A little update....

Well I leave in just under a month....fingers crossed. I have confirmed my flight to Philadelphia for stage (a two day orientation about Peace Corps Togo), and I leave Chicago at 6:40am on September 17th. So say your final goodbyes before then!!!!!. My stage class and I leave for Togo at 6:40 pm on September 18th with a couple hour layover in Paris. My group will be much smaller compared to the one that I would have left with for Mauritania. I am leaving with 15 other volunteers in my sector and there are only 2 other male volunteers. What is my sector you might ask? Instead of being an English Teacher I will be working in the Girls Education and Empowerment section as a Girls Education Extension Agent. What dose that mean really, here is what I was given in my assignment.

YOUR PRIMARY DUTIES
The goals of the Girls' Education and Development project are:
1. Girls (students or apprentices) together with boys (students or apprentices) will increase their knowledge and will develop personal skills that contribute to their successful completion of school or professional training and will be empowered to participate in their communities.
2. Formal and non-formal educators will create positive environments for the promotion of girls' education in collaboration with boys.
3. Organizations will contribute to the development of their communities through the promotion of education and empowerment of girls in collaboration with boys and the development of financial and human resources.
4. The communities and community based organizations will be actively engaged in the campaign to increase the enrollmemt and retention rates of girls in schools and apprenticeship centers. Comuunities will use local and external resources to support gender equity in families, community organizations, schools and cooperative groups.


And here are some of the tasks that I am supposed to accomplish...

By the end of the first year, you should be collaborating with your counterpart(s) in implementing at least two of the following activities:
Village Savings & Loan programs, to help families improve their incomes so that they could better support the education of their children, especially their girls;
Training of families on gender issues to encourage them to provide the same opportunities for both boys and girls regarding their education;
Tutoring and other activities such as training in study skills aimed at improving the performance of girls in the classroom;
A teacher/apprentice supervisor training on gender equity and life skills;
Organization and co-facilitation of at least one club;
School vacation enterprise program to help girls to meet their financial needs during the school year.

Just thought I would let everyone know what I will be doing in Togo.