After an hour of struggling with 3 malfunctioning computers and 2 printers that were out of ink, I finally managed to frustratedly print my dossier to take to Lomé. We were meeting with the Exec. Dir. of the Comite Nationale de Microfinance (National Commitee for Microfinance, hereafter referred to as the CNM) in 2 hours, and it takes 3 hours to drive to the capital from Kpalimé…no one else seemed to mind, so I jumped into the car and silently fumed at the office equipment and lack of timeliness. For the first time in a while my patience wore thin…but after about 5 minutes of Togolese air blowing in my face on the route nationale, I was over it. But still nervous.
Our meeting with the CNM was an integral part of getting SunPower Afrique off the ground, and before going in I was surprised at how edgy I was… I wasn’t sure whether to expect some stuffy minister to blow me off, a friendly minister to smile at my idealism and tell me it will never work or somewhere in between. Instead, the reaction of the Director was more positive than I could have ever hoped for, and I am so excited right now I can barely put it into words…
We pulled up only a few minutes late (thank goodness for Yao’s blaring horn) to a freshly painted white and blue compound. PNUD (United Nations Development Program, UNDP, in French) was painted right next to “Strategie Nationale de Microfinance” which came as a total surprise to me…I soon figured out why…
Inside the walls were a series of immaculate blue and white cottages, each with at least 2 air conditioning units humming outside. We were ushered into one of the cottages and I was immediately greeted by a slam of frigid air that I have not felt anywhere on this continent since my arrival – not in the airport, not in any hotel, even in Accra…the sweaty clamminess that I have not been able to shake for 2 and half months evaporated into thin air and I literally almost cried out in surprise…so this is where all the money UNDP sends to Togo’s microfinance institutions goes – yet another fantastic example of how little accountability international organizations (particularly the UN) have for the allocation of their funding. But it’s ok, member states and secretariat directors can sleep at night with clear consciences, knowing that they have sent loads of money to that poor, tiny West African country…its not their problem that they’re turning their back to corruption and reinforcing state complicity in the cycle of poverty, right?
Jacques, the Director of PASNAM, the committee in charge of implementing the Strategie Nationale and a state organ of the CNM, shook our hands with a smile and asked us to wait for him in his office. We walked across the courtyard again into a larger room that was full of tables and chairs in a classroom-style configuration. When Jacques came in a few minutes later we settled ourselves in the center of the room and began to chat.
Jacques was incredibly friendly and while we of course had to indulge in the usual formalities, greetings, etc. it was much less forced and superfluous than normal procedures…I am not sure if this was because of Jacques, who was laid back and pleasant, because of my and Dad’s style or because Daniel mostly kept his mouth shut. Daniel actually let me do most of the talking, and once I got started, my usual confidence and verbosity took over and I had to remind myself to let others get a word in edgewise.
I explained our project and our vision, and Jacques was incredibly enthusiastic to it (and to the fact that I was an American that spoke such good French, haha.) Moreso than I had ever thought was possible. I truly thought that he would be more skeptical – of another yovo coming in with an idea for an NGO and an optimistic picture for Togo’s development – unconvinced of our sincerity first of all, but moreso of the mere viability of another development project. But this is the difference with our project for the introduction of solar energy on a large scale in Togo – it just makes sense. After seeing the numbers, talking about job creation and economic growth…his enthusiasm grew.
Dad’s expertise and practical mentality towards the efficiency of solar energy and conservation are invaluable and spectacular. I tend to be ambiguous and vague in my idealism, and he has totally grounded me and the vision of this project. In addition, he has brought some essential points to my concept paper in regard to long-term changes to Togo’s economy through the creation of jobs along the supply chain and training a workforce to install and maintain the photovoltaic systems. Just having him next to me this morning made me feel so much more comfortable and credible – I have a real expert here at my side. I have felt this way at each caisse we have visited too. He knows exactly what to measure, where to look (and when to look under it) and which questions to ask (in English and then I translate.) He is impressive and I could not do this without him.
Dad interjected here and there throughout the meeting to make sure I was emphasizing certain points (mainly the creation of jobs and the long-term environmental, financial and societal benefits of jumpstarting a solar economy) and I highlighted my enthusiasm for Togo, our experience with solar in the states and certain points in the dossier. At the end of our meeting, Jacques was beaming. He said that we have truly come to Togo at the perfect time and with the perfect project, and that he is going to immediately talk to Fedy, the president of both the CNM, APIM and FUCEC (not sure how I feel about the fact that he is president of all three…)
This is really going to happen…
If we look at this project like a piece of dry, unyielding land here in Togo that must, for the sake of the health and needs of my family, yield a mountain of fruit, the precious seeds were planted today…the seeds that I pored over, obsessed about, examined and re-examined for the past month or longer…I have burnt my field to the ground, commenced to weed it and scour it, pulling out all the rocks and roots, raking and hoeing the soil with a machete to prepare it for planting…researching crop rotations, insecticides and agricultural products…and today the seeds were dropped in and fingers crossed. There is a long, long, difficult way to go. But there is no turning back now, and I must pray for rain and tend my crops with diligence and care. Or my field will be lost, and my livelihood with it…
Over the past week and a half, together with Yao and various CECAV employees, Dad and I visited nearly all of the FECECAV caisses. We measured awnings and interior spaces, counted lightbulbs and projected numbers of computers, fans and printers, recorded roof types and south-facing facades. With the data we collected, we are now ready to build a business plan with real numbers and real timelines.
We exhausted ourselves, which I didn’t realize until we had managed to get Dad across the border into Ghana (which is no easy feat and, after two nightmarish border crossings, if I ever see one of those chartreuse Ghanaian government uniforms again I am going to scream and run in the other direction) and I came back to Petit Suisse and noticed that Dad wasn’t sitting on the front porch in the plastic chair chatting with Saf, or dozing with a book in his lap. I didn’t know exactly what to do with myself, until I realized how tired I was…
It was amazing having Dad here, despite the difficult moments in which I realized that no matter how close someone is to me and how badly I want them to understand, my personal experience and emotional attachment to this place is something I will never be able to explain.
We Costanzas are just not normal yovos, and I have always known where I got it from. Dad’s eccentricity was vibrant and animated here, where he quickly made friends with everyone due to his openness and amusing nature. Nana was with us every minute, every breath, every smile, every step in the gritty, red earth. There is also now an abundance of SunPower Builders hats and t-shirts being worn with pride around Kpalimé :)
My friend Hypo says that now I can “put FECECAV in my pocket,” which he said was not merely because I have seen so many of its offices, but because I care about it so much, have seen its strengths and weaknesses inside and out and have truly integrated myself into it …the thought of leaving here in 3 weeks makes my stomach churn. If I thought my adjustment in coming here was difficult, I don’t know what I am going to do when I come back…the only reassurance I can find is in knowing that my sejour with Togo is far from over.
An invigorated sense of community, love and geography has descended into my mind, creating a spectacular ruckus before ultimately resolving itself. The bond I have formed with the people and atmosphere of this place has stimulated and motivated my very existence. My life and future have been forever changed, and I am genuinely bilingual now, in more ways than pure language acquisition...if any of that makes a bit of sense…haha…
All my love,
K
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