So, Jyoti and I have been in Lomé for nearly three weeks now. We are doing well apart from getting food poisoning, heat exhaustion and the constant worrying of developing malaria, leishmaniasis (sandfly), trypanosomiasis (tsetse fly) and all those tropical diseases that we recently studied in LSHTM.
Okay, let me paint the picture of how things are going on here in Lome’s Central Social PDH (Promotion Et De’velopement Humain). Bit of history now, this NGO was first developed by Antoine Dzakas in 1999 for the sole purpose of helping the vulnerable communities by dealing with requests accordingly liaising with beneficiaries and donors to meet the target. We get numerous clients at the centre asking for help (financially, socially, physically, etc.) In simple terms, this centre is an NHS with limited facilities we can provide.
This is how we start our day. So let’s dive in:
6: 30am Togolese interns start coming to the centre.
We live in the centre with Antione and his family, so it gives us that advantage, that extra sleep in the morning. We usually wake up around 6:30; we slowly drag ourselves from our cocoon; we crawl downstairs and have breakfast (thé and miche de pain).
7: 00- 8:30
Attend morning meetings. The interns usually report on the following task they had been given: how it went down if they were able to achieve the goal, any outstanding tasks to be completed, and if so, how we can achieve it. Mind that none of this is happening in English. So, Jyoti and I sit there doing what British people are best at doing- sip our tea. Antione reviews all these reports, and he then distributes the daily activities to each volunteer, whether that be a Visite à domicile (Home visit), Visite à l’hopitâl (Hospital visit), or an enquête social (Investigation).
8:30- 12:00
After the meeting is over, we pair up with our partners for a field trip (usually via scooter or motorbike), which is the best part! This is very exciting because we are on an adventure and it is very crucial. Moreover, it is crucial because we have gathered information about the people’s requests (financial support as the husband died, or asking for school support for their kids, medical support, etc.)
Pictures from the field trips
We get to see the real people and actual patients and do our mini-investigation. I want to think that we are detectives, and now we are about to crack the case. It just sounds so cool and motivates me to do our investigations. I have had many funny and heartwarming moments on this journey. This information is now collected and presented to the rest of the team this afternoon.
12:00pm – 15:00 – Lunch/Siesta
I had never known that this most extended break-even existed!! We hardly even have time to empty our bladder at work, and here in Togo, you have entire time on your hands. You literally can cross over the border to Benin and Ghana and still attend your afternoon meeting. So during the siesta, interns usually go out to get some lunch and hang around with their friends. Some prefer to stay at the centre, do their work, or take a nap.
These are some lunches that Rachel prepares for us.
15:00 – 17:00
So after enjoying our long siesta, each pair of volunteers will now share their designated field experiences. Then, finally, they present their case with a proposal to fund their case.
The rest of the groups will vote if they are willing to invest in their presentations and how important the case is. When every team has finished presenting their cases, the whole PDH inters/ international volunteers need to prioritise the case. The voting will determine whether or not to contribute funds or supplies to this case. The most priority cases will be highlighted, and then the international volunteers are asked to set up a “go fund me page”. Our job is to assist and support the NGO in designing fundraising proposals, letters, presentations, flyers, newsletters, and websites ideas for the “Cours de soutien” project.
17:00- 19:00
After the afternoon meeting has finished, we bid goodbyes to our interns. Then, we three (Jyoti, Iris and me) go out for fresh air and our afternoon walk. We also try some Lomé’s street food (which Rachel has been avoiding us doing). Finally, we have our dinner around 19:00. After dinner, we freshen up (having three showers a day is entirely NORMAL here), play board games, practise some French, have girlie talks, do girls’ stuff like try facial, massage and write a short journal before heading to our bed.
