togolese republic of west africa

Hey!

So I know that I promised you more information about Togo and here it is. I apologize for taking so long (and trust me, it shouldn't have taken me very long since there is very little to say about the country) but the Peace Corps had me running around the past two weeks scrambling to get paperwork turned into them. Like I've said before, the Peace Corps has incredible timing *note the hint of sarcasm*. Not only did I have to turn in my aspiration statement and updated resume to the PC Togo Office, I also had to turn in all my visa and passport forms into SATO Travel. Unfortunately PC sent me the wrong forms in the mail (they has JUST updated the passport forms) so I had to redo them at the post office. Then I kinda got freaked out because even though I filled out the DS-11 because I wanted to keep my personal American Passport (the PC issues all volunteer government passports) for travel before I head to Togo (I'm planning a trip to Costa Rica to visit Michelle), they took up my passport as proof of citizenship. So I really hope I get it back before May!!!

Anyways, enough Peace Corps drama...welcome to the lovely country of Togo:

Togo - "Travail, Liberte, Patrie"/"Work, Liberty, Homeland"

Official Name: Le Republique Togolaise or Togolese Republic

Official Language: French (but they speak a variety of Gbe languages across the country such as Ewe, Mina and Kabiye)*

Location: Togo is located on the "Slave Coast" in West Africa, bordered by Ghana to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Benin to the east and the Bight of Benin to the south.

Capital: Lome

Population: 5.7 million

Area: 56, 785 km^2

Government: Democratic Republic (President Faure Gnassingbe & Prime Minister Komlan Mally)**

Highest Point/Lowest Point: Mt. Agou (986 m)/Atlantic Ocean (0 m)

Human Development Index: 0.512 (152/175 in 2007)

Currency: CFA Franc (655.957 CFA franc = 1 euro)

Economy: Subsistence/commercial agriculture; main exports include cotton, coffee, cocao, phosphate (4th largest producer in the world)

Religion: Christianity (29%); Islam (21%); Animism/Indigenous Beliefs (50%)

Health Statistics:-

Birth Rate/Death Rate: 36.83/1000 ; 9.65/1000

Life Expectancy (male/female): 57.86 years (55.81 years/59.96 years)

HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence: 4.1% = ~110,000 people living with HIV/AIDS (2003 est.)

Major Infectious Diseases: HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Schistosomiasis, Guinea Worm, Meningococcal Meningitis, Typhoid Fever, Hepatitis A & Diarrhea

Other Interesting Pieces of Information:

- Togo is approximately the size of West Virginia

- Togo is one of Peace Corps' longest running programs of uninterrupted service (~40 years) meaning the PC has never had to evacuate from the country; this is impressive since PC is typically one of the first programs to leave at the slightest hint of violence.

- Although African voodoo-ism (as opposed to the more prolific Haitian/Creole voodoo-ism) originated in Benin, it is practiced widely throughout the country

- Togo sprung onto the international sports arena when it qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany

*Point of Information: French Togoland was made up of approximately 37 different tribes stacked horizontally across the west coast. When the amazingly smart Europeans decided to cut up Africa into countries such as Togo & Benin, they did so vertically, instead of partitioning them along the horizontal tribal boundaries. This is why many West African tribes are dispersed between several countries. In Togo, as you travel north, not only does the scenery change but so does the language.

**Many people have been asking me if Togo is a stable democracy and the answer is, right now, yes. Togo recieved it's independance from France on April 27th, 1960. Since independance it was stable until 2005 when the ruling "president" for about 40 years, Eyadema Gnassingbe, died of a heart attack throwing the country into "unrest". His son Faure was installed as president by the military against parliamentary procedure but after months of sanctions from the international community, free elections were held and Faure won.

In other interesting news, my friend Megan who I've been talking with for a few months since we had similar nominations is headed to Lesotho in June for Community Health & Economic Development. Additionally, my co-worker Pete recieved an invitation for Fiji in May for New Resource Management! I am so excited for the both of them and wish they weren't in countries so far away so that I could have visited lol. Okay, that's it for now folks! I'll have more interesting and pertinent information when I actually get to Togo in June.

ciao,

-Nikhil