We (team of 7 volunteers) are leaving for Togo in less than one week! We will be installing a 3 kW solar panel system at a school in Wogba, and capturing the experience on film. This project is a part of World Energy Project’s Energy for Education campaign, which you can learn more about on our website (www.worldenergyproject.org). For me, Ashley, I can’t wait to dig my toes into African soil once more. It has been 3 years since I was in West Africa, and 2 years since I was in Kenya; a lot has happened in the past two years. Most notably, I got married! I was also in a car accident and had to take a year off of school to recover from a left brain injury. I returned to school and worked harder than I have ever worked, and got worse grades than I had ever gotten, but I am so deeply thankful for the return of my thoughts, emotions and memory. My B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering means so much more after knowing how it feels to not remember what I did a few hours earlier, let alone the structure of phenylalanine.

I still so strongly believe in the power of energy to affect change in a life, and in whole communities. I am looking forward to sharing my love of #SE4ALL with those that are traveling with me, and to learn stories of individual and collective souls in Togo. There is so much life to understand, and so little time to take it in.

There are a lot of theories and discussions floating around about best practices for development work, and they are valuable, but there is a certain understanding of development that uniquely grows when you can throw yourself into the work, and learn from mistakes made along the way, both your own and others’. I can’t see myself in any other line of work for very long, but at the same time, it is overwhelming to think of all that I have yet to learn about development, sustainability, and increasing access to energy across the globe. One day at a time, I suppose.

The team I have the pleasure of traveling with to Togo is made up of young professionals as well as undergraduate and graduate engineering students. I am excited to let them introduce themselves over the next few weeks, as we experience Togo together, both the highs and the lows, and everything in between. Check back for updates on our work…