Soccer anyone?
I just got back to Kara after a fun day trip up with some volunteers and some Lebanese friends, to a waterfall a little bit south of Kara. It was a very bumpy car ride out to the foot path. The hike was only about a half hour and only steep at the very end. It was really up high and I was a little nervous about falling. But the view was gorgeous. Made me remember that there are actually beautiful places that look like my idea of Africa in Togo.
My soccer tournament is finally finished. After months of trying to put it on, I finally got funding approved from a different source that I originally was working with. The soccer tournament was also a stage for teaching the people of Koka about the prevention HIV/AIDS and STIs. Many people who attended the games were not people that would normally receive the information like moto drivers, young mothers who no longer attend school and apprentices. I think over the week around 2000 people came to see the sensibilization so I was happy with the turn out. But it of course did not go without a hitch.
Of course like Murphy ’s Law, something had to go wrong to stress me out during the week. I have a homologue I do not like working with, who decided the week before the tournament started that he had the right to make certain decisions about planning that were not his to make. So messages were crossed between people involved and it became a problem with who was actually doing the sensibilizations all together. I had been working with peer educators at the CEG since the beginning of my service*. However, this other person also works with another group of peer educators who are adults and have done some sensibilizations in the community, said his group was doing all of the sensibilizations. I, however, had specifically taught the CEG kids a bunch of skits and songs that they could use during programs. This homologue had not included the CEG kids at all in program and I was really pissed about that. He had no right to make that decision. But after a stern talking from my other homologue, the kids got involved.
The week started off slow. People didn’t really show up at the beginning of the first game and the sensibilizations. There was a boys and girls game played each for the first two days. Koka girls KICKED BUTT the second day!!!! I was so proud of them. They were a newly formed team and had never played for a crowd before. But now they are starting their own league.
The third day was just boys teams playing. I got a bit mad that day at that the people doing the sensibilizations. They were making the main aspect of the day the game and not the sensibilization. I thought this was going to happen but didn’t know how to prevent. But it just took a bit of yelling and insistence and they got the idea. They ended up just talking over the game so only the players weren’t watching.
The finals were Saturday. Everyone in village was talking about the match. I knew that a lot of people were planning on coming to the game and sensibilization so I was excited and happy. Things started off late as usual. Can always count on l’heure African. Around 500 people were there for the first sensibilization at the beginning of the games. After that, the girls teams played. Koka vs. Niamtougou. The Koka girls fought their hardest throughout the whole game but ended up losing gracefully in the end. I was still proud of them. After the girls game we did our final sensibilization and did a question game for all of the audience. We gave out prizes like pens, pencils, notebooks, flip flops, and condoms. I was impressed with how much information the audience knew. They were very excited about the prizes. Pens are a hot commodity here!
At the end of the game, I helped hand out prizes to each of the teams and thanked those who helped and were involved. Right about then it started raining. It is amazing how face a crowd will disperse when it starts to rain. I, luckily, had my rain coat so I just walked home but most people sprinted home. Getting wet is like the worst thing that can happy. You can see women with plastic bags on their heads just to avoid a little water. If only they knew… I met up with everyone involved in putting on the event like the referees, the sports director for the region, the peer educators and others at the bar by my house. In the long-winded-ness of the Togolese, everyone went around and said how much they enjoyed the tournament and thanked me for being in the village, bla, bla, bla. It took a while to finally be able to get to drink my soda. But all in all, I am happy with the turn out. But I am really glad the stress is over. I hate having to be the one in charge of all the money. But I know with all of my other projects that I will have to deal with the same thing again some day soon.
Between all of that I also made a tour of my village, taking photos of all of the wells and pumps that need to be refurbished. It is a very vast village. I would say it is around 5km in across. Lots of farm land with lots of hills in the middle. It made biking quite difficult. Footpaths map out the village. They twist and turn all over the place. A friend from village biked around with me, showing me where everything was located. He took me in to some of the most backwoods areas. It was hard to believe that people I work and see every day have to walk so far just to get to the hospital or the store or to a phone. Most of them are only accessible by walking and sometimes biking. Not always. Made me thankful for the centrally located house.
I am heading out of village in about 10 days to spend a week as a camp counselor at a camp that Peace Corps put on every year for kids who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. I met some of the kids that are going this morning. From who have met so far, I wouldn’t be surprised with a large portion of the kids have already lost both of their parents to AIDS. It is saddening and humbling at the same time.
Well I think that is it for now. Everyone please keep writing or emailing. It is getting lonely over here not hearing for many of you. Love and miss you all.
Alia
* CEG = middle school. But kids ages can range from 12 to 25
EPP = Elementary school. Kids must finish by age 12, I think. Most kids stop around
here. The final tests are really hard I am told.
