Recent Articles

Engineering summit brings together minds, ideas for new year

May 25, 2020 No Comments

Originally written and published by Sarah Teague for Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. on Feb. 14, 2020. Visuals by Sarah Teague. Relationship building is vital to Power Production’s success. So said Sean Wright, managing director of engineering and construction. His comment follows Associated’s 2020 Engineering Summit held Feb. 6 and 7 in Springfield. Tyler Samuel, engineer, change management, agreed. “I was amazed. Since last time […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo’s acquittal sparking anger, cheer … and shaving

January 15, 2019 No Comments

Story by Sarah Teague. Featured photo credit: AFP. Laurent Gbagbo in International Criminal Court. Many Ivorians were seen dancing in the streets of Yopougon — a district of Abidjan — on Tuesday after the news of former president Laurent Gbagbo’s acquittal spread. Taxi drivers slammed on their horns, neighbors hugged neighbors and some chanted “Liberer, […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

Escaping culture

November 12, 2018 No Comments

Photo: Children play on a Sunday morning in a village outside Sikensi. Escaping culture is not an easy feat. One can lock oneself away for days from the outside world, but culture will find its way in. I miss writing. I realized that today in the shower while I listened to African music a couple […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

PHOTOS: Abidjan-Marcory Artisan Village

October 26, 2018 No Comments

A collection of photos from the Abidjan-Marcory artisan village 🇨🇮 I’ve visited this place a few times and some of the artists here are now familiar faces. They make their living on carving, painting, dressmaking and a plethora of other crafts. It’s also a great place to view Baoulé gold and other jewelry made from […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

Trafficking and abuse in Africa’s Ivory Coast

October 7, 2018 No Comments

Pictured above: Originally from Nigeria, Elizabeth Ekere Imeh is a survivor of sex trafficking and currently lives in Cote d’Ivoire. “Seul?” “Seul?” The man in the green-striped shirt kept repeating that same word to me and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach — his eyes were not kind. What could he want from […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

Crocodiles of the Baoule

September 11, 2018 No Comments

Ivory Coast’s largest ethnic group, the Baoule, fled Ghana 300 years ago. On their journey they had to cross a river. In a popular Baoule proverb, a river god requested the queen sacrifice her child to cross this river. In doing so, a bridge was made of crocodile backs. The Baoule were successful in their […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

PHOTOS: 12th National Convention of the Ivorian Assemblies of God

August 27, 2018 No Comments

The 12th National Convention of the Ivorian Assemblies of God drew crowds upwards of 50,000 people from Aug. 13-19 in Yamoussoukro. 203 pastors were ordained with their wives alongside them. With the wives all dressed in blue, they paraded down to the field and leaders of the church prayed over them. Below, left: A pastor […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

Our journey into the forest — Greetings from Daloa

July 28, 2018 4 Comments

In West Africa, every day is so full of obstacles and uncertainty. Every time we receive another blessing or are protected from danger, I feel like jumping for joy. On July 27 we drove interior to Daloa. The highway from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro is smooth with very little potholes and plenty of room to pass. […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

Free to worship but not able to speak

July 23, 2018 2 Comments

Since my last post we’ve gotten out into the city more. We went to church at Bethel Temple in Bessikoi on Sunday, which is the church my parents have been working with to grow, reach the lost in this neighborhood and train young people for the church’s future. It was a time of celebration and […]

Recent Articles, The Ivory Coast

Scary plane rides and Senegalese food … just week one

July 20, 2018 No Comments

PHOTO: The sidewalk of our house in Cocody looking towards the back yard. I started this blog to document my experience here as any aspiring journalist would feel the need to. But I’ve struggled the past couple months deciding what my purpose for writing here should be. This is not the first time someone has […]