When I got back from one week in Togo, I had over 1000 pictures to review, edit and sort. I went there with an NGO called Cyclo Nord-Sud, which collects unused bikes in Québec (Canada) and ships them to developing countries, where they will live a second life.

One week is a very short period of time, too short to grasp the essence of a city, let alone a country. So apart from the portraits of the people who received the Cyclo Nord-Sud bikes, I didn’t really come back with a specific and personal series of photographs. Instead, I shot pretty much everything that caught my attention.

But as I was reviewing the images I brought back, something jumped at my eyes: the beauty of the women. Sure, during my stay, I had noticed that the women were very beautiful, but I hadn’t quite realized how much. It’s when I got lost in their gaze, in the deep looks they gave my camera as I was photographing them, that I saw them as they truly were: the forever proud pillars of their society.

I invite you to dive into the souls of some of the women I met along the way. Hopefully you’ll see the beauty I see, and maