トーゴでのNGOインターンの報告書

今さらって感じですが・・・

帰国してから思っていたより頻繁に「トーゴのインターンで何してたの」って聞かれるのと、今になってアイセック東京大学委員会のウェブサイトにこのブログへのリンクが貼られていることに気付いたので、ちゃんとした研修報告書を載せておこうかな、と思い立ちました。

トーゴにいる間に書いて、アイセックに提出した研修報告書です。ワードで全長16ページの大作になりました。大学のレポートでもそんなに書いたことないよ。

ほんとは「ここをクリック」とかやってファイルが開けるようなかっこいい仕様にしたかったんだけど、やり方がわからないのでただのこぴぺになりました。ブロガーって字数制限ないのかな。

えいやっ

INTERNSHIP REPORT

January 3, 2009

Rena TAKIGUCHI

CONTENTS

1. Internship summary

2. Objectives of the internship

3. Activity report

3.1. JADI

3.1.1. Organization description

3.1.2. Activities and jobs

3.2. Le Responsable

3.2.1. Organization description

3.2.2. Activities and jobs

3.3. CILSIIDA

3.3.1. Organization description

3.3.2. Activities and jobs

4. Journal

5. Outcomes and overall remarks

1. INTERNSHIP SUMMARY

Country of internship Togo

Duration July 25, 2008 to January 3, 2009 (163 days)

Organizations

§ JADI (July 25 to October 14, 2008)

§ Le Responsable (August 17 to September 6 and September 22 to October 14, 2008)

è Of the total of 82 days at JADI, the intern was transferred to Le Responsable for 44 days on decision of the executive director of JADI.

§ CILSIDA (October 15, 2008 to January 3, 2009, 81 days)

è This transference is due to the cancellation of the contract with JADI. (For details see 5. Outcomes and Overall Remarks.)

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERNSHIP

1. To obtain management skills of NGOs such as organization management, project management and team management

2. To contribute the experiences and skills of the intern to management and/or activities of the organization

3. To gain information and knowledge on development issues in Togo

4. To experience the culture of Togo

5. To learn the languages of Togo (official French and traditional Ewe)

3. ACTIVITY REPORT

3.1.JADI (Jeunesse en Action pour le Développement Integré)

3.1.1. Organization description

Location Lomé (District of Adidogomé) and Dougba

Foundation 1997

Objectives

§ To reinforce the role of young people through involving them as principal actors in the process of economic and socio-cultural development

§ To give a qualification to young people

§ To carry out a cultural exchange and cooperation among young people

§ To ensure young people’s self-promotion

§ To ensure the health of young people: to fight against sexual labor, STI/HIV/AIDS, malaria and others

Members

§ Executive Director: Stéphane

§ Lomé members

- Marius

- Ireine

- Benois

- Lao (Togolese intern)

§ Dougba members

- Approximately 10 peer educators (villagers)

3.1.2. Activities and jobs

Name	Training of peer educators on HIV/AIDS and communication techniques
Date	Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Venue	Dougba
Description & Remarks	The executive director of JADI gave lectures to young villagers of Dougba to train them as peer educators on HIV/AIDS. The content was comprehensive and very interesting but a little cramming for a half-day session. Considering the length of our stay in Dougba, it could have been done in several days instead of only in one day.
Involvement	§ Presence

Name	Awareness talk in Kponvié
Date	Thursday, July 31, 2008
Venue	Dougba
Description & Remarks	The following day of the training was set to put into practice what the young peer educators had learned in the training. In the village of Kponvié near Dougba, peer educators gave speeches on HIV/AIDS to around 40 villagers young and old alike, and gave out leaflets and condoms. The regrettable thing is that we could not visit more than one village on the contrary to the initial plan to visit several villages nearby. The executive director alone went to ask permission of the chiefs of the villages but if the job had been shared by some other members it might have been more efficient and successful.
Involvement	§ Presence

