📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
The NGO Association Togolaise des Volontaires au Travail (ASTOVOT) has more than 60 years of experience in international voluntary service. Each year, it welcomes many volunteers from all over the world on short, medium and long term volunteer projects (3 weeks to 12 months) in Togo. These projects allow the national volunteers (about 200) to work hand in hand with the international volunteers and to create a real intercultural exchange throughout the year. ASTOVOT is a member of the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVSUNESCO) and of the Network of Africa Voluntary Organizations (NAVO), and is in partnership with several volunteer organizations in Europe, Asia, the United States, Canada and Africa. Its projects focus on community development through the promotion of education and citizenship, health, social, environmental protection and intercultural learning, renovation and construction of socio-community infrastructures.
💼 What the programme involves
Every summer, ASTOVOT, in collaboration with the local authorities of the village of Agomé Tomégbé, organises an international socio-educational and school support workcamp for the children of the village. The activities are taking place in the village college. The volunteers are not only providing a framework for the development of the village's children through a range of recreational and cultural activities, but are also teaching mathematics, English and French to the pupils before the start of the new school year.
OBJECTIVES ?
-To prepare and deliver lessons in the subjects defined in collaboration with the site leader;
-To improve children's reading, writing and speaking skills in French.
-To develop and enhance children's talents in all kinds of school and extra
TASKS TO BE CARRIED OUT BY VOLUNTEERS :
-The mornings will be devoted to tutoring primary and lower secondary school pupils in the subjects in which they have the most difficulty. Volunteers will help with French language learning (reading, writing, conjugation, written and oral expression, etc.), mathematics and English;
-In the afternoons, they will organise games and various activities in the school or outside (reading, drawing, song and dance competitions, sports, etc.), write a collection of stories and show films for the children.
🏠 Accommodation on site
Accommodation is generally basic, simple and specific to the project location. On site, volunteers are accommodated in groups of three or four people per room. The number of people per room depends on how the volunteers themselves organise the group. In some places, volunteers can use dry toilets and showers without water inside. This means that volunteers will have to fetch water from a fountain or well. The association provides volunteers with plastic or foam mats. Volunteers who have sleeping bags can bring them with them if possible. Access to drinking water on site.
During the work camp, the volunteers will cook their own meals. An internal organisation will create groups that will alternate to carry out the various domestic tasks domestic tasks, including cooking. The food products used for cooking are imported, local and organic. The diet of each volunteer will be taken into taken into account when preparing meals. Volunteers will have access to tropical fruit such as bananas, oranges, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, papayas, etc.
Along side the main activities of the work camp, other activities are organised, such as discovery walks, hikes, festive outings and cultural encounters. These activities enable the volunteers to come into contact with the local population and to discover Togolese culture.
🍲 Food
During the workcamp, the volunteers will cook their own meals. An internal organization will create alternating groups to carry out the various domestic tasks, including cooking. Food products used for cooking are sometimes imported, local and organic. The diet of each volunteer will be taken into taken into account when preparing meals. Volunteers will have access to tropical fruits such as bananas, oranges, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, papayas...etc.
📍 About the location
Project location: Agomé Tomégbé (Kloto / Togo)
Agomé-Tomégbé is a village in the Kloto prefecture, 15 km from Kpalimé and 145 km from Lomé. With its mild mountain climate, it offers visitors the chance to discover its sites and its various rivers. The area boasts a wide variety of landscapes and agricultural activities, with tropical produce such as bananas, oranges, pineapples, soursops, avocados, coffee, cocoa and papaya. The village has a good school enrolment policy for girls.
🎒 Leisure activities
In addition to the site's main activities, other events are organized, such as discovery walks, hikes, festive outings and cultural encounters. These activities enable volunteers to come into contact with the local population, as well as
Togolese culture. During weekends, group excursions are organized by volunteers and their leaders to discover tourist sites in the region where the work camp is taking place. It should be noted excursions and outings are not included in the participation fees. However, the association can facilitate or negotiate transportation
for volunteers on outings or excursions.
⚠️ Requirements
This project requires specific qualities from volunteers: motivation, patience, team spirit, solidarity, sharing and listening,
🤝 Meeting point
Il y a un infosheet (fiche descriptive détaillée) pour chaque projet qui contient des renseignements sur les conditions de participation, les contacts, les infos nécessaires sur les préparatifs avant le voyage, l’accueil, le transport, l’accommodation, le planning des activités du projet...etc. L’infosheet est envoyé individuellement aux volontaires après leur inscription aux projets.
ℹ️ Additional information
Kpalimé is about an hour and a half's drive from Lomé and is set in a beautiful natural environment. Located in south-west Togo, the area surrounding the town is lush and fertile, encircled by thickly wooded hills, deep valleys and small farming villages. Kpalimé is also the country's most important craft centre, home to a large number of artists and craftsmen: woodcarvers, batikeur, potters, weavers, calabash-makers, etc. The many "nature" walks and hikes take you along the paths to discover the daily life of the local people, who live mainly from agriculture.
The languages of the project are French and then English. However, we recommend that volunteers who are not French-speaking have a basic knowledge of French before they arrive, as the official language of Togo is French. The vast majority of local volunteers and local communities have a very poor level of English