting tossed around, but we'll see what happens. Also, Beau and Katie and I have been working on the neem lotion project-in-a-box for this committee, including a video of how to make neem lotion. So prepare yourselves- the video might go on you tube, and you will all learn the wonders of neem lotion.
OTHER
THINGS…
AED, Club
Espoir, lycee work, and girls soccer club, have all been going on. I’ve nominated Pauline, the pharmacist at
AED, for the women’s conference, and I know she’ll really benefit. She does home visits to many of the HIV/AIDS
patients, and I know she’ll forward all the information to those patients. Also at AED, Rabi, the little girl who was so
sick- just skin and bones- months ago- is actually chubby!!!!! I almost didn’t recognize her! She smiles and talks, and has fat on her
face! Club Espoir has been ongoing- this
month, we discussed volunteerism. This
was a concept I was unsure about-unsure how it would be understood, but it
worked out well. I also went back to the
hospital this month. It had been months
since I’d been there to work, and it was like coming home- I knew everyone and
understood how things work and everyone knew me. I think I will plan to go there more often –
at least whenever I have a free day. I
had stopped because I felt not needed and in the way- but going back, it made
me realize I can just because I want to go; I don’t need to be needed. Anyway, that may not have made sense, but
point it: I like the hospital.
THE CAVES
In the north
of Togo, in the Savans region, there are giant rock mountains with caves carved
out. I took a trip up there with some
other volunteers to see them. What I
didn’t realize was that we would be hiking up this rock mountain- in the blunt
sunshine. It was so hot and sunny- it
felt like we were hiking to the sun- not just towards it. The heat and sunshine was intense, it felt
like we were all going a little been crazy from the sun- singing and laughing
about nothing and everything. The caves
were really interesting and beautiful though.
People had carved them out of the side of the rock mountain as a secure
place when the tribes were fighting, and now they are a UNESCO site. It made me miss hiking and big rocks,
though. I can’t wait to get back and
hike Old Rag again in Shenandoah…
RANDOM
OTHER THINGS:
I met a French
guy who owns a park here – his house is a freakin winery in Tuscany. Not really- but it reminded me of Tuscan wineries.
Also, I sat
in a helicopter- there was a random helicopter near the park and I was allowed
to sit in it. So, I took a picture.
Also, there
was a plane crash many many years ago.
The late president of Togo survived the crash, and as a result, the
government left the wrecked plane exactly how it crash-landed and built a huge
building around the site with a giant statue of the late president. I visited this place this month. It was interesting, but so weird. In the middle of poverty and nothingness,
there is a giant gorgeous building and a plane wreck… hmmm… whatever floats
your boat, Togo.
