Interesting Happenings in Vogan...

A few days ago, a couple Togolese friends of mine stopped by the house. They asked if we had heard what happened in the fields of a village 10k from Vogan. It turns out that 6 people had been killed and their heads had been taken. After speaking to a few others, it seems that the heads fetch a good price on the gris-gris (sorcery) market throughout much of West Africa. A few days later, Martha and I got a call from our director, who reported that apparently it had happened throughout the Maritime region, with the people taking heads, necks, and draining blood. I must admit, the strangest text I have ever, or will ever receive came from David that night: "Just talked to Brownie. She told us to stay in Vogan because blood and body parts are in high demand." Huh. Interesting.

The incidents all happened far outside of the big towns, to people headed out to the fields, so I have NOTHING to worry about in Vogan. I am in Lome now to check out the new trainees, but I'm perfectly safe. I just don't go out after dark. The Togolese are scared, as is evident when the streets empty out early and market days like Tabligbo's (a neighboring town) are not as busy as they should be. Obviously gris-gris stuff like this is NOT something that most people take part in, although the presence of gris-gris and its power is something taken very seriously by many Togolese. This is not a normal occurrence and many believe it was a foreigner. All I know is it has caused for a dramatic week in village, and I'll be happy when things return to normal and I can stop worrying for my Togolese friends.

In other news...Martha has bought 2 kittens for our homologue as a going away gift. We have saved them from certain death after buying them from the Vogan market, and they are the most adorable morsels ever.

Each fits perfectly into my palm and just watching them is endlessly entertaining.

Village continues to be an adjustment and will be even more so when Martha leaves in a week. Then I'll truly be starting my independent service. Due to the awful flooding up North and throughout Africa, they have pushed back the start of school. Over 200,000 people in Northern Ghana alone have been displaced, and Togo was hit really hard as well. What this means for me is that it will be another month before I can really start my health club in the middle schools. I am hoping in the interim to start a young women's group, to talk about the issues that they face, make a couple friends, and get to know some more people in village.

Thank you to everyone who has been sending emails, letters and packages. I have good days and bad and sometimes the homesickness just creeps up out of the blue and hits me like a punch to the gut. But I'm hanging in there and slowly starting to build a life here. I'm inheriting a dog within the next month, Mick (as in Jagger). So that should help with the loneliness. I'm in Lome scoping out the newest batch of trainees...it's nice not to be the newbies anymore!