Peace Corps

Take Your Daughter to Work

It’s hard to imagine how far education can take you when you are sitting in an overcrowded classroom studying outdated textbooks and you're still tired from working in the fields the day before. "Take Our Daughters to Work Week", Amenons Nos Filles Au Travail, is meant to help middle school students not only imagine, but also experience, what opportunities await them. Twenty girl students, selected by community leaders and school directors from different villages throughout the Maritime region, were taken to Lome, the capital city of Togo, for a week. During their time in Lome the students visited a large bank, the central post office, a radio station, a wig making factory, a clothing store, the American Embassy, the office of the Peace Corps, and the University of Lome campus and library. At each visit the students were received by women staff members who gave them tours, explained what their jobs entailed, and spoke to how school helped them achieve their success. It was remarkable to see these extremely accomplished, affluent, professional Togolese women relate so well and make such resonating connections with the students. Between field visits, the students stayed at a community center, where they partook in seminars and classes led by two Togolese NGO workers and two Peace Corps volunteers. The NGO workers led discussions on teaching and motivating peers, effective studying habits and time management, and resources against sexual harassment from classmates and teachers. The event was made possible by funding from the Peace Corps Partnership Program, which paid for the students' lodging, transportation, meals, and other logistics. Everyone involved left Lome with lots of stories to tell and with rekindled enthusiasm for school and education, and moreover, for the future of Togo.