I recently returned from Togo, West Africa where I visited my daughter, Katy. I
was there for 17 days and she asked me to writing a little something for her
blog. Please read and enjoy it. Also, I would like to thank all those who made
a contribution to the Women’s Conference that Katy is facilitating in March. I
have met the other two Peace Corps Volunteers that are involved in it and both
women are very warm and intelligent. I was able to spend a day with them while
they worked on some of the details. They are still in need of some funding
($200), so if you still would like to make a donation, that would be so
helpful.
-Lori Todd
[Update: The project is fully funded! Thank you so much for your support.]
Lori’s Togo Trip
So, I finally made it Togo
this past month to see my beautiful daughter Katy. She greeted me at the
airport with a sign saying "mommy". When I saw her, I had a feeling
of relief after the long flight. She was wearing a beautiful dress made of flower
sacks. She sure can wear the dress.
It was definitely a
transition there. It was very hot and humid in the capital (it's by the ocean)
and my hair was one big curl. Katy lives up north and it is still hot but it's
a dryer heat so I was a much happier camper once we made the 13 hour trek up
there.
 |
| The beach in Lomé. |
In the first week I was
able to meet many of Katy’s Peace Corps friends. They are all so nice, friendly
and very intelligent. I can tell they appreciate one another.
 |
| Having dinner with other PCVs in Lomé. |
The women there were so
kind to me. They offered me gifts, food and drinks. They share what they have,
even if they don't have very much. They have made me feel very special and
I can tell that they appreciate the work that Katy has done with them during
her time there. It is very much like a sister bond.
Traveling of the roads of
Togo is quite the experience. You really never know what to expect each day. I
have been in/on a bush taxi (communal transportation system that is the main
way of traveling for most Togolese), Peace Corps van, post office bus and moto.
Some rides are pleasant and some are challenging with not enough space and
often requires bargaining about the price. I would say this is one of my least
favorite parts of the trip.
 |
| Standard bush taxi |
I brought small gifts for
the family where Katy lives and a few of her special women friends. The
children were so excited to receive them and they laughed and giggled as I took
pictures.
 |
| Kids in Katy's compound |
As we walked through her
town, children sang out "yovo" (white person) to me, so I would say I
have been christened by Togo.
I have enjoyed tasting the
different foods. Surprisingly, there wasn't much that I didn't like. The main
meals they serve are rice, corn, beans or yams. A different spicy sauce
accompanies each. It is very tasty and yes, you eat it with your fingers. They
serve your plate full and what you don't finish, they will. Nothing goes to
waste. They are also very proud to serve the fermented millet beer. I took it
slow being that the weather was so hot but eventually I came to find it very
refreshing.
 |
| Drinking tchakpa, the local millet beer. |
So, who can say that they
spent their 55th birthday in Africa, riding on the back of a moto, climbing a
mountain, spending time with lovely people, having a nice quiet dinner and a
summer night walk home all with their daughter? It was a lovely day. The hike
up the mountain was a challenge in the ninety plus degree weather. As I stopped
for break halfway up, a women passed us coming down the rocky path carrying a
large pot on her head loaded with vegetables she was going to sell at the
market. I took a picture of her and shook my head. The women here are amazingly
strong in many ways, both mentally and physically.
One day we took a long
morning walk to visit the village of Cecile, Katy's dressmaker friend. It is
where she grew up and it was a wonderful venture. The people in her village
were so kind and happy to see us. Most Togolese people love having their picture
taken. They stand still and straight like the Old Italian photos of my
ancestors. Smiles are hard to come by but as time went on I found that I could
sometimes get them to crack a smile. The oldest woman in Cecile's village was
close to 100 (well, she has a son that was 82) and blind but with a beautiful
smile. It reminded me of the visits I have with my family in Italy. Everyone is
so happy to see you.
 |
| A son and his mother |
One afternoon was spent in
a classroom of 30 children. Katy and another Peace Corps worker, Sam, hold
weekly Geography clubs at two different elementary schools. They talked about
the continents, countries, north, south, east, and west and also about the different
languages that are spoken throughout the world. The children seemed very
excited to learn.
