Since Togo is a razor-thin country, travelling to the far north takes just as much time as driving a few countries east and west. I had never been all the way up to Togo’s northernmost city, Dapoang (da-POWng), until this same trip to Kara. A few of my colleagues joined me from the embassy and we drove up to meet with some schools.
After the mountains of Kara, the ground levels out and takes on the trappings of arid savannah. This makes sense, as a few more hours north and suddenly you’re entering the Sahel, a region that serves as a boundary between the Sahara desert and the greener areas down south.
But in this region of Togo, the northern desert remains a whisper, peering between the flaccid corn stalks and machete clipped grasses on either side of the main highway between Kara and Dapaong.
Since I was visiting Dapaong for the first time, it was great to meet teachers here and to discuss with them the same topics I’d been working on farther south.
We met at CEG (middle school) Dapaong Ville, a small public school near the center of town. About twenty-five teachers attended, who journeyed from several school districts around Dapaong. We spent a few hours sharing about the challenges of teaching in Togo and ways to encourage student participation. Here are a few shots from one event:
This was most likely my last trip very far “upcountry” before leaving Togo, so I’m happy to have gotten some photos and met new teachers and officials. English teaching will go on in these regions. I hope these sessions have encouraged them to try new things in their classes and to continue to meet with each other as well.
CHLOE GOES 