The first email Sahaletou received when she joined Integrate Health’s US Team as Development and Operations Assistant was a “Welcome Home” note from Integrate Health’s Country Director, Christophe Gbeleou. Although she recently started in this role, this is not Marie’s first time working at Integrate Health.
Sahaletou lives her life with incredible fortitude, optimism, and a deep sense of justice, particularly for gender equality. Her fire for women’s empowerment has been a common thread throughout her life, and at each turning point, powerful women have supported Sahaletou and amplified her voice, just as she aims to do for other women. Her story is a testament to the incredible ripple effect that happens when women (and a few great men) lift up other women.
Sahaletou lost her mother at age four and was moved to an orphanage in the Kara region. Although she faced hardship, Sahaletou looks back at this time as lucky. This is where she developed her proclivity for what she calls “perfectionism” but what others describe as “hard work.” She attributes this to her desire to always stand out, a challenge considering she grew up alongside ten other children. Her adopted mother at the orphanage, Therese, equally distributed the household chores, never asking the girls to perform any certain chores differently from the boys. But as Sahaletou got older and started to visit her father outside of the orphanage, she saw that equality was not the reality for many women. She even dealt with it herself; her father, step-mother, and siblings expected her and her sister to carry out all of the domestic household duties. This was a hard lesson for Sahaletou; she learned that in her community, the path is predetermined for many women at the moment they are born. The juxtaposition of her two experiences started a fire in her, which she attributes to her adopted mother Therese, offering her the opportunity to live in a way that was different from everyone else.
Growing up, Sahaletou wanted to achieve everything that people told her was impossible for women, including playing on the regional soccer team and excelling in her studies. During this time, she met a Peace Corps volunteer, Stacy, who was teaching English in her community. Stacy nominated Sahaletou to attend a camp put on by Peace Corps volunteers and their Togolese counterparts. During the camp, Sahaletou participated in sessions, including conversations on gender equality. In these discussions, Sahaletou’s understanding was affirmed, and she realized she wasn’t alone in her views on society. Thinking back on this camp, Sahaletou said, “I think that was the exact moment where I thought ‘I have a shot at changing what I do not agree within my community.’” Sahaletou started advocacy groups in her community and quickly became the go-to person for Peace Corps volunteers wanting to implement gender equality training all over Togo. As she visited communities throughout her country, Sahaletou met Andrew Lopez, Integrate Health’s Partnership Director, who urged her to apply for a position at Integrate Health. Sahaletou said Integrate Health lit her fire for social justice.
Sahaletou made a huge impact on the growth of Integrate Health, starting out as a Community Outreach Coordinator while she was pursuing a degree in Political Science at the University of Kara in Togo. Quickly, Sahaletou was promoted to Program Coordinator of a Global Fund-supported HIV project and then was promoted again to help launch the Integrated Primary Care Program pilot. After two years with Integrate Health, Sahaletou wanted to pursue a role focused on Women’s Empowerment through education. She was recruited to join Pathways Togo, where she worked closely with girls from underprivileged families to provide them the opportunity to get an education and an equal opportunity at a career. Sahaletou felt incredibly comfortable working in this environment because she had a similar experience and was determined not to let these girls’ right to education and bright futures be taken away.
During this time, Sahaletou was nominated by a Peace Corps Volunteer to attend a workshop in the United States. The United States government invited 24 women from several countries in Africa to exchange ideas on how to remedy the gender-based societal norms and how to reinforce their leadership skills. Sahaletou met with women in politics, women entrepreneurs, businesswomen, incarcerated women, while visiting multiple cities across the United States. Although she learned so much from these women, Sahaletou said the women that changed her the most were the other participants. Through their conversations, she realized that women across Africa face the same problems, inequities, and challenges. Sahaletou learned this problem is larger than just her community and her country. This is when Sahaletou decided that she wanted to study in the United States. She is now living in the United States, preparing her application to pursue a graduate degree in Human Rights.
Throughout her life, Sahaletou has worked tirelessly to advance women’s rights. For example, while working closely with 1 billion rising, Sahaletou held trainings to provide women with the tools to combat gender-based violence. At one point, Sahaletou even connected a group of women with an attorney so they could gain a better understanding of their legal rights.
Now, Sahaletou is continuing her advocacy at Integrate Health. During her first two months, Sahaletou presented a proposal to the executive team on strategies to hire more women at the leadership level in Togo. Sahaletou says that her values align so well with Integrate Health in part because she is inspired by the women around her. “We have seen that the assumption that women are not capable of learning, working, leading, and making their own decisions is simply false. Look at the women at Integrate Health: the CEO, the staff analyzing data, the Community Health Workers. Look at how these women are saving lives in their communities. They are proof that, when the opportunity is given to a woman, she can accomplish anything,” she explains.
We are honored to have Sahaletou back on our team at Integrate Health. And as we continue to advocate for Universal Health Coverage, we will ensure that strong women like Sahaletou will lead the way.