Togo, West Africa -i Rotary Polio Immunization and Project Fair

On Saturday morning, Anne Marie Giangiulio, regional grants officer for the Rotary International Foundation, and Rotarians who work on grants, gave presentations on the new grants programs and how to apply for grants.  One of the presenters was our tour leader, Past District Governor, Brad Howard. 

This was Brad’s 18^th trip to West Africa. Brad, who is president of Howard Tours, is and exceptional Rotarian and leader.  Sunday was devoted to visiting the approximately 36 booths from clubs throughout West Africa that are seeking international partners to fund projects.   The clubs were from Nigeria, Togo, Liberia, and Ghana.  

 

Many of projects are to provide potable water, sanitation and schools.  Sunday night was an international celebration of Rotary and its achievements in providing health and humanitarian projects in West Africa. 

 

I was lucky to have a smart, articulate, talented and very beautiful Nigerian Rotarian, Oyindamola Opadiran, as my dinner companion.  After the dinner, we went downstairs to the bar and sang songs at the piano.  She is a much better singer than I, but my voice lessons are resulting in some improvement in my singing (I think).

 

 Monday was the polio immunization day. We rode the bus for two hours to a rural village that was designated by the World Health Organization for immunization based on a risk assessment. We had seen adult victims of polio along the road. This was a mop up immunization of about 1,000 children ages 5 and under.    About 50 mothers brought their children to the yard outside the village clinic and each of the 42 Rotarians gave a child two drops and marked their left thumb with an indelible pen. Then we broke into groups of three and walked door-to-door through the village seeking children under 6. I immunized about 30 children.


David giving polio vaccine



Vaccine carried in ice chest

  

The mothers were all cooperative and it is not a difficult task, except some of the children were frightened by the big white man, and cried and screamed.  Others enjoyed being held. It was an extremely rewarding experience to administer the drops.  Many of the children suffer from various illnesses, often related to lack of clean water and any waste disposal system.  

 

  Each group was accompanied by a health worker and a local Rotarian, who spoke French and the tribal language.  

 



Do I have to?



 

Health woker and lova Rotarian

On Tuesday morning we took a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to a rural village in the central plains at which the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne, Indiana, had completed two new classroom and a playground.  The children were very happy to see our group of Rotarians from North America.   Although just one of our group is a member of the club that sponsored the projects, the students saw us as representing all the Rotarians who built their new classrooms.  There were new desks in the classrooms that had to be removed every night to prevent them from being stolen.  Our group “passed the hat” and collected $1,800 to install doors and locks in the classrooms. We stopped at a small village for lunch and enjoyed an excellent meal under the trees. Tuesday night we went to a restaurant in town for our last dinner together. 

Wednesday morning we left the hotel early for a 2 hour bus ride to visit another school and village, and craft center. The school had three traditional thatched roof classrooms with no walls and two new built with donations from the European Union. When I sat down at a desk in the thatched roof classroom, the children piled onto my lap and back. 

 

They love touching, shaking hands, hugging, and having their picture taken.  Although they live in extreme poverty, the falmilies all have gardens and eat fairly well.  The major problems are lack of clean water, sanitation, and limited education. This school has 240 students in K-6, and six teachers, with limited qualifications.  Many children do not go to school beyond 6^th grade. 

We walked through the village and stopped to watch a weaver.  The prices were very low and most of us bought at least one woven scarf.  We rode another hour into the foothills to the to the town of Kpalime, which has a trade school for craftsman making pottery, wood carvings, jewelry, and batik.  I could not resist buying an African drum for $20. 

We stopped for lunch on the way back to the hotel, where I went for a swim in the pool, before going out to a farewell reception in the hotel.  At 7 p.m. we boarded the bus for the ride to the airport and the long flights home. 

