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Can Africa Save Herself?: Olowo-n'djo Tchala at TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege

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Danielle
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Can Africa Save herself?
 
Olowo-n'djo Tchala, founder and Managing Director of Alaffia, presents five principles for saving Africa that he developed over his lifetime. Born and raised in extreme poverty, Olowo-n'djo's struggles and commitment to human rights have led him to founding one of the leading natural body care companies in North America and becoming the largest private employer in Central Togo.

Olowo-n'djo Tchala was born and raised in the central Togo village of Kaboli. Growing up he shared a 2.5 x 3 meter room with his mother and eight siblings. At the age of five he began helping his mother on the family farm. By the time he would have entered the sixth grade he had dropped out of school to support his family full-time. One of his many duties at home included gathering and selling Shea nuts in the local market. He witnessed first-hand the injustices and inequalities many of the women in his village faced daily. After meeting the love of his life, Prairie Rose Hyde, who was serving in the Peace Corps at the time, he came to the United States and worked his way through school eventually graduating from UC Davis. Shortly before graduation Olowo-n'djo and Rose felt they had the responsibility to fight the injustices that existed in West Africa. They founded Alaffia to advance gender equality and alleviate poverty through the fair trade of handcrafted Shea and coconut products. Today Alaffia supports more than 4500 women in West Africa, sells products nationwide, and, through the sales of Alaffia items, conducts empowerment projects in Togo.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
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