One year in....

One year in……
Wow, I have been a volunteer for over a year now. It’s weird saying that out loud and it’s even weirder to look around and not see the volunteers who just completed their service. Instead there are almost 60 new faces in Togo that swore-in in August and November of this year. It has been great having them around and showing them the ropes of PCV life and I had a great week of being a trainer in October, but it was comforting to have the 2nd year volunteers around and ask them questions about projects or just how to get by in Togo. Now that I am in my 2nd year I will try and be as helpful as the volunteers who just left. It’s sad to see them go but they have been here since September 2008, and most of them were more than ready to go home.
Work in Dapaong has been going well also. I have been working with peer educators. Peer educators are generally high school (Lycee in French) students, who get class time set aside to talk about different themes such as HIV/AIDs prevention or gender equity. It’s a great way to spread a message and it is one of the more sustainable projects a PCV can take part in. They stop by my house a few times a week and normally we talk about different ways we can make an impact in schools. One of the main things that I have been trying to stress to them is how gender and sex affect the spread of HIV/AIDs. For example young girls in Togo have a much higher chance, compared to girls in the developed world, of being victims of sexual violence. Most girls don’t even understand that they have a right to say no. With this high level of sexual violence, there are more girls in Sub-Saharan Africa with HIV/Aids than boys. Also girls in Togo are much less likely to step foot in a class room than a boy, and therefore less likely to learn about HIV/AIDs. As a GEE volunteer it is my job to promote sending girls to school, and to promote gender equality. Working with peer educators is a great way to do this. I primarily work with the same 10 students, 5 males and 5 females, and they work together to make Dapaong a better place. The female peer educators are great examples of educated females who are making a difference in Togo and hopefully more girls will follow in their footsteps as a result.
This is now my second Christmas away from home and I miss you all. I will be home next year so get hype. It’s going to be a real good time here though. A real good time. (Sorry Platauex. I just stole your joke. Savannes…You’re Welcome. We just moved in to our new transit house/work station, and we will be cooking up some great food and watching our favorite Christmas movies. I will be sure to write about it. Hope you all have a happy holiday season, and be sure to give a hug to the ones you love.