JJ Friends : Bright KEBALU from Togo

Hi everyone, my name is Bright KEBALU; 17 years old and I come from Togo from the town of Kara. This is my country...

Togo is a small rectangular country of 56,600 km2 in West Africa. It is limited to the north by Burkina Faso, to the south by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west by Ghana and to the east by Benin. His capital is Lomé.

As far as I am concerned, I am originally from the town of Kara in the north of the country but despite this, I live in Lomé. Apart from family visits, scout outings allow me to enjoy the wonderful vegetation with its thousand shapes and reliefs of Kara.

Those who are from Kara are called the « Kabyè ». Historically, we come from Sudan, then we migrated to the West Coast but we stopped in the mountains in Kara because we felt safe there like in the film "Black Panther". The totem animal of the Kabyès is the “Dog” which is called “Hô” in the local language and this is due to a story. Legend has it that the first Kabyè who was called "Abalo" came directly from heaven and lived with his wife and his dog who was his friend and protector with the gods. One day, demons called “Aléwa” began to invade the mountain and take over the territory of Abalo. This one, seeing that the peace of his couple and his children would be threatened, launched into a violent fight against the Aléwa in the company of his dog but it was too hard. He appealed to the gods and these gods said that to free the mountain, he had to eat the dog to gain all his strength and all his power and he will also be accompanied by the gods. It was very hard to consume his sacred dog but it was a necessary sacrifice. After sacrificing the dog, a superhuman power developed within him, allowing him to defeat all the Aléwa and make them flee. The Aléwa promised to return for revenge and since that day, every year a wrestling competition called "Evala" is organized because Abalo wanted to introduce all these children to being able to defend their families and their territory but there was a problem... Let me know in the comments if you wanted to know what happens next.

Our traditional dance is one of the most famous in Togo because of its great simplicity. Indeed, being a celebration of victory after the victory over the Aléwa, everyone has the right to move at their own pace and in their own way.

Sometimes, my scout friends and I have traditional evenings to highlight my culture through costumes and dances

Despite the development of infrastructure, the government has maintained some magical places in Kara as tourist resorts.

I've even visited them and I'm not excited to blend in with the decor.

In 1914, French forces invaded Togoland from Dahomey in the east. The British, who occupied the Gold Coast, entered German territory from the west. After the defeat of Germany in 1918, Togo became a country under mandate of the League of Nations (SDN), ancestor of the United Nations. On April 27, 1960, Togo became independent after the speech of our first president "Sylvanus Olympio" who expressed the long suffering of the people in his words: "The night is long, but the day is coming ”.

Every year, on the occasion of Independence Day, a flame is lit on the Independence Monument to signify hope.

For my part, I am more passionate about travel and adventures, I have the chance to meet scouts from Senegal

Scout from France

but let's not forget my scout friends from Togo with whom the experiences are shared

They are always there when needed, even though we don't come from the same place..

..We work in our own way for a better world

They were there in good times and bad

That's what makes us scarf brothers

This is in summary everything you can know about Togo and Kara. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments and I will answer them, despite everything, the scout adventure continues🥂