My mom has been here for a few weeks and we’ve been touring Togo and Benin.  We went to a national park in Benin and saw baboons, buffalo, hippos, and elephants.  It is said that one goes to East Africa for wildlife and West Africa for the people. I was happy to see that there is a well managed park here in West Africa with animals.  And of course, the people are great and everyone has been very welcoming and kind to my mother.  (”We like mothers here”, people keep telling me.)

We had hoped to spend some time in Ghana, but the presidential elections are on Sunday.  The borders closed the morning we planned to go to Ghana.  So her flight has been rescheduled to leave the day the borders re-open (Monday, we hope).  We are just relaxing in Lome instead of being in Ghana. 

I do actually do a bit more here than bike around, sweat, and cook with my solar oven.  This school year I have some fun projects. 

I am doing the “Training of Trainers” again at Lycee Technique.  Like last year, I will give 5 teachers who are computer novices a year long course on basic computer skills.  The idea is that next year they will be teaching students.  4 teachers passed my class last year, but I decided it was good to continue.

I’m also giving a programming, database, and web site class to 5 other teachers of math and accounting.  We have had one class so far so I am curious to start getting feedback.

Another school is run by an American nun.  They have a computer lab and all students have one hour a week in front of the computers. I am working with the existing teachers, alternately sitting in on classes or leading them.  In this way we are all learning something new.

Not lastly, I am working with a teacher on a “mini-enterprise” club.  Once a week after school, the students gather to plan their business and implement it. I think this year they will make and sell soap. Sometimes we go into the computer lab so they can do the budgets in Excel or logos in a drawing program or whatever else is relevant.

So those are my big projects.  They keep me busy!

The other day I went to a meeting of the local Red Cross branch.  They had hired a local programmer to create a database to keep track of their members and volunteers.  I went in and met with them just to see if I could offer any advice (like an independant consultant).

THe programmer was a nice guy and he sat with his legs curled up beneath him.  I didnùt really notice the extent of his disability until we got up to walk into the meeting.  He didn’t get up, he got down and crawled on all fours, his feet twisted in balls sticking in the air. 

I was embarrased to be walking while this nice smart man crawled along beside me.  By now I’m used to the prevalence of people with walking sticks, trailing legs, and the frequent custom welded wheelchaires.  But I was completely thrown by everyone’s complete acceptance of a man crawling into a conference room.

I assume he had polio; I didn’t ask.  I don’t know anything about polio.  I’m glad at least that he was able to get involved in computers and find a profession in this physical labor intensive country.

There is a very neat women’s cooperative here in Sokode.  They produce butters for beauty products that are sold under the label “Alaffia” at Whole Foods.

I have visited the location and stirred the shea butter by hand with them.  Most of the women are illiterate, and do not even speak French.  Here they have a reliable salary, health care, and work that doesn’t break their backs. 

The founder (a Togolese man married to a former Peace Corps Volunteer) was there to explain fair trade to other producers in Togo (weavers, honey producers, etc).  He is encouraging similar enterprises in Togo.  He left me a sample of the final shampoo and conditioner products, which are AMAZING.

I highly recommend you look for their products and give them a try, or give them as Chirstmas gifts this year.  You’ll even find “made in Sokode, Togo” on the label. 

www.alaffia.com

I’ve never been a big fan of pop (also known as soda, coke, soft drinks) but sometimes you just want something cold to drink.  I don’t have a working fridge, so a cold drink means a trip to the “buvette”, or bar.  There, the choice is between beer and a soft drink.

The problem with ordering a Fanta or Coke, 2 of the types of sweet drinks available, is that they are just too sweet.  The sweetness is different than America; they are made with sugar from sugar cane, instead of from corn syrup.  While probably better for me since it is less processed, I struggle to finish a bottle of the sweet stuff.

A cold beer, on the other hand, goes down prettily easily. :)