Three months have passed so fast and yet three months have seemed so long. Long in that every day was rich in terms of discovery, learning, knowledge, exposure, sharing and exchange. Three months are also moments of laughter and relaxation.
Our thanks to President Barack Obama for this wonderful initiative for young Africans. Our thanks to the Embassy of the United States in Lomé and the entire Public Affairs Section team for their support and guidance. Your encouragement and your trust has cheered us up to be worthy ambassadors.
From the University of Delaware, the University of Georgia, Atlanta, the University of Texas, Austin, Wagner College in New York, Dartmouth College and the University of Florida, the six Togolese who represented the Togo have been strengthened or even transformed. Dr. Serge Kokouda can confirm. Grace Kudzu has built strong relationships for the fight against sickle cell disease in Togo. Sam Kodo and Ismael Tanko were the pride of Togo, both winning the competition awards for those in the business and entrepreneurship section. For the first time, that the organizing institution opens this competition to our country Togo, it is a feat of which we are delighted.
The Washington DC summit was the culmination of all the wonderful adventures of this fellowship. Above all, it has enabled us to create even more networks and to mature more reflections.
The second part of this fellowship which is the internship was even more interesting. Interesting because it was a total immersion in the world of work here in the United States. Joel and I had baptisms of fire. No delay, no break at noon, lunch is taken on the place of work without stop. Beyond these details, it’s quite another culture of work. A culture focused on the search for innovation, on the thirst to always do better. We sleep by the laurels. On the contrary, evaluation and questioning are continuous, we are open to new ideas and we are exploring new ways of doing things. It is a culture that has fully flourished. Only work ensures Independence said Bernard Dadié. Only work will liberate Africa, only work will liberate Togo. The more we work, the more we will advance. Thank you very much to Pikes Peak United Way and Center For International Private Enterprise for their warm and unforgettable welcome.
They adopted us and we are sure that the big Togolese family joins us to thank you.
El Pomar panel on civic engagement in Africa [/ caption]
On the other hand, it is the sense of accomplishment that drives us as we prepare to return to Lome. The internship allowed us to better externalize ourselves and show what we are capable of. We did not disappoint. We leave with the joy, satisfaction and pride of having left a good memory to our guests. And yes, we arrived when Almost no one had any idea of what a country like Togo existed on earth. For the little anecdote, I saw a restaurant here in Colorado Springs named Togo, they serve very good sandwiches. And I shouted to my supervisor, that’s the name of my country listed above. Those who had heard of it had only heard of negative things or voodoo. But our mission was not only to say but also to show by our actions that Togo is more than the challenges and our political news, for example. Our expertise and our identity can not be limited to a reputation based on voodoo worship and bewitchment. We have given the best of ourselves, to show that Togo is full of talents, well-educated people, who have the ability to analyze, who are punctual, who are hardworking, dynamic and creative. We have demonstrated that we are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We are above all well educated, polite and adorable. The presentations, the projects and the conferences that we animated were brilliant successes. This fellowship has allowed me to highlight and salute the brave young Togolese, known and anonymous who are distinguished from the mass, who despite the many barriers and limited resources are working to produce something concrete. No need to name names. They are numerous. Those who undertake agribusiness, those who are in the invention and the technology, I dedicate to you my fellowship. All the honors I received, I received them thinking of these wonderful young people who do not know me and whom I have never met but who motivate me by their determination to go ahead and to persist. Students who understand the term guinea pig of the LMD system because they were at the University of Lome at the time of the reform in 2008, I dedicate this fellowship and all the prestige that goes with it. We are smart, we are exceptional, we are talented. The system that holds us back will never be able to stupefy us. A great African author has said that one can kill ten men, one hundred, one thousand, one can never kill the ideas that are in them. The system does not want to invest in us, it is not brave enough to bet on our success. It lacks ambition. He is therefore active in reducing us and destroying us; but let us know that there is no need to feed us with frustration. It would let the system shoot us down. Let us arm ourselves with courage and plan b, plan z even to arrive safely. Nothing, no person, no system should prevent us from realizing ourselves. Let’s not run after honors without glory. Let’s take care of the basics: self-knowledge and work. The path of victory is difficult but it’s a necessary risk. & Nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; 540 « ] 
Joel at the < a href = "http: // https: //www.whitehouse.gov/"> White House [/ caption] We met here with eminent personalities who nourished us with unforgettable words of wisdom. But the good weather, the blue sky, and my heart filled with emotion inspire me to share with you the message of the director of NASA. Dream big and hang on to your dreams. They will see their realization one day after efforts and self-sacrifice.