Name	Cultural festival “Tradition sans SIDA” (Tradition without AIDS)
Date	Saturday, August 2, 2008
Venue	Dougba
Description & Remarks	Events in which organizers take advantage of attractiveness of Togo’s rich culture to reach out to the grass-roots population take place fairly often in Togo, and this event “Tradition sans SIDA” was not an exception. With the financial aid from the other intern at JADI from the Netherlands, this cultural festival invited around 10 villages near Dougba, 4 of which actually participated in the event. The festival was composed of traditional “Bobobo” music and dance performances by the participating villages, awareness talks on HIV/AIDS by the executive director of JADI during the intervals, and the awarding ceremony in the end. The fund from the Dutch intern was used for T-shirts, motivation for invited villages, transports, winner prizes, etc. The festival was by and large successful, but the lack of transparency in every aspects of organization of the event was seriously problematic.
Involvement	§ Presence § Cleaning

Name	Awareness talk in Hlonvié
Date	Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Venue	Dougba
Description & Remarks	The peer educators and interns took their initiative to organize another opportunity for awareness talks. A day before the talk or two, we visited villages near Dougba to ask for permission of the village chiefs with 500F CFA each for necessary procedures. On the day of the talk the peer educators and interns had formed two teams and my team with three peer educators visited the village of Hlonvié. The peer educators talked in turn of symptoms, consequences, and the ways of transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS in front of approximately 70 villagers. After answering the questions by villagers we distributed condoms. One of the greatest significance of this activity is that the peer educators organized everything on their own will, unlike how they normally participated in activities, which were organized by the executive director alone. It proved that the peer educators have the enough capacity to organize things on their own and gave them experience and confidence.
Involvement	§ Funding of 2000F CFA used for the permission fees to the chiefs and buying condoms § Visit to the chiefs § Presence at the talk

Name	AIDS tests
Date	Tuesday & Wednesday, September 9 & 10, 2008
Venue	Toutou and Adéta (villages near Dougba)
Description & Remarks	The executive director invited the organization PSI (Population Service International) to have free AIDS tests for the people in villages near Dougba. In Toutou two HIV positives were found out of 73 people who took the test, and in Adéta two out of 84. Roughly calculating from the results of the tests, there would be one HIV positive in every 40 people. Although the infection rate is little by little decreasing in Togo according to the Togolese intern at JADI, this number is still not very small. As a way of prevention AIDS tests are always available at hospitals but taking it is not easy for the majority of people because of the relatively high cost, therefore providing the opportunities for free was beneficial. This was also an opportunity for me to realize that the propagation of HIV/AIDS runs deep in everyday life in Togo.
Involvement	§ Assistance at registration desk

3.2.Le Responsable

3.2.1. Organization description

Location Sanguéra

Objectives

§ To promote the rights of children

§ To fight against AIDS

Members

§ President: Selestin

§ Secretary-General: Abdel

§ Treasurer: Raymond

3.2.2. Activities and jobs

Name	Awareness talk
Date	Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Description & Remarks	One afternoon the members of Le Responsable invited pupils to an awareness talk on HIV/AIDS. There were 23 participants, and a member talked about ways of infection and prevention. If they had first talked about the symptoms of AIDS and explained why it was so scary thus why it is important and necessary to prevent it, it would have been more effective.
Involvement	§ Presence

Name	Creation of website
Description & Remarks	Le Responsable organized an international work camp in the previous year and despite the willingness to make it an annual event, they were encountering some difficulties mainly because they no longer had a partner in Europe to help them gather participants. We have come to an idea that they could do the public relations and application process online. With this website created, they are more independent and have greater opportunity to reach out not only to potential participants of the camp but also to potential partners and donors. The URL: responsable.weebly.com
Involvement	§ Creation § Editing instruction § Advising on contents

Name	Meeting on international work camp
Date	Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Description & Remarks	I facilitated a meeting on the international work camp that they were trying to realize next year, whose agenda was how to draw attention of potential participants. Using techniques of brainstorming and prioritizing, they came to a conclusion to make a poster with a catchphrase “Why go to Africa?” and to send it out via email to their acquaintances and some organizations in French-speaking Europe.
Involvement	§ Facilitation