Lycee = High school. 3 final years before taking a really hard exam which allows them
to go to university.
My soccer tournament is finally finished. After months of trying to put it on, I finally got funding approved from a different source that I originally was working with. The soccer tournament was also a stage for teaching the people of Koka about the prevention HIV/AIDS and STIs. Many people who attended the games were not people that would normally receive the information like moto drivers, young mothers who no longer attend school and apprentices. I think over the week around 2000 people came to see the sensibilization so I was happy with the turn out. But it of course did not go without a hitch.
Of course like Murphy ’s Law, something had to go wrong to stress me out during the week. I have a homologue I do not like working with, who decided the week before the tournament started that he had the right to make certain decisions about planning that were not his to make. So messages were crossed between people involved and it became a problem with who was actually doing the sensibilizations all together. I had been working with peer educators at the CEG since the beginning of my service*. However, this other person also works with another group of peer educators who are adults and have done some sensibilizations in the community, said his group was doing all of the sensibilizations. I, however, had specifically taught the CEG kids a bunch of skits and songs that they could use during programs. This homologue had not included the CEG kids at all in program and I was really pissed about that. He had no right to make that decision. But after a stern talking from my other homologue, the kids got involved.
The week started off slow. People didn’t really show up at the beginning of the first game and the sensibilizations. There was a boys and girls game played each for the first two days. Koka girls KICKED BUTT the second day!!!! I was so proud of them. They were a newly formed team and had never played for a crowd before. But now they are starting their own league.
The third day was just boys teams playing. I got a bit mad that day at that the people doing the sensibilizations. They were making the main aspect of the day the game and not the sensibilization. I thought this was going to happen but didn’t know how to prevent. But it just took a bit of yelling and insistence and they got the idea. They ended up just talking over the game so only the players weren’t watching.
The finals were Saturday. Everyone in village was talking about the match. I knew that a lot of people were planning on coming to the game and sensibilization so I was excited and happy. Things started off late as usual. Can always count on l’heure African. Around 500 people were there for the first sensibilization at the beginning of the games. After that, the girls teams played. Koka vs. Niamtougou. The Koka girls fought their hardest throughout the whole game but ended up losing gracefully in the end. I was still proud of them. After the girls game we did our final sensibilization and did a question game for all of the audience. We gave out prizes like pens, pencils, notebooks, flip flops, and condoms. I was impressed with how much information the audience knew. They were very excited about the prizes. Pens are a hot commodity here!
At the end of the game, I helped hand out prizes to each of the teams and thanked those who helped and were involved. Right about then it started raining. It is amazing how face a crowd will disperse when it starts to rain. I, luckily, had my rain coat so I just walked home but most people sprinted home. Getting wet is like the worst thing that can happy. You can see women with plastic bags on their heads just to avoid a little water. If only they knew… I met up with everyone involved in putting on the event like the referees, the sports director for the region, the peer educators and others at the bar by my house. In the long-winded-ness of the Togolese, everyone went around and said how much they enjoyed the tournament and thanked me for being in the village, bla, bla, bla. It took a while to finally be able to get to drink my soda. But all in all, I am happy with the turn out. But I am really glad the stress is over. I hate having to be the one in charge of all the money. But I know with all of my other projects that I will have to deal with the same thing again some day soon.
Between all of that I also made a tour of my village, taking photos of all of the wells and pumps that need to be refurbished. It is a very vast village. I would say it is around 5km in across. Lots of farm land with lots of hills in the middle. It made biking quite difficult. Footpaths map out the village. They twist and turn all over the place. A friend from village biked around with me, showing me where everything was located. He took me in to some of the most backwoods areas. It was hard to believe that people I work and see every day have to walk so far just to get to the hospital or the store or to a phone. Most of them are only accessible by walking and sometimes biking. Not always. Made me thankful for the centrally located house.
I am heading out of village in about 10 days to spend a week as a camp counselor at a camp that Peace Corps put on every year for kids who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. I met some of the kids that are going this morning. From who have met so far, I wouldn’t be surprised with a large portion of the kids have already lost both of their parents to AIDS. It is saddening and humbling at the same time.
Well I think that is it for now. Everyone please keep writing or emailing. It is getting lonely over here not hearing for many of you. Love and miss you all.
Alia
* CEG = middle school. But kids ages can range from 12 to 25
EPP = Elementary school. Kids must finish by age 12, I think. Most kids stop around
here. The final tests are really hard I am told.
Lycee = High school. 3 final years before taking a really hard exam which allows them
to go to university.
posted by Alia at 2:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home