I have been in village for eight weeks now. What have I been doing? After all, I’m here to work, right? The first ten weeks of my time in village is to acclimate, integrate, learn, develop relationships, and become a member of my community. That’s right – settle in, and very little “measurable” progress. However, I can say that I feel the progress. My house is feeling like home, I have developed routines, and my language is certainly improving.
So what am I doing?I help with the monitoring of babies’ and pregnant women’s growth. This looks like a large room full of mothers with babies, the babies receiving immunizations, drops of vitamin A, and being weighed. It looks like mothers being weighed, measured, examined, and given proper drugs if necessary to ensure a health pregnancy. It looks like Sarah making smiling at babies. It looks like infants being scared of the white skinned girl. It looks like infants crying after they receive a needle in their skin. Don’t worry – I’m not administering the shots – I’m only helping to document the immunizations.
I shadow my Togolese work partner (homologue) on hygiene and sanitation related activities at local schools. We visit schools to monitor how food that students purchase is kept. We ensure that the vendors of food are washing and preparing food properly and that the children are washing properly. Food is made in the homes of women, transported to each school by the women, and with a ratio of about 50 kids to each woman, kids swarm the women when it’s time to eat. The students buy the food, and the women serve the kids the food, usually in a bowl. What is the food? Food is fried bread, rice and beans, spaghetti with sauce, variations of cornmeal in water, tapioca, putty potatoes with sauce (fou fou with sauce). Hands are used to eat. Water and other juices are sold in little plastic bags – to drink, you tear off a corner of the plastic.
I shadow my homologue in giving hygiene and sanitation sessions to local women who make food alongside the street. He gives sessions in local language, and after the session, updates the women’s cards that authorize the women to sell street food. Sessions review instructions such as hand washing, dish washing, heating food, keeping food, and ensuring that the food is made in a hygienic environment.
I join other PCVs for a monthly session with local children who are HIV+. The session is about two hours long. We play games, sing songs, and encourage kids to be kids. Our time looks like frequent laughter, cheering, and singing. The children range from about 4-15 years old. There are about 20 kids at each session. In September the kids listened to a presentation about school, and preparing for school. This month, we gave a presentation - which included a catchy song - about the importance of brushing teeth. This session is called, “Club Espoir” and is a monthly component to a summer camp, “Camp Espoir” for Togolese kids who are infected with HIV or AIDS.
I observe classes at the local school. School and classes looks different here in Togo than it does in America. How do kids learn? How do teachers teach? What are challenges? What works well? How can I, as a health volunteer, help to improve this environment of learning? I observed English, French, Geography/History, Mathematics, and Science classes to begin to form answers to these questions.I take walks around my town. In order to become acquainted with locals, and the composition of the town, I take walks, greet people along the way, and become familiar with the routine involved in a day.
I take bike rides around my town. One of my favorite afternoons involved an afternoon-evening bike ride exploring more distant villages. It was during this bike ride that I had an, “Oh yeah, I now live in Africa” moment. Living in a city, it is sometimes easy to forget about my surroundings. Riding through fields, viewing small villages and mud huts, seeing people returning from cultivating, and taking in the scenery, it is undeniable - I am in Africa. ...and it is beautiful.
I study French. This looks like listening to French radio, taking every opportunity to engage someone in conversation, completing exercises in my French books, and listening to those around me.
I spend time with neighbors and locals. This looks like sitting down with women who prepare food, and purely enjoying time with them.
I shadow volunteers who have been here for more than a year. I watched a volunteer give a lesson to village women about how to make a nutritious juice using a local plant that is rich in vitamins. I accompanied a volunteer to a meeting about organizing a women’s conference. I am learning how each volunteer has shaped his or her time here to create a service that is appropriate for both them and their community.
I spend time walking around the market and talking with women. I love markets. I love exploring markets, I love sampling local food, and I love observing the interactions in markets. I make a point to walk around my market at least once a day - usually during the evening, when it’s cooler.
I spend time with other volunteers. Since I am in a larger town, I am lucky to host visiting volunteers from surrounding villages. I also share this town with another volunteers, whose sector is education. I am thankful to be able to share my time with other volunteers, contrast experiences, and learn from one another.
I settle into my house, and develop routines for daily chores. I am a lucky volunteer with running water and electricity, but the daily chores - such as cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, and disposing of trash - are still an adjustment. However, the transition has been going well, and I am very happy in my house, and my town.
I shadow my homologue in giving hygiene and sanitation sessions to local women who make food alongside the street. He gives sessions in local language, and after the session, updates the women’s cards that authorize the women to sell street food. Sessions review instructions such as hand washing, dish washing, heating food, keeping food, and ensuring that the food is made in a hygienic environment.
I join other PCVs for a monthly session with local children who are HIV+. The session is about two hours long. We play games, sing songs, and encourage kids to be kids. Our time looks like frequent laughter, cheering, and singing. The children range from about 4-15 years old. There are about 20 kids at each session. In September the kids listened to a presentation about school, and preparing for school. This month, we gave a presentation - which included a catchy song - about the importance of brushing teeth. This session is called, “Club Espoir” and is a monthly component to a summer camp, “Camp Espoir” for Togolese kids who are infected with HIV or AIDS.
I observe classes at the local school. School and classes looks different here in Togo than it does in America. How do kids learn? How do teachers teach? What are challenges? What works well? How can I, as a health volunteer, help to improve this environment of learning? I observed English, French, Geography/History, Mathematics, and Science classes to begin to form answers to these questions.I take walks around my town. In order to become acquainted with locals, and the composition of the town, I take walks, greet people along the way, and become familiar with the routine involved in a day.
I take bike rides around my town. One of my favorite afternoons involved an afternoon-evening bike ride exploring more distant villages. It was during this bike ride that I had an, “Oh yeah, I now live in Africa” moment. Living in a city, it is sometimes easy to forget about my surroundings. Riding through fields, viewing small villages and mud huts, seeing people returning from cultivating, and taking in the scenery, it is undeniable - I am in Africa. ...and it is beautiful.
I study French. This looks like listening to French radio, taking every opportunity to engage someone in conversation, completing exercises in my French books, and listening to those around me.
I spend time with neighbors and locals. This looks like sitting down with women who prepare food, and purely enjoying time with them.
I shadow volunteers who have been here for more than a year. I watched a volunteer give a lesson to village women about how to make a nutritious juice using a local plant that is rich in vitamins. I accompanied a volunteer to a meeting about organizing a women’s conference. I am learning how each volunteer has shaped his or her time here to create a service that is appropriate for both them and their community.
I spend time walking around the market and talking with women. I love markets. I love exploring markets, I love sampling local food, and I love observing the interactions in markets. I make a point to walk around my market at least once a day - usually during the evening, when it’s cooler.
I spend time with other volunteers. Since I am in a larger town, I am lucky to host visiting volunteers from surrounding villages. I also share this town with another volunteers, whose sector is education. I am thankful to be able to share my time with other volunteers, contrast experiences, and learn from one another.
I settle into my house, and develop routines for daily chores. I am a lucky volunteer with running water and electricity, but the daily chores - such as cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, and disposing of trash - are still an adjustment. However, the transition has been going well, and I am very happy in my house, and my town.
Sarah - I love how you describe, in palpable, real, down to earth ways how you interact with and are effected by the world around you. Thanks - love you.
ReplyDelete