Name	Organization of a conference
Description & Remarks	To take advantage of my experiences in Japan, the president of Le Responsable proposed organizing a conference on youth and development. I made and handed in two documents, “International Context of Youth Participation in Development” and “Conference Proposal” in French. After having had several meetings with the co-organizer “Groupe Oxygène Togo – Voix du Peuple” to discuss the detailed contents of the conference and having found the financial means i.e. the aid from “Francophonie”, and before the logistic details of the conference e.g. date and venue were fixed, I had to leave Le Responsable due to the cancellation of the contract with JADI. After this the members of Le Responsable went out of contact and regrettably this conference was apparently abandoned.
Involvement	§ Writing the proposal and background information § Participation in the preparation meetings

3.3.CILSIDA (Club Initié pour la Lutte contre le SIDA)

3.3.1. Organization description

Location Lomé (District of Adamavo)

Foundation June, 2003 by 10 founding members

Purpose

§ To contribute to social, economic and cultural well-being of young people with a view to human, cultural and participative development

Objectives

§ To fight against STIs and HIV/AIDS

§ To fight against child trade and traffic

§ To promote rights and duties of children

§ To create centers of leisure, information, AIDS test and monitoring and taking care of children

§ To encourage and support young people’s private initiatives

§ To develop and cultivate friendship, mind of tolerance and solidarity, teamwork and initiative work

Means of action

§ To inform, raise awareness of and train the grass-roots population

§ To organize seminars, symposiums, conferences and debates

§ To collaborate with authorities, the media, local governments, NGOs, national and international associations and institutions

§ To create informational publication

§ To participate in radio and television programs

§ To organize competitions

Members Approximately 30 in total

§ Board of Directors (Conseil d’Administration; CA)

- President: Mr. Saka

- Vice-President: Prosper

- Secretary-General: Nadia

- Deputy Secretary: Dimitry

- Treasurer-General: Emil

- Deputy Treasurer: Yolande

§ Executive Board (Bureau Exécutif; BE)

- Executive Director: Antoine

- Program Director: Eric

- Accounting Secretary: Ornella

3.3.2. Activities and jobs

* Activity related to the “club of extra-scholastic young and adolescent girls of Adamavo”

⁺ See individual activity report for details

Name	Capacity reinforcement workshop for members of the club of extra-scholastic young and adolescent girls of Adamavo on sexual and reproductive health and interpersonal communication *+
Name in Fr.	Atelier de renforcement des capacités des membres du club des jeunes filles et adolescentes extrascolaires d’Adamavo sur la santé sexuelle et reproductive et sur la communication interpersonnelle
Date	October 13-17, 2008
Venue	Terrasse Millenium d’Adamavo
Involvement	Participation § Day 4 and 5 Documentation § Proofreading of the report § Translation of the report into English

Name	Survey in the community of Adamavo for the cartography of young wives and mothers *+
Name in Fr.	Sondage dans la communauté d’Adamavo pour la cartographie des adolescentes mariées
Date	October 21 to 29, 2008
Venue	9 districts in the community of Adamavo
Involvement	Preparation § Survey data collection sheet (Fiche de collecte des données) Implementation § The district of Adamavo with Ornella and Prisca Documentation § Results of survey § Episodes of the survey (Les histoires du sondage) § Activity report § Translation of the activity report and survey analysis into English

Name	Home visits of young wives and mothers *
Name in Fr.	Visite à domicile des adolescentes marries
Date	December, 2008
Venue	9 districts in the community of Adamavo
Involvement	Preparation § Report format of individual home visit (Fiche de VAD) Implementation § The district of Kagomé § The district of Adamavo

Name	Monthly meetings of the club of extra-scholastic young and adolescent girls of Adamavo *+
Name in Fr.	Rencontrés mensuelles du club des jeunes filles et adolescentes extrascolaire d’Adamavo
Date	October 6, November 3 and December 1, 2008 (First Monday of the month)
Venue	CMS (Centre Médico-Social) Adamavo
Involvement	Participation § Meetings of November and December Documentation § Report of November meeting § Translation of reports of October and November meetings into English

Name	World Day Prevention Child Abuse +
Name in Fr.	Journée mondiale prévention des abus envers les enfants
Date	November 19, 2008
Venue	C.E.G. Sainte Angèle, Adamavo
Involvement	Preparation § Writing the plot of sketches § Sketch practices § Invitation for parents Participation § Photographing Documentation § Activity report § Translation of report into English

