Hi there!
I hope you are doing well wherever you are. I am doing well in Togo and thought it would be nice to share some updates with you all.
Latrine project
The latrines are officially done! I submitted my final report to the Peace Corps today, so now I can rest easy. Last week we had a ceremony with some Ministry of Education officials and the school community to celebrate this accomplishment. I was unfortunately battling a parasite and had not eaten in three days, but it was a good celebration nonetheless.
The students and teachers are very excited about this development. They have been waiting a long time for something like this to happen and with over 300 kids in school, it is a big deal. What really made me excited was how little I had to convince people to support this project. So many teachers and community members stepped up to make sure that this project was realized and will be sustained for future generations. They have even been talking about how to get another school building and maybe more latrines. Now that they know the process and have a little bit of experience, I am sure that they can make more projects happen.
Easter!
We had a wonderful Easter celebration again this year. The church in my village does not have a permanent priest, so last year we went to Bafilo for the Masses. I tend to prefer staying in our village because not everyone has the means to travel to Bafilo and some people just end up walking the 5+ miles. Luckily this year, we had priests visit us to say Mass on Palm Sunday and the Easter Vigil. It was so nice to be with everyone, yet I couldn’t help but think how different Easter will be next year.
Since last Easter, the kids kept asking me when we are going to look for those plastic eggs again. I kept telling them that egg hunts are really only done on Easter so they’ll have to wait. All the kids remembered, and the event was highly anticipated. My real mom brought me plenty of jelly beans, Jolly Ranchers, and Smarties, so we had enough for several rounds of hunting. The kids showed up in numbers, absolutely chomping at the bit. I had to recruit other adults to help with the hiding and supervising of kids; they really like to peak!
I tried to hide the eggs as best I could, but it was no match for these kids. They looked high and low, even checking in my shorts pockets. It never took them more than 15 minutes to find the dozen hidden eggs. We even played on Easter Monday because they had so much fun. I’ll leave the eggs with my host family and I hope that the tradition can continue every year. Cultural exchange is a lot of fun!
Kpalime Trip
After months of talking about it, I finally found a good weekend to visit Kpalime, a city in southwest Togo that honestly feels way different than the rest of the country. Kpalime has a ton of waterfalls, mountains, and a cooler climate that supports cocoa bean growth. It also has solid tourism infrastructure unlike the more northern parts of the country. The road to get there from Atakpame had no potholes: a miracle!
One activity that a lot of volunteers like to do in Kpalime is design a wax print batik at Aklala Batik. They are an organization that trains girls in vulnerable situations how to sew, and I believe a Peace Corps volunteer helped to establish it. A volunteer in the cohort above us, Marquita, is currently doing a third year position with Aklala. We got to learn about the batik process and make one ourselves!
The first step was to choose a motif, a wooden block with a carved pattern. This took us a while because there were so many cool ones to choose from. After that, we tested them to see how it looked on fabric. Once we were satisfied, we could start stamping. The girls that were helping us dipped the motif in hot wax and handed it to us to place on the fabric. We did this over and over until the fabric was full.
Then the girls made our desired colors by mixing up powdered dyes and some kind of acid (I think?). They dunked the waxy white fabric into the dye solution and stirred it around for a little bit. They all looked purple at first, but they assured us the color would change in the sun. Then they took it out and put it on the ground so the sun could work its oxidizing magic. The color really did shift right before our eyes and after a few minutes, they boiled the fabric to get the wax off. We waited for it to dry and beheld our beautiful hand-designed fabrics. The cool thing about batik is that it will never be perfect; wax is a messy process and splatters all over. Each design is unique!
We also got to visit the art center in Kpalime. This is a huge compound with the work of painters, sculptors, potters, and more. We looked around and found some nice things to take home. I’m glad that I went later in my service because we were able to chat with the artists and even get some nice discounts. My favorite pieces were the beautiful dishes made from local teak and acajou wood.
The highlight of the trip was going to see the Kpime waterfall. After a convoluted process of trying to see the Bafilo waterfall in August, this easy process was a welcome surprise. We walked right up and there were hardly any other visitors. The water temperature was perfect!
