I hitched a ride with the PC Country Director, Carolina and the EAFS (formerlly the NRM sector) APCD, Paul. We picked up other vols along the way as well so it was a fully loaded vehicle by the time we arrived.
I had a fantastic time. Stayed at Sam’s home the first two nights (she has a beautiful home) and then with Katy the last night (her home has lots of creepy crawlies and even a mouse who I named Mickey).
We did beaucoup de choses including eating egg sammies, eating chicken sammies avec french fries, walking to the marche, making (and drinking) sangria, watching « Kung Fu Panda » (or napping through it), making (and eating) banana chocolate pancakes – super yum, eating mac-n-cheese (OMG delicious), drinking mint hot chocolate (please send) as we watched the sunrise, and just enjoying each others’ company. These friends made me feel so welcome and so, so special.
Funny story about the turkeys… Carolina picked up two live birds in Lomé and they had them in cages atop the van. About an hour or so later, one of the birds decided to commit suicide. It squeezed out of the cage and leaped off the top of the van to its death on the road below. Carolina bought another live one and told us she had “Two live ones and one dead one.”
Our Thanksgiving dinner included the company of 20 good (some new) friends, French onion soup (so, so buttery good), mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, turkey, canned cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, pumpkin bread, and pineapple. It was delicious and we were oh-so-full.
Back to Sokodé
A long, long day. Carolina visited the sites of four vols (Katy, Ellen, Emily, and Manda) and I was so lucky to tag along. We all live in such different homes and villages. It was great to get a different perspective on each.
By the time we reached Sokodé, we were tired, dirty and hungry. We ate a quick bite at Hotel Centrale (I had the spaghetti) and then off to chez moi. I invited Carolina to stay overnight and we had a lovely visit. She is such an amazing and interesting person and it was really an honor to have spent so much time with her.
Village Savings and Loan (VSL)
Back home, I had my third weekly meeting with my VSL women. It went really well and I can’t believe I communicated in French. Or at least, they let me think I did. Either they were nodding in agreement or they caught the dreaded bobble-head disorder.
What is a VSL? I am working with a group of 13 women in the hopes of establishing a self-sustaining program for them to save money, to take and repay a loan, and to earn interest on their savings. It’s a mini-bank without the middle-man. (We have a thick guide that tells us how to create this program and it works beautifully when done right.)
These women commit themselves for a year. They promise to save a minimum amount of money every week and soon will be able to begin taking loans. The loans are repaid within a certain period of time with interest. At the end of the year, the money is distributed amongst all the women. Generally, the return is between 25 – 30 percent. I wish I could save at their bank!
My role is basically to help them set up all the particulars (constitution, rules, etc.) and teach them how to conduct their weekly meetings. I make it sound easy, huh?
This project gives these women self-esteem, a sense of accomplishment, a sense of empowerment, and more money! It is an amazing program.
The one challenge (did I just say one?) I have is that my counterpart must translate everything I say into Kotokoli. Takes more time and I’m never exactly sure what I am saying is correct.
Wish list update
Getting to visit other volunteers gives me the opportunity to see (and eat) what other vols get sent from home. Wow. Their stuff is good. Almost as good as what I get. *smile*
Creepy crawlies
I have fun maiming these gigantic cockroaches (i.e. breaking a leg) and then watching the ants eat it. Reminds me of when I would put salt on slugs or snails. What does this say about me?
The salamanders poop everywhere and it’s just ick.
Crickets can jump pretty far and you can only kill them with your shoe. Killing the big ones takes a lot of guts (get it ?)
I leave the spiders alone. There are some that are pretty big and gnarly looking, but they seem to leave me (and my food) alone.
Ants are everywhere. *sigh* Joan, I tried to be the ant-whisperer, but it didn’t work.
Tonight I killed one giant grasshopper (a first for me), a medium-sized cockroach, and some other thing I didn’t recognize. Woo hoo!
Coming up
Home for a week and then back to Lomé. You’d think I’d get tired of these six to eight hour one-way rides on horribly bad roads by now, huh? Yeah, moi aussi.
I am going to the Togo 2000 artisan foire to help promote the Peace Corps (working a booth) and to see what all of West Africa offers in terms of crafts. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’m pretty excited.
I will be with Ashley and Elise again so fun times for the threesome. I’ll also see Katy again which will be super duper nice. After this, I will stay in Sokodé (no more travel!) until we have training again in Pagala at the end of January. Travelling takes its toll on my body and my bank account (but of course, makes my tummy oh-so happy).
Love to you all and thank you again and again for all the love and hugs you send.
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