- Caleb Manu: Post 6
Caleb Manu
Provider:
Lomé, Togo
2022 Summer
During my two weeks in Lomé, I had the opportunity to work with an NGO called Halsa International. This is an NGO that takes care of kids on the street of Lomé. The NGO divides its works amongst three teams:
First, the Education Team—sets up educational activities with the kids on the street
Second, the Integration Team—helps integrate kids on the street into families and jobs
Third, the Medical Team—helps sick and injured kids on the street.
Daily activities with the kids on the street, Lomé I worked on the Medical Team at Halsa International. I studied under Dr. Nare Aureole. We joined the Education Team in specific locations in Lomé where child homelessness was prevalent to meet with the kids on the street. I participated in the activities with the kids. There, we played games and most of the games were linked with some elements of education—counting and spelling. We played games like Passe à 10, Balle de Feu, 1-2-3 Soleil, Nom, Mot, Mouvement, Formation des mots, Roi du silence game and of course, soccer. It was beautiful to see the kids run with joy to the field anytime our tricycle approached the fields where activities were done. After the activities, the Medical Team treated the kids who were ill and wounded. I had the opportunity to lead the Medical Team during visits. I had conversations with the kids who were ill or injured about their living conditions, cause of injuries, and their ability to visit doctors or buy medications, and I treated their injuries. Most of these kids don’t have the chance to see doctors or buy medications. I didn’t know whether I was helping or not, but my next visits to the kids gave me a sense of satisfaction when I saw that all their injuries healed up without infections. I then realized the little I did really helped the kids.
Helping the kids on the street, Lomé I spent my time with a clinic in Lomé—Clinique Kimboki. In the clinic, I studied under two general physicians—Dr. Gnavor Komi and Dr. Nekere Archad. There, I joined the physicians in the consultation room. I saw how consultations are done and the processes or steps the physicians go through to come up with a diagnosis. Also, I helped treat wounds for people with chronic foot wounds. One little girl broke my heart when she came to the clinic with an infected index finger after an untreated knife cut. Her treatment was painful since everything was done without anesthesia due to limited resources. She was brave throughout the treatment and felt a great relief after her treatment.
Treating injuries for kids on the street, Lomé I enjoyed my time in Togo. I had the medical experience I was always looking for. I had the opportunity to sit in the opposite seat I had watched during my doctors visit when I was a child. I experienced the way medicine is practiced in an environment I was familiar with and hope to return one day.
My next stop is Ghana. I haven’t been home in 3 years and I am so excited to visit my family and friends. After a couple weeks, I will be back at Hampden-Sydney and ready to start my Senior year.
Dr. Nekere Archad, Clinique Kimboki, Lomé - Check Out Who Made the Tiger News!
Tigers Pounce on Global Education Opportunities
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Study Abroad 2022July 14, 2022
Meet three Hampden-Sydney Tigers who spent the summer getting a fresh take on their education and the world around them.
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linkedin sharing buttonExotic locations. Foreign cuisine. Unique customs. Just a few of the exciting things that study abroad students experienced during their summer excursions. Director of Global Education and Study Abroad Dani Widdows notes the importance of this collegiate rite of passage, saying, “Studying abroad is a wonderful, high-impact experience that enables students to expand their education and—just as importantly—learn more about themselves. Students usually take classes that meet major or core requirements and thereby gain new perspectives on their fields of study and additional opportunities to enhance their skills.”
Meet three Tigers who spent the summer getting a fresh take on their education and the world around them.
Caleb Manu in front of the Eifel TowerCaleb Manu ’23 is participating in a French language immersion program at the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) in Paris. Taking full advantage of his time in the city of light, Caleb has joined a recreational soccer league in the Parisian suburb Chateau du Vincennes, explored the National Archives and the Musée d’Orsay with his IES colleagues, and strolled the streets of Paris absorbing the architecture and culture. Caleb says that though he has had a love of the language since his first introduction to it in the fourth grade, studying abroad in Paris has shown him that learning French is about more than correctly conjugating verbs. Learning a new language has the power to connect him to the millions of people around the world who also speak that language.
Connor Brooks in GermanyConnor Brooks ’23 spent May Term in Muenster, Germany, where he explored art at the LWL Art Museum, religion at the Muenster Cathedral, and German culture, cuisine, and libations at local markets. At a planwagen fahr—similar to a county fair in the States, he explains—Connor and other fahr-goers rode in a wagon pulled by a tractor while singing German songs. “It was one of the better ways to experience German culture,” Connor says.
George Langhammer in SpainGeorge Langhammer ’24 wandered among the windmills following the footsteps of Don Quixote during his May Term in Alcala de Henares, Spain. Following a day trip to Madrid, George describes the excursions to the Palacio Real and Prad Museum as “exhausting…but most rewarding. I learned more in one day about the monarchies of Spain and art history than I have in any history class.” Having earned a respite, George and his classmates spent a relaxing weekend in rural Huetor Santillan near Granada, where George took advantage of the pool at the group’s Airbnb and also spent time hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which surrounded the house.
The richness and benefit of these experiences will stay with the students long after they shake off the jetlag and swap foreign delicacies for the comfort food of home. Widdows adds, “Research shows that after studying abroad, students are often more invested in their education and have more clarity about their academic, professional, and personal goals.”
Tigers Abroad Blog
- Caleb Manu: Post 5
- Connor Brooks: Post 5
- Caleb Manu: Post 4
- Caleb Manu: Post 3
- Caleb Manu: Post 2
- Connor Brooks: Post 4
- Connor Brooks: Post 3
- Connor Brooks: Post 2