The strongest impressions I have of this experience are the hundreds of laughing, chanting, singing children greeting us with such joy at each school we visited; the school children climbing on my lap and back and clinging to me; and the faces of the children to whom I gave the polio vaccine.  Rotary has, and will continue to make a difference in the lives of these children.  And they have made a difference in my life.

ROTARY WEST AFRICA PROJECT 2013

      After four flights and 36 hours of travel time, I arrived in Lome, the capital of Togo, west Africa. When I got off the plane at 9:45 p.m., I was greeted by the District Governor Elect, who escorted me into a VIP lounge, took my passport and quickly had immigration process my entry. Another Rotarian from Arkansas and I were then escorted to our hotel by four local Rotarians. My room is on the 10 floor and overlooks the city. Air conditioning, WIFI, king size bed, hair dryer, and all the comforts of a US 3 star hotel, but a little worn.

     The next morning, after an excellent breakfast at 6:30 a.m., we boarded a bus and first went to a voodoo center where traditional medicine is sold and administered. A local voodoo doctor gave us a talk on how the various parts of dead animals and plants are used and we purchased good luck charms, wellness stones, and totems with spells. I passed on the “African Viagra,” that is a stick from which a tea is made. Next we went for a bus tour of city and beach sites and the border into Ghana. 

     After lunch, we went to the U.S. embassy and met with the Ambassador, Bob Wagner, and his staff, for a two hour briefing on the politics, economy, and culture of Togo.   The Peace Corps director and two Peace Corps volunteers also gave a program on the Peace Corps in Togo, which works closely with the embassy. Togo has a population of about 6.2 million and 50% are under age 18. It has a presidential system of government in which power is centralized. The president initiates legislation, sends it to a unicameral legislative body for approval, then he signs it. Democracy has increased during the last 10 years and the last two recent elections went well.

      Lome, the capital, has a population of about 1.2 million and the only deep water port on the west coast of Africa. The U.S., under the supervision of the embassy, provides several programs and projects in Togo, including, training peace keepers, piracy prevention, family planning, HIV prevention, humanitarian projects, school development, prison reform, corruption prevention, and teacher development. The ambassador said that one of the goals for the U.S. programs is to promote a stable country that is a friend to the U.S. The Peace Corps is a separate agency that collaborates with the embassy. There are 84 Peace Corps volunteers in Togo, living in small villages and working with the Africans to develop agriculture development, education, HIV prevention, and managing national environmental reserves. 

 

    On our second day we rode our bus about an hour out of Lome to a village school. We were greeted by about 100 chanting, smiling, laughing children. Upon getting out of the bus we were mobbed and surrounded by the children who wanted to touch us, shake hands, and have their photos taken. We brought with us about a half ton of school supplies that our group of 42 Rotarians from the U.S. and Canada purchased and packed in their bags. The local Rotarians were in the process of building a class room of cinder blocks.

 

     Our tasks was to move about eight cubic yards of clay dirt from a pile, up a wood ramp, and dump and spread it for the base of the floor. The provided eights wheel barrows, shovels, and rakes. The temperature was about 85 degrees and humidity about 85%. We worked and sweated for about 2 hours, until we were out of dirt to move. Some of the Rotarians were not in top physical condition, but almost all pushed wheel barrows, raked, and shoveled. Those not physically able to do the manual labor sorted the school supplies.

 

 

                 

                

 About noon there was a formal presentation of the supplies to the school and speeches of appreciation for our work.  We had planned to have lunch there and work another couple of hours, but our lunches were left back in Lome and the contractor did not have any more work for us to do that afternoon.  So we hugged the children goodbye, and boarded our bus for the ride home.  The bus got stuck and we all got out and walked about half a mile until the bus was able to find another route and catch up with us.  

                    That night we were hosted by a Togo Rotary District at a reception.  Following the reception, I wandered down to the bar where I met four beautiful young Africans who were singing and playing the piano.  I practiced my newly learned singing skills and joined them in singing several songs.  Although I do not have the voice and skill they have, it was a joy to sing with them.