Thursday, February 28, 2008

A bit of general information...

Here is information about my program from the US Embassy in Togo...

Peace Corps Volunteers: Selection, Training and Service

Peace Corps Volunteers are U.S. selected from various age groups, backgrounds and experiences. They are sent to countries according to their skills and aptitudes and the development needs of these countries. Once they arrive in the host country, they participate in a ten-week language, technical, and cultural adjustment training program. At the end of this training, they swear in and agree to serve this country for two years. Peace Corps is responsible for Volunteer training and health care and provides modest living allowance. The host country community shares responsibility for Volunteer housing, safety and security.

Girl’s Education and Empowerment (GEE)

“A girl educated is a family educated; a family educated is a nation educated” Nowadays, this saying is no longer questioned as efforts are underway throughout in the world to promote girls’ education and empowerment. Peace Corps/ Togo initiated the Girls’ Education and Empowerment program in 1999 to promote these efforts through a variety of activities carried out in collaboration with the Togolese Ministry of Education.

The fundamental goal of this project is to provide for the full participation of women in the development process of Togo. Full participation occurs through an increase in access to education of all school age girls and an increase of the success rate of girls in both the formal and informal education sector.

GEE Volunteers collaborate with their Togolese counterparts to organize activities that raise awareness and provide community training to enable every child, whether male or female, to have access to education. GEE Volunteers organize group meetings, informal discussion groups, conferences, youth camps, income generating projects, scholarship funds and private tutorials to encourage girls to stay in school.