#projectframework

ANGE - Agence Nationale de Gestion de l'Environnement

Last week our EAFS APCD Paul invited me to accompany him to a workshop hosted by Togo's National Agency for Environmental Management (ANGE).The workshop hosted representatives from various government ministries and NGOs to discuss directions Togo is taking in terms of environmental compliance regulations, among other environment-related initiatives. 

I will preface this by saying that I was absolutely under-credentialed and offered little in the way of feedback for the workshop organizers. However, it was certainly an interesting experience from a Peace Corps standpoint, particularly as we are looking at revising our project framework for the Environmental Action and Food Security (EAFS) sector. In theory, each sector's project framework aligns its goals and activities with the government's priorities and main areas of intervention. In Togo, this can prove difficult at times to put into practice, especially as the EAFS project spans the work of multiple government ministries. 

We will be hosting Project Advisory Committee meetings in March for each sector, which bring together Peace Corps partners and other stakeholders - representatives from partner ministries and NGOs - to discuss the work volunteers are doing in the sector and where there are opportunities for collaboration or redirection.

Sitting in an air-conditioned hotel conference room with projectors and microphones was a bit surreal, even given my new surroundings in Lome. Paul and I were standing in the foyer before leaving, waiting for the Peace Corps car to arrive to return us to the office. "Lome is a different world," I offered.

"It is," he agreed. "Sometimes I don't really like it. But there is a lot of work to do here, and being busy makes a difference."

I was quick to agree. "I much prefer village. But being busy is always preferable to the alternative."