Name	World AIDS Day +
Name in Fr.	Journée mondiale du SIDA
Date	December 1, 2008
Venue	6 secondary schools (Eureka groupe A et B, Eureka groupe C, Le Pont, Portique, Sainte Angèle and Saint Pierre et Paul) in Adamavo
Involvement	Participation § Giving speech on HIV/AIDS at Sainte Angèle Documentation § Activity report § Translation of activity report

Name	Distribution of stationery contributed by Mr. Hirama
Date	December 19 and 22, 2008
Venue	Office of CILSIDA and C.E.G. Sainte Angèle
Involvement	Preparation § Negotiations with Mr. Hirama Participation § Short speech at Sainte Angèle

Name	Meeting of Executive Board and Board of Directors
Name in Fr.	Réunion du Bureau Exécutif et le Conseil d’Administration
Date	October 19, November 2 and 23, 2008
Venue	Office of CILSIDA
Agenda	October 19 § Reflection on the training § Preparation for the survey November 2 § Reflection on the survey and following activities § Dismissal of Nella § Introduction of Rena § Briefing of CNJ meeting § Nov. 19 November 23 § Progress of ongoing activities (Fondation de France and routine activities) § Professionalism
Involvement	§ Participation

Name	General assembly
Name in Fr.	Assemblée Générale
Date	November 30, 2008
Venue	Office of CILSIDA
Agenda	§ Annual camp § World AIDS Day
Involvement	§ Participation

Name	Annual camp
Name in Fr.	Sortie annuelle
Date	December 26-28, 2008
Venue	Gbodjomé
Agenda	§ Reflection on the activities implemented in the year 2008 § Elaboration of the action plan and the budget for the year 2009
Involvement	§ Participation

Name	Translation of documents
Involvement	§ Translation of 8 documents into English § Introduction of PULP

Name	Preparation for the reception of the incoming intern
Involvement	§ Writing the invitation letter for her visa