We thought we could get up to the top of the waterfall by ourselves; we did find a lake and a dam at the top, but we were then told that the top of the waterfall was another 30 minute walk. After three miles uphill with no water, we decided to turn around. My advice: either take a moto to the top or bring extra water!
We also made a stop at an art studio called “Galerie Oswald Art.” Oswald was there to greet us and he was super nice! Many other volunteers have stopped through his place for piercings, tattoos, and even art lessons. He makes batik as well. Our very own Aicha/Peachey was so brave and got her nose re-pierced. He did a great job!
May 1st Celebration
We recently celebrated Premiere Maï, a fete for workers. We had the day off work (except for Maman Raicha who still had to be at the hospital to take care of the sick) and got to walk in a parade. Some people had ordered polos and others wore matching pagne. We put red flamboyant flowers in our hair and walked over four miles in the rain, singing and playing drums along the way. I was grateful for the drizzle; the temperature was pleasant and it was overcast, a rare treat. I went back to my house for some red spaghetti (a recent favorite, honestly the only thing I want to eat these days) and rested before the big soccer showdown in the afternoon.
The soccer matches were the patrons vs apprentis for men and women. There were a ton of people watching, especially for the women’s match. Pretty much every day there are men playing a game, but very rarely in my village do women get to play. I can’t say that the skill level was very high, and I am definitely out of practice, but it was a lot of fun to participate (I even scored once!). The patrons beat the apprentis in both matches and no one got seriously injured which was a win.
There was a party scheduled for that Saturday night with the workers and certain notables in the community invited. We danced a ton last year, so this was a highly anticipated event especially for Stephanie who looks for any opportunity to laugh at my dancing. It got switched to Sunday, which is unfortunately the day that I started feeling pretty sick from my parasite. I didn’t end up going but it seemed like everyone else had a good time. Stephanie will have to wait for another dancing occasion.
Close of service
I was eating dinner with my host family a few weeks ago when I received an email from a travel agency. It was the flight itinerary for my one-way ticket home. On June 10th, I’ll be leaving Togo. I don’t think it will be my last time here, but because of school and work, it will be a long time before I am able to come back. It finally has started to hit me that there are huge life changes coming soon; looking at the calendar, I can count on my hands the number of nights I have left in my village.
In a way, the uncertainty of what’s to come and the bittersweetness of saying goodbye is a bit like how I felt when I left America in June 2023. But when I left my home, I knew I was going to be back. Sure, some things were going to change, but I knew I would return to the people and places that I love. Now, I have these new people and places that I love, and I don’t know when I will be back. So yes, I am very excited to be home and see my family again and eat salads and cheese, but it is going to be so hard to say goodbye.
The goodbye process has already begun. One of my first friends that I met during my site visit to my village, Ayite, is doing a six-month military training camp. Thankfully, it is nearby in Kara and he can have visitors on the weekend. I went with his wife, Gracias, and the other people in their household to visit him at the camp. We got to chat for a little bit and ultimately had to say goodbye. We can still use WhatsApp to communicate, but this was the first of many friends who I will probably not get to see again for at least a decade. It is so strange to go from seeing someone almost every day for months to only seeing them through a phone.
If you are in the Columbus area between June 12th and 30th, I’d love to meet up! My school starts on July 7th and I move to Cleveland on July 1st, so it is a bit of a tight turnaround. Let me know if you are available!
Gratitude
Good timing with our annual flu shots meant that one of our doctors was up north and could quickly buy a parasite killing medicine for me and he delivered it to my house
The kids have been learning how to make friendship bracelets and it is so cool to see them learn new skills to create something beautiful that they are proud of
Fridos is learning to dress herself (with my mom’s hat and my shoes)
There was goat cheese in Kpalime, it was epic
The northern gals got together for a pool day in Kara and it was a lot of fun
The smoothies in Kara have been hitting the spot
There have been a few good rains so far, meaning slightly cooler temperatures and neat-looking clouds
That is all for now. I’ll do my best to document my last few weeks for at least one more good post. I hope you’re taking care of yourself.
Fatty
Hey friend, proud of you. Thanks for sharing.
Erin, I've enjoyed reading about your time in Togo and in the Peace Corps. Thank you for your service!