Two young volunteers from Togo provide services to their community in the Kara region, in order to support and strengthen the delivery of basic services. They are national volunteers under the National Volunteer Programme in Togo (PRONOVAT) implemented with the support and technical expertise of UN Volunteers.
Two young volunteers from Togo provide services to their community in the Kara region, in order to support and strengthen the delivery of basic services. They are national volunteers under the National Volunteer Programme in Togo (PRONOVAT) implemented with the support and technical expertise of UN Volunteers.
In taking the oath, in accordance with the new Togolese volunteer law, these young people are committed to fulfill their duties with dedication and professionalism, and to promote actions that will impact economic and social development of the country.
Aicha Bang'na, an agricultural technician, conducts forest patrols in the Bassar area, which is located in the Kara region in the center of Togo. She shares her expertise in technical development and maintenance of forests with foresters, who are encouraged to participate in maintaining and protecting the natural park in Djamdè. Aicha started this volunteer assignment with the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources in Kara a year ago.
Aicha introduced new techniques to produce healthy nursery plants. She states: "Before my arrival, there was a limited number of staff, which made it difficult to implement activities. My expertise with seeds and seedlings has helped to increase the production and the distribution of plants in the region. The production increased from 5,000 plants, in 2011, to 10,000 at the end of 2012. We planted seedlings in several schools in the Bassar region, including Assoli, Binah, Keran, and Dankpen Kozah. We also replanted several locations including one on the mountain dam in Kozah.
In the same region of Kara, André Anade Anah, a computer engineer, was responsible for the maintenance of computer equipment of the Regional Directorate of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Kara. He explains: "The IT section lacked qualified personnel and was using the services of a local company that, although it was paid for its services, did not respond in a timely manner. My arrival was beneficial in the sense that I helped to manage the installation and maintenance of more than 90% of the hardware. With the support of our managers, we were able to recruit and train more than 30% of the staff in the use of computers. This helped to reintroduce activities of the Directorate, resulting in an increase in performance, especially in the management of databases and information processing.
Since the launch of the National Volunteer Programme, almost 2,800 national volunteers, mainly youth, were sent to the field to make a lasting impact on the development of communities.