My flight is on Saturday at 11:50pm. I leave from JFK, out of the big, bad city of New York that I have called home for the past year and a half. My flight takes me overnight to London, where I have a layover of a few hours until I fly to Accra, Ghana. This is where things get a little different...I will be in Accra for two hours in the late evening until a small plane, piloted by Air Ivoire (the national airline of Cote d'Ivoire - sorry, can't figure out the accents on this blog yet,) will take me to Lome International Airport.
Togo...I have no idea what will be waiting for me, except that my Microfinance Partner, FECECAV, is sending someone to pick me up at 10:50pm, which I must now think of as 22h50. They will take me to a hotel in Lome for the night, and hopefully I can find someone selling cellphone cards somewhere along the way. The next morning, we will "prendre la route a Kpalime" (I have GOT to figure out the accents...) where FECECAV's main office is located.
FECECAV stands for Faitières des Entités de Caisses d'Epargne et de Crédit des Associations Villageoises which I am having a hard time translating into English but means, roughly, "Enablers of Savings Banks and Credit for Economic Units and Village Associations." They have been around since 1995 (!) but have only been working with Kiva since December. They started off as a small organzation committed to providing farmers with small loans, but have since increased their array of financial services and scope of clientele. FECECAV's official microfinance profile is publicly available on this website, called the MIX Market, which is widely used for benchmarking, etc. in the microfinance world: http://www.mixmarket.org/en/demand/demand.show.profile.asp?token=&ett=2487
Kpalime is about 1-2 hours from Lome, and is located in the coffee growing region of Togo. I have heard that is a beautiful place and is hailed (by the only travel-tip I was able to find online, as it is not THE biggest tourist destination...) as "one of the best spots for seeing some incredibly beautiful scenery. The area is ideal for hiking. Togo's highest mountain, Mt. Agou is just 20 km away." I hear there are waterfalls and lots of butterflies. We shall see.
In theory, the logistical preparations for my trip have been all but carried out. I have my malaria pills, all my vaccinations, bug spray, sunscreen, LED headlamp (thanks Danny), the list goes on. I never thought that I would be the one to have all of these gadgets from REI and actually know what to do with them, let alone have an opportunity to USE them! Therefore I am totally ready for everything, except for those things which I will actually encouter.
My next post will most likely be from hot and humid West Africa. I will let you know more about how my MFI works and what I am doing with them once I am on the ground, as this will be quite different from my somewhat ambiguous and ever-changing expectations, I am sure. I hope that I will make friends quickly, as you all know that I will speak to anyone and anything that will listen and speak back (or at least listen to me haha.)
It will be an exercise in flexibility, independence and for me, bravery :) Please wish me luck.
A bientot!
K
