Kiva Stories from the Field

My name is Dalia Palchik and I’m the Kiva Fellow currently volunteering in Togo with Microfund Togo. I’ve been here since the end of April and will be staying through the end of May. I will be posting my new blog posts here, and to see my previous entries you can also visit my personal blog located at: http://www.lodedalia.blogspot.com.

16 May 2007

This picture was taken yesterday in the market with the last client that I visited who resells “gari,” tapioca, rice and beans in the market. I wanted to buy some tapioca from her, but she very generously offered it as a gift, so I also gave her a small gift I had brought with me from the US. She was very sweet and even helped me locate the women selling cloths so I could buy one that I wanted.

I can’t believe it’s already May 16…I leave in exactly two weeks from today. The time went by very slowly at first, but now it’s flying by…and the rains are here to stay. I’m supposed to be going to another city, and we were going to stay there with the director, but tomorrow is another holiday her (l’Ascension), so we will be returning tonight. I’m not sure how much I will get to do in the rain today, but I’m guessing I will at least get to see some clients who live inside the city. This work really takes much more time and is more tiring than I’d expected, but going out to the small poor village is the most rewarding as well.

I think the one thing that I really regret, and that I’d said to myself I wouldn’t do again when I was traveling through Eastern Europe, is to be in a country where I don’t at least partially speak the language. Of course I speak French, and that is the official language here. But the unofficial and the language used in the vernacular is Ewe, and I’ve been very slow to pick it up. I can basically say and understand good morning and thank you, but everything else is rusty. This basically means that I miss out on most of the daily conversations, and am often asking what’s been said (which I’m sure must get tiring after a while). People are very nice, however, and today I’m wearing an outfit the mom got me, and it’s very pretty and keeps me cool. Next week I will try to go get some clothes tailored.

Well, not much else for now. I’m getting very used to being here and I’m very happy that the motorcycle present is working out. Thank you to all who have already donated money, I know we have passed the $600 mark and the first bike has already been purchased. The second bike should be ready by next week (it takes me a few days to take the money out of my account). To make a donation for the motorcycle gift to Microfund Togo: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr

(Photo: Women making the local dish Fou Fou by pounding cooked cassava root in the market.)

Best wishes to all.

Dalia