Rachel is a woman that Katy
has worked with very closely. She helps to promote her sewing projects. I
visited her shop, which is a very small shed right on the main road. It's hard
to believe the quality products that are made there. I bought a purse and
wallet from her and was also gifted a couple more items. She told me how much
she appreciated the help that Katy has given her with her business. She is a
single mom who sends her three boys to private school. They want to become
doctors and a judge someday.
 |
| Rachel (left) and her family |
Another morning we took a
moto ride to one of Katy’s women's groups. They were very happy to meet me.
They showed me the box where they store their money. There are three locks and
three different women hold he keys, and a fourth keeps the box at her house.
They can borrow money from the group if needed but pay it back with interest.
Their year-end is coming soon and they will divide it up. Katy said that it
will probably the largest sum of money that they've ever had, as they are
usually accustomed to spending money as they make it. Then they danced for me,
gave me a traditional woven pagne (a skirt and head wrap), three jars of
peanuts and a live chicken. It was the second chicken I was gifted during my
time there. The chicken was prepared the very next day for a lunch of bean meal
with tomato gravy. It was tasty.
For dinner that night, I
met with more Peace Corps volunteers. I enjoyed hearing about their background
and they all seemed content in why they were there and what they wanted to do.
 |
| Savannes Volunteers |
One evening I was able to
see the process of making fufu, (the pounded yam dish). It reminds me of the
hard work that went into some of the Italian dishes my grandparents would
make. I finally tasted something that I did not care for. It’s a mustard
paste that they use in sauces. It smells awful but the Togolese love
it. My favorite food was pintade. It is guinea fowl. You see the pintades
walking all through the towns and villages just like all the other animals. The
animals never seemed to be fenced in.
 |
| Fufu with peanut sauce and cabbage and chicken. |
 |
| Pintades |
Katy treated me to what
they would call frozen yogurt. It was very delicious, especially on the warm
days. You suck it out of a plastic bag. Lots of plastic bags are used around
here. Anything you buy off the street is put into one and they even sell water
in a small plastic baggie.
I picked up my dress and
shirt that I had made by Cecile. There was extra material so she surprisingly
whipped up another dress! The material cost more than she charged me for the
labor.
Many of the families here
have no running water, no stove and no refrigerator. They are living their
lives like we do when we camp in tents. It is something you can get used to and
after being there for over two weeks I found that it can be easy to mold to if
you have to. It seems like the people are very happy with their lives. They
don’t have much and don’t seem to need much to be content.
Katy did a wonderful job
showing me what her life has been like for almost the past two years. I took
many pictures that I am happy to share. She has met wonderful people that have
thanked me over and over again for allowing her to come to Togo and work with
them. I would say "you’re welcome", although really it was all Katy’s
idea. Katy has made a difference here in Togo and they appreciate her.
My last few days we did the
most tourist thing you can do in Togo, we went to Kpalime. It’s the prettiest
region surrounded with lots of green mountains. As I took a walk towards the
mountains, it brought me back to my walks in Italy–very peaceful and beautiful.
The hotel we stayed at cost $27.00 a night and Katy considered it to be one of
the nicer, more expensive hotels in Togo. It came with air conditioning that
worked poorly. They gave us one towel that we ended up using for the water that
leaked all over the floor when you took a shower, but we had hot water! You
have to take the good with the bad. They also had a pool, but we had to pay
$3.00 each to use it so I made sure to get my moneys worth! Our dinners here
were at a restaurant owned by a Belgium family. They spoke English and
were very nice, a mother and son operation. Good food too. I only had one
coffee the whole time I was here, and it was in Kpalime–Nescafé with
canned condense milk. It also brought me back to the days when I would
have a spoonful from my grandmother’s sugary sweet cup of coffee.
 |
| During harmattan, men migrate south from Mali and Niger to sell the camels. |
Katy asked me what my
favorite moments were in Togo. I said meeting all of the people that she has
been working with, enjoying time and meals with other Peace Corps Volunteers,
and also seeing and living what she has dedicated her last two years to.
Not everyone could do this and I admire the hard times she has gone
through and will still go through in her last few months. She is a strong woman
and I am very proud of her. I also enjoyed meeting her puppy, Lux. She is
a cute, well-behaved dog and I look forward to her coming home to California.