4. JOURNAL

	Date	Day	Location	Activities / jobs
1	25/07/08	Fri	Adidogomé	Arrival in Togo
2	26/07/08	Sat	Adidogomé	Introduction of JADI
3	27/07/08	Sun	Adidogomé
4	28/07/08	Mon	Adidogomé
5	29/07/08	Tue	Dougba
6	30/07/08	Wed	Dougba	Training for peer educators on HIV/AIDS and techniques of communication
7	31/07/08	Thu	Dougba	Awareness talk on HIV/AIDS in Kponvie
8	01/08/08	Fri	Dougba
9	02/08/08	Sat	Dougba	“Tradition Sans SIDA”: Bobobo Festival
10	03/08/08	Sun	Dougba
11	04/08/08	Mon	Adidogomé
12	05/08/08	Tue	Dougba	(Personal Trip)
13	06/08/08	Wed	Atakpamé	(Personal Trip)
14	07/08/08	Thu	Atakpamé	(Personal Trip)
15	08/08/08	Fri	Kpalimé
16	09/08/08	Sat	Agou	Traditional festival of voodoo
17	10/08/08	Sun	Agou	Awareness talk at Red Cross
18	11/08/08	Mon	Dougba
19	12/08/08	Tue	Dougba	Awareness talk on HIV/AIDS in Hlonvie by peer educators
20	13/08/08	Wed	Dougba
21	14/08/08	Thu	Adidogomé	Training on brainstorming by Jeannette (the other intern at JADI from the Netherlands) and on “concepts de base en matière de planification / gestion des programmes” by Stéphane (executive director of JADI)
22	15/08/08	Fri	Adidogomé
23	16/08/08	Sat	Adidogomé
24	17/08/08	Sun	Sanguéra	Transference to Le Responsible
25	18/08/08	Mon	Sanguéra
26	19/08/08	Tue	Sanguéra	Summer school, Awareness talk on HIV/AIDS, Creation of website
27	20/08/08	Wed	Sanguéra	Summer school, Editing of website
28	21/08/08	Thu	Sanguéra	Training on project analysis by Selestin (president of Le Responsable)
29	22/08/08	Fri	Sanguéra
30	23/08/08	Sat	Sanguéra
31	24/08/08	Sun	Sanguéra	Miss Sanguéra
32	25/08/08	Mon	Sanguéra
33	26/08/08	Tue	Sanguéra
34	27/08/08	Wed	Sanguéra
35	28/08/08	Thu	Sanguéra
36	29/08/08	Fri	Sanguéra	Visit to the area damaged by the heavy rain in Agoé
37	30/08/08	Sat	Sanguéra
38	31/08/08	Sun	Sanguéra	Meeting on the conference with Groupe Oxygène
39	01/09/08	Mon	Sanguéra
40	02/09/08	Tue	Sanguéra
41	03/09/08	Wed	Sanguéra	Meeting on the “camp chantier” (international work camp)
42	04/09/08	Thu	Kpalimé	(Personal trip with AIESEC Japan)
43	05/09/08	Fri	Kpalimé	(Personal trip with AIESEC Japan)
44	06/09/08	Sat	Sanguéra
45	07/09/08	Sun	Dougba	Back to JADI
46	08/09/08	Mon	Dougba
47	09/09/08	Tue	Dougba	Free HIV/AIDS test in Toutou
48	10/09/08	Wed	Dougba	Free HIV/AIDS test in Adéta
49	11/09/08	Thu	Dougba
50	12/09/08	Fri	Dougba
51	13/09/08	Sat	Dougba
52	14/09/08	Sun	Dougba
53	15/09/08	Mon	Dougba
54	16/09/08	Tue	Dougba
55	17/09/08	Wed	Dougba
56	18/09/08	Thu	Dougba
57	19/09/08	Fri	Atakpamé	(Personal trip)
58	20/09/08	Sat	Atakpamé	(Personal trip)
59	21/09/08	Sun	Atakpamé	(Personal trip)
60	22/09/08	Mon	Sanguéra	Re-transference to Le Responsible
61	23/09/08	Tue	Sanguéra
62	24/09/08	Wed	Sanguéra
63	25/09/08	Thu	Sanguéra	Meeting on the conference with Groupe Oxygène
64	26/09/08	Fri	Sanguéra
65	27/09/08	Sat	Sanguéra
66	28/09/08	Sun	Sanguéra
67	29/09/08	Mon	Sanguéra
68	30/09/08	Tue	Sanguéra
69	01/10/08	Wed	Sanguéra
70	02/10/08	Thu	Sanguéra	Meeting on the conference with Groupe Oxygène, Conference at CCF
71	03/10/08	Fri	Sanguéra
72	04/10/08	Sat	Sanguéra	(Malaria)
73	05/10/08	Sun	Sanguéra	(Malaria)
74	06/10/08	Mon	Sanguéra	(Malaria)
75	07/10/08	Tue	Sanguéra	(Malaria)
76	08/10/08	Wed	Sanguéra	(Malaria)
77	09/10/08	Thu	Sanguéra	Meeting on the conference
78	10/10/08	Fri	Sanguéra
79	11/10/08	Sat	Sanguéra
80	12/10/08	Sun	Sanguéra
81	13/10/08	Mon	Sanguéra
82	14/10/08	Tue	Sanguéra
83	15/10/08	Wed	Adamavo	Transference to CILSIDA
