Now I've been over a week back from Togo where I two and a half months "Development Internship" in the NGO "Jeunes Volontaires pour l'Environnement" (www.ong-jve.org; translated: Young Volunteers for the Environment).
side was a six-month stay in India the desire in me growing to complete such an internship during my studies, and I wanted in a French-speaking African country - and so my choice was Togo.
This really is a good choice, country and people I liked was really very good, so I'll write a bit about it first. The people there live in sometimes the simplest Conditions and yet are often more sincere, happy and have great staying power, since in Togo is not a real social system. Even with the hospitality we can abgucken German us some, such as two weekends has removed a work colleague to her room for me and taken me into their family.
in Togo is music everywhere, there are speakers set of bars / shops on the highest stage and sing, people dance and, above all, very happy with both traditional and modern music.
What I found somewhat confusing, the Togolese like to ask whether one can take it to Germany. Even after I give I explained that there not everything is great and there are also problems, especially want the young well-educated native to Europe / USA.
this is related to the policy of the country. While there are commodities and money, but unfortunately only benefit the government circles. governed since 2005 Faure Gnassingbe, the son of former chairman, who has ruled 40 years. The election in February 2010, Faure "won", and the results are questionable. Faure with the situation in the country has become even worse as the government puts all profits into their own pockets and the people would collect nothing.
The Togolese are not satisfied with the current political situation, but have Unfortunately, most of resignation, as there are different tribes / languages and thus no common major opposition is there. However, as I have several strikes by taxi drivers as a result of another increase in taxes on petrol noticed that have unfortunately not led to anything, because the fear of the military too great. Also there since the last election of an opposition party demonstrations every Saturday throughout Lomé.
Now just to work, the NGO JVE has many very interesting projects, of which it operates largely successfully, for example, replacing kerosene with solar lighting, planting of forests has, dissemination of solar cookers, water disinfection by solar radiation, Financial System AVE & C, etc. The headquarters of the NGO in the capital of Togo, Lomé (in the south of the country by the sea and located the border with Ghana, about 1 million inhabitants), where I spent about 3 weeks and almost all weekends . There are national offices and 2 large branches Tsiko and Vogan. As the solar lamps and stoves projects, which interested me the most, mainly in the villages around Vogan (approximately 30,000 inhabitants, 50 km from Lomé away to the northeast, large voodoo market) will be held, I've been working eight weeks there, what was a very interesting experience to know not only the "developed" country's capital. Mostly women have organized themselves in the villages to the so-called "Groupements (15-20 women), where she and a sophisticated financial system (AVE & C) to save and give each other loans, implement, all with the support of JVE. This allows the women to build up small sources of income (such as shopping and sale of smoked fish in the wholesale market) and eventually pay for the solar lamps with it. JVE visited every Groupement twice a month to stand by the women with advice and support in terms of the financial system or to explain the solar lamps / stoves. These visits were in the villages with the most impressive, with the bike up to 20 km over narrow dirt roads through corn and palm plantations, until we arrived in a village where time seems to stand still. Unfortunately in many of these villages have no schools, so most of the rural population do not speak French, but the indigenous language in southern Togo, the EWE says. Therefore, it was difficult for me to cooperate directly with the women. Since I wanted to contribute as much as possible for JVE, I decided to sensitize the population for the individual projects by the NGO fundraising and designing of flyers / posters and even a video assist. Since the clocks in Africa still ticking a little slower, I was not at the end quite satisfied with my work, but the mood among his colleagues was always heart-warming happy, what does all this have more than offset. Some of Togo
I miss already, but I'm also glad to see a decent shower here in Germany (is no more buckets ;-), the good food here (abwechslungsreich!!), A bit of privacy (in Togo, it ONLY thin walls ...) and water again to drink from bottles and not plastic bags! :-)
It was still a great experience and I could go on forever write here but at some point it is enough ;-) I hope it was interesting for you!
But if you have questions about Togo yet, you can love me Contact!
Love, Julia
