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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Jones '08 builds library in rural Togolese village

Emily Jones '08, whose two-year Peace Corps assignment in Togo ends in November 2012, has worked to improve the local education system.
Emily Jones '08, whose two-year Peace Corps assignment in Togo ends in November 2012, has worked to improve the local education system.

Approximately one year later, Jones has not only enhanced her language skills, but has also made significant progress toward improving the local education system by helping girls remain in school, constructing a community library and organizing a youth leadership camp.

Jones, whose two-year assignment ends in November 2012, is primarily involved in Girls' Education and Empowerment, a division of the Community and Youth Development sector of the Peace Corps. The program encourages girls to remain in school through the university-level and provides resources to help them achieve this goal, Jones said in an email to the Peace Corps New England Regional Office released to The Dartmouth.

"We focus on encouraging community members to send their daughters and sisters to school through peer educator groups, life skills clubs, soccer teams, women's groups and teacher and community member trainings," Jones said in the email. "Additionally, we share information on income-generating activities, health and healthy relationships with the girls."

Jones, a geography major at the College, said she is working to build a library the first in the small rural community with support from the Peace Corps Partnership Program. Although her long-term goal is to bring in a large collection of books and research materials in English, French and local languages, Jones said it remains a step-by-step process.

"As Americans, we tend to jump into things and want instant results, but working on this project has made me realize that sometimes the most sustainable development takes a lot of time and good planning," Jones said.

Jones' new Togolese community is required to raise 25 percent of the library's total cost in order to participate in the program, according to Elizabeth Chamberlain, a public affairs specialist at the regional office.

"This helps ensure community ownership and a greater chance of long-term sustainability," Chamberlain said in an interview with The Dartmouth.

The Partnership Program helps Peace Corps volunteers implement an independent project of their choice, according to Chamberlain.

"[The program] doesn't directly fund projects, but serves as a link to groups, foundations, service organizations and individuals who want to contribute to their host communities," Chamberlain said.

Jones said her biggest accomplishment has been her work on Camp UNITE, a leadership training camp for Togolese youth run by peer educators.

"Seeing the campers go from shy, seemingly uninterested youth at the start to confident young leaders wanting to share what they've learned is priceless," Jones said.

The time constraints imposed by the local farming culture was a major obstacle confronting the work Jones did in Togo, she said.

"Right when we want to start a certain project, there is planting or harvesting to be done," she said.

Jones, who lives with a host family, collaborates daily with a team of local community members. Despite the challenges, Jones said she is "continually learning" through the individuals she meets and the experiences she has.

Jones' service-oriented family served as one of her main motivations to join the Peace Corps, she said. Her father was a Naval officer during the Vietnam War and her brother served in the Peace Corps as an agro-forestry volunteer in Paraguay, according to Jones.

"Service has always been in our blood," she said.

Jones credits Dartmouth for providing her with an education that helps her "think critically to find a pragmatic solution to a problem," she said.

Peace Corps service is popular among Dartmouth alumni, according to Chamberlain. Seventeen College alumni are current volunteers in locations ranging from Azerbaijan to Peru, and 615 Dartmouth graduates have entered Peace Corps service since the organization was founded in 1961, Chamberlain said.

During her undergraduate years, Jones was involved in a variety of environmental sustainability efforts, including the Environmental Conservation Organization, the Big Green Bus and Sustainable Dartmouth, according to Marc Shapiro '10, a former ECO coordinator.

Jones also attempted to introduce reusable to-go containers in Collis Common Ground, Helena Rosenthal '08 said.

"She's a rock star," Rosenthal said. "I'm so happy she's getting the recognition she deserves."