Recently I was joined in Lomé by my friend and fellow ELF John, who had flown in from Côte d’Ivoire for a visit. Amidst the shop talk and relaxing in Lomé, we got to be a part of two great events for university students here.
The first was a film screening and discussion hosted by the Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy. The forty or so attendees watched a documentary about the film “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression in Opportunity for Women Worldwide”, which was inspired by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s book of the same name. Both the book and documentary examine the lives of women all over the world and chronicle their various ways of dealing with oppression. For more information, see this website: http://www.halftheskymovement.org/.
Afterwards we discussed the main themes of the film and how its principles might be applied to life in Togo. It was incredibly heartening to see how many young men in particular attended the event and had firm beliefs about the contributions women should be allowed to make to society. One by one, they raised their hands, often standing up, and stated that they would like to take steps to bring this development about. Several also shared personal stories on the topic.
John and I were supposed to do a full workshop for English teachers, but unfortunately we had to cancel it due to schools being closed in Lomé (related to the upcoming presidential election). However, we had the pleasure of leading university students at the American Corner in some interactive activities. John had brought the Activate! games pack and we guided the students in many different challenges that had them think critically and express information about themselves in English. For many of them, it was their first time experiencing a board game format, so we began with instructions on how to move tokens, the way to progress around the board, and what using dice involved. It seemed to be a success….
Also, here ya go John: experiencing the streets of Lome for the first time :
CHLOE GOES 