84	16/10/08	Thu	Adamavo	Training of extra-scholastic young and adolescent girls (JFAE) of Adamavo
85	17/10/08	Fri	Adamavo	Training of extra-scholastic young and adolescent girls (JFAE) of Adamavo
86	18/10/08	Sat	Adamavo
87	19/10/08	Sun	Adamavo	Meeting of Executive Board (BE) and Board of Directors (CA): reflection on the training, preparation for the survey
88	20/10/08	Mon	Adamavo	Transfer of pictures, survey sheet, meeting on the survey with JFAE at CMS (15:00-17:00), making badges for the survey
89	21/10/08	Tue	Adamavo	Survey in the district of Adamavo, post office
90	22/10/08	Wed	Adamavo	Survey in the district of Adamavo
91	23/10/08	Thu	Adamavo	Survey in the district of Adamavo, input of the survey data
92	24/10/08	Fri	Adamavo	Raffinerie (Kossivi), input of the survey data, transfer of data from Antoine’s USB to the computer, meeting on the sketches for Nov. 19 with young girls
93	25/10/08	Sat	Adamavo
94	26/10/08	Sun	Adamavo
95	27/10/08	Mon	Adamavo	Survey in the district of Adamavo, balance sheet 2007, report for JADI
96	28/10/08	Tue	Adamavo	Report and letter for JADI, lines of the sketches
97	29/10/08	Wed	Adamavo	Balance sheet 2007, winner list of the spelling competition, input of the survey data, lines of the sketches, invitation to the awarding ceremony Nov. 19, sketch practice
98	30/10/08	Thu	Adamavo	Meeting on the census and impregnation of mosquito nets at CMS, attestation of married girls project, visit to JADI, middle school homework
99	31/10/08	Fri	Adamavo	Middle school homework, survey results (number of: pregnant + living with parents / husband, needs), blog, sketch practice, difficulties of the survey
100	01/11/08	Sat	Adamavo	Census on mosquito nets
101	02/11/08	Sun	Adamavo	Meeting BE/CA: reflection on the survey and following activities, dismissal of Nella, introduction of Rena, CNJ meeting, Nov. 19
102	03/11/08	Mon	Adamavo	Contract with CILSIDA, blog, invitations to Nov. 19, monthly meeting (RM) JFAE
103	04/11/08	Tue	Adamavo	First day for Mabella, report of RM, start of this journal
104	05/11/08	Wed	Adamavo	AIESEC evaluation, report of the survey, sketch practice, invitation of parents to the sketches (Ref.N° 62/08/CILSIDA/TG)
105	06/11/08	Thu	Adamavo	Report of the training, cyber (sending AIESEC evaluation), visit of Selestin
106	07/11/08	Fri	Adamavo	Last day for Nella, Ste Pieere homework, report of the survey, episodes of the survey, activity reports 06/07 for CNLS-IST, sketch practice
107	08/11/08	Sat	Ada/Accra	Meeting of HIV positives in Baguida, departure to Accra
108	09/11/08	Sun	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
109	10/11/08	Mon	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
110	11/11/08	Tue	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
111	12/11/08	Wed	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
112	13/11/08	Thu	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
113	14/11/08	Fri	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
114	15/11/08	Sat	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
115	16/11/08	Sun	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
116	17/11/08	Mon	Accra	(Personal trip to Ghana)
117	18/11/08	Tue	Accra/Ada	(Personal trip to Ghana)
118	19/11/08	Wed	Adamavo	Visa extension, World Day Prevention Child Abuse
119	20/11/08	Thu	Adamavo	Pic transfer, report of Nov. 19, English homework, visa pickup
