The Impact of EDULCOD-Togo on my life

My name is Makafui Hortense Amouzouvi, I am one of the EDULCOD-Togo’s alumni. I recently graduated with honors from the African Science Academy (ASA), a new, girls-only Advanced Level school for maths and science based in Ghana. Before ASA, I was a student at ‘Lycée Scientifique de Kara’, one of the top two science high schools located in northern Togo eight hours drive from the capital and where I was lucky to meet EDULCOD-Togo. EDULCOD-Togo is a national community-based organization that supports high achieving students from disadvantaged communities in their transition to higher education. They also promote an education of quality and strive to advance education in rural areas with a focus on girls’ education.

It was and it is still an immense privilege for me to work with EDULCOD-Togo because it changed my life. Coming from a low-income family with barely instructed parents, it has always been a duty to think of the next step that is what will happen after high school. I had worries about my higher education opportunities but my parents could not help me because they didn’t know much about post-secondary education system. Right then, EDULCOD-Togo took me under its wings. EDULCOD-Togo through its Scholars Access Program, walked me through some possibilities of post-secondary education that might be perfect for me. That was when they introduced me to ASA and I decided to apply. The team members were with me throughout the entire application process, accomplishing different roles ranging from being my counsellors to visiting my family and talking to them about the opportunity. With EDULCOD-Togo, I learned how to volunteer and bring a valuable change in my community. Thus, I participated in several community services like cleaning, visiting and helping orphans, tutoring to name but a few. The organization has been a great contributor to the development of my personality. I have established my leadership, confidence, time management and team skills and have also been able to advance these skills to a whole new level. Skills that were lately improved in ASA.

I have a huge respect, love, gratitude and devotion for the entire organization members because their efforts allowed me to learn and stand out in my school and in my community.  This helped me take a step ahead for being an independent woman in a community where people think girls cannot achieve higher goals.

As I speak today, I am a proud Togolese girl overcoming the language barrier and impacting both francophone and Anglophone Africa. I am also honoured and tremendously happy to bring for the first Togolese flag to the University of British Columbia, one of the top Universities in Canada and where I intend to pursue Computer Science. As that flag flies, I think of all the support I have. To EDULCOD-Togo, HALI Access Network and all their partners and sponsors, I say thank you for helping me make my dreams come true. May you find extra support to reach other high achieving kids in remote communities of my country.