I have come to know many amazing people here in Togo, including a student of mine named Munira. Munria is a Muslim woman in her early 20s.  She was one of the three girls that tested into my programming class this past year, and the only one that stuck with it throughout the year.  During the year, I got a chance to get to know and appreciate her.
            Munira is incredibly mature, thoughtful, and helpful. While she is open to new ideas, she is grounded in her religious beliefs and culture. She scoffs at the Miss Togo pageant, hugely popular here, as a waste of resources.  “A woman’s beauty is for her husband.  Her education could be for the whole community”, she says.  Munira hopes to be a midwife, if she can get through the Togolese school system and after that the difficult entry test for the midwife training program. 
            Togo follows the French school system.  After passing a nation-wide standardized test to finish “college” (something like 10th grade), students can enter Lycee.  Very few Togolese make it to Lycee.  Lycee consists of 3 grades is like a cross between high school and the first 2 years of undergrad.  In order to complete Lycee, the students have to pass 2 more nationwide tests “Bac 1″ and “Bac 2″.  Bac 2 is taken after the students complete the last year in Lycee.  It is extremely difficult; it lasts a week and covers any topic that might have been covered in the past 3 years of lycee.  The nationwide pass rate for Bac 2 hovers around 30%, or less.  Many people say that the students are deliberately failed in high numbers because there aren’t enough openings in either of the 2 universities.  Many students will sit through the final year of Lycee up to 3 times, each year succeeding in class, but failing the one-week test at the end of the year.
            In 2007 Munira took the Bac 2 for her first time.  She had suffered through the year with an ailment the doctors couldn’t identify and treat. Her entire body was covered in painful bumps, like a chicken pox.  I’ve seen the scars that are left, a year later.  She wasn’t surprised to fail the Bac2 that year, considering the weeks and months of school she missed.
            She changed to a private school at great expense and tried again in 2008.  It was horribly disappointing to all that she didn’t pass the test the second time.  She was the only one in my programming class to fail.  I know the results are not a reflection of her intelligence, effort, or ability.  I saw her hardwork and curiosity throughout the year, as she took programming in her spare time and just for fun, and mastered the concepts. 
            As I check in with other volunteers throughout Togo, we all have stories of a student or friend, who should have succeeded, but didn’t.  Students who were the best in their class throughout the year have failed the test. Togolese who know the system shrug and say “There are always surprises.”  We Americans are left baffled and frustrated that the test results seem so arbitrary. 
            I have gained even more respect and admiration for all the Togolese who keep working hard, and fighting the odds.  Munira will probably sit through the final year of Lycee for a third time, maintaining hope despite the discouragement. 

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