120	21/11/08	Fri	Adamavo	Reading “Se Dévouer aux Autres N° 1 : Paroles Positives”, report format of home visit, report Nov. 19
121	22/11/08	Sat	Adamavo
122	23/11/08	Sun	Adamavo	Home visits in the district of Kagomé, meeting BE/CA: progress of ongoing activities (Fondation de France, routine activities), professionalism, others
123	24/11/08	Mon	Adamavo	Airport, translation of reports RM into English
124	25/11/08	Tue	Adamavo	Translation of reports Nov.19, survey and training into Eng.
125	26/11/08	Wed	Adamavo	Impregnation of mosquito nets, translation of report of the training
126	27/11/08	Thu	Adamavo	Impregnation of mosquito nets (all day)
127	28/11/08	Fri	Adamavo	Impregnation of mosquito nets, translation report of the training
128	29/11/08	Sat	Adamavo
129	30/11/08	Sun	Adamavo	General Assembly: annual trip, World AIDS Day
130	01/12/08	Mon	Adamavo	World AIDS Day: speech at schools, event at CMS; RM; cyber
131	02/12/08	Tue	Adamavo	Report WAD/RM/internship, translation report of the training (finished)
132	03/12/08	Wed	Adamavo	Translation statute
133	04/12/08	Thu	Adamavo	Translation statute, proofreading study of the survey, report of internship
134	05/12/08	Fri	Adamavo	Round Table of Young Girls of Togo against HIV/AIDS, visit to Hirama san
135	06/12/08	Sat	Adamavo
136	07/12/08	Sun	Adamavo	Nadia’s b-day party
137	08/12/08	Mon	Adamavo	(Tabaski – no work)
138	09/12/08	Tue	Adamavo	Report of internship, invitation letter for Emma (new intern), translation study of the survey
139	10/12/08	Wed	Adamavo	Translation of the study of the survey (continued), report of internship
140	11/12/08	Thu	Adamavo	Visit to the elementary school of supported girl, translation survey study
141	12/12/08	Fri	Adamavo	Translation survey study (finished), English homework, invitation letter for Emma
142	13/12/08	Sat	Adamavo
143	14/12/08	Sun	Adamavo
144	15/12/08	Mon	Adamavo	Translation activity report World AIDS Day, internship report, CD burning (Nov.19)
145	16/12/08	Tue	Adamavo	Home visits to 3 young wives/mothers in the district of Adamavo
146	17/12/08	Wed	Adamavo	Organization info, table of activities of CILSIDA (for Lien), internship report
147	18/12/08	Thu	Adamavo	Visit to elementary school, visit of Hirama san, delivery and sorting of stationery
148	19/12/08	Fri	Adamavo	(Personal trip to Sokodé with Hirama san)
149	20/12/08	Sat	Adamavo	(Personal trip to Sokodé with Hirama san)
150	21/12/08	Sun	Adamavo	Visit to drumming & dancing practice
151	22/12/08	Mon	Adamavo	Distribution of stationery at Ste Angèle with Hirama san
152	23/12/08	Tue	Adamavo	Post office, photo transfer, “evaluation de stage”
153	24/12/08	Wed	Adamavo	“Evaluation de stage”, internship report
154	25/12/08	Thu	Adamavo	(Christmas – no work)
155	26/12/08	Fri	Gbodjomé	Annual camp: Reflection on the activities 2008
156	27/12/08	Sat	Gbodjomé	Annual camp: Elaboration of the action plan and budget 2009
157	28/12/08	Sun	Gbodjomé	Annual camp: Briefing of training on project management by Prosper
158	29/12/08	Mon	Adamavo	Visit to Hirama san, holiday fair with AIESEC, signature on the contract and reception of the certificate of internship
159	30/12/08	Tue	Adamavo	Photo transfer, internship report
160	31/12/08	Wed	Adamavo	Internship report, visit of Laban, gift exchange
161	01/01/09	Thu	Adamavo	(New Year’s Day – no work)
162	02/01/09	Fri	Adamavo	Internship report, home visit
163	03/01/09	Sat	Adamavo	Visit to a honorary member
164	04/01/09	Sun	Ada/Accra	Departure from Lomé

5. OUTCOMES AND OVERALL REMARKS

As described in the above, my internship is divided into two periods by the cancellation of the contract with the first organization JADI, i.e. the first half in JADI and Le Responsable and the latter half in CILSIDA.

For the first half, I appreciate the opportunities to experience different ways of life in different places of the country. It was exceptionally interesting to compare the life in the urban area (Lomé and Sanguéra) and that in the rural area (Dougba) and through this experience I have learned the diversity of Togo. For example I have found three major characteristics of the rural life. People in the rural area seemed to have more interdependent relations with each other in the village. Everybody knew everybody, and things of necessity were often shared with or borrowed from friends, relatives or neighbors. Also, the life seemed to be dominated less by the monetary economy. While in the urban area almost everything was obtained by paying money, in the rural area the self-sufficient economy was more or less existent. I have also noticed the lack of entertainment in the rural area. People had nothing to do in their free time (and probably because of the high unemployment rate and maybe also because it was during the summer vacation when I stayed there, they had plenty of free time no matter which age group they belonged to), but to sit outside or sleep, without any productive activities. For this reason having the office of JADI, where they could have opportunities to do some activities seemed a very good idea, and it was very regrettable that this advantage was not appreciated very much by the villagers.

On the other hand of this fruitful cultural experience, however, I could not make the most of the fact that I am on the internship in an NGO mainly in two aspects as follows; one, compared to the time I had spent the number of activities or jobs that I was able to get involved in was extremely small. I was forced to spend most of the time not even knowing if there was anything planned at all or not. Two, regarding the most of the activities in which I got to participate, what I was expected to do was only to “see” how things were organized and run and I could not contribute my knowledge and experiences to those activities or to the organization at all. I think there are two major reasons for this. One is that I was often sent away from JADI and hardly had any time to discuss with the executive director. The other is the disorganization of things. Planning of the conference with Le Responsable was a rare opportunity to fully commit myself in organization of an activity, and it is all the more regrettable that after my transference to CILSIDA its organization was given up by the members of Le Responsable.

The situation was very much improved after the transference to CILSIDA. With somewhat bitter memories of the fist half of my stay in Togo, I was very surprised and impressed to see CILSIDA’s activeness and well organization and to find that this organization had many qualities which were very difficult to see in other organizations that I knew here in Togo, such as frequent, active and frank communication among the members, sharing of work and responsibilities, punctuality, respect to the annual action plan in implementing projects and activities, and making of activity reports right after the activities are finished. Its comprehensive target setting and close relationship with the community are other things I found valuable of CILSIDA, as it serves as a kind of social safety net in this community, where there is no other organization playing such a significant role for the grass-roots population.

From what I know and what I have learned through my experiences of organization management in Japan and elsewhere, I suggest some improvements and new trials that can make CILSIDA an even better actor in this domain. The first thing of all is the capacity building of every member especially on independent and logical thinking. Without this skill, members are forced to follow the instruction of their leaders but this is not always the best way to take action on something. If every member is able to think on their own what to do and how to do it, the activities will be more efficient. Also, with the skill of logical thinking, action plans and activity organization could be more strategic thus more effective. Another suggestion is to make the most of its close relationship to the community, namely to analyze more deeply the situation of each target group so that the projects and activities would be based on the facts (and not on mere assumption). From this aspect the survey on young wives and mothers was very significant, and I expect that this kind of survey be expanded to other social groups such as OEV (orphans and vulnerable children), PVVIH (HIV positives), disabled persons, and so on.

As regards to my own learning, there are several things to remark. My jobs given at CILSIDA were satisfactory in general in that they were something that makes the most of my presence, although they were not necessarily in the way that I had expected in the beginning e.g. running a project on my own through which I would be able to share my skills and experiences with other members. In other words, I did something that would have been difficult or impossible for other people in the organization to do and that justified my raison d’être at CILSIDA. Translation of documents from French into English is one thing. Introduction of some connections with other people or organization is another. I am happy with the latter also because this value is sustainable, that is to say, these connections will help CILSIDA even after I leave Togo. In this aspect of sustainability it was equally delighting news that CILSIDA decided to make contract with AIESEC to continue receiving foreign interns.

Throughout my stay in Togo, I have noticed one thing that lies in every aspect of the issue of development and relations with foreign people or organizations, which is the presence of “orientalism”. The self-recognition of Togolese people in general seemed to me excessively negative and this conception is probably influenced by that of Western people. That is to say, because they hear the Westerners say that they are in extreme poverty and they need to be helped and guided by the Westerners, they became too independent on the outside world, namely developed countries. It may be true that Togo is one of the countries that are struggling and suffering, but my opinion is that this does not necessarily mean that they have to be so dependent on aids from developed countries as they are now, because this can lead to passiveness and underestimation of their own value and culture.

Another thing among my biggest learning from living in Togo, such a different world from my own, is, to put it in very simple words, how things work in Togo and not all but fragments of the cultural, social, structural and historical backgrounds that lie behind it. Differences in cultural and social norms, especially those of human relations, were the major struggle that I have experienced throughout my stay here in Togo. It was not always easy but was all the more eye-opening for me.

I should also note the acquisition of French communication skills. My French skills are not yet enough to say they are very good, but compared to how they were before I came to Togo, and considering that now daily communication is made in French, I could say that they have greatly improved.

In conclusion, five months of development internship in a completely different culture and sometimes in difficult situations have given me strength and confidence. I think I am now more prepared than before to fight come what may in the future. Also I am very happy that I have made many wonderful friends here in Togo, which makes the world smaller and makes me want to come back someday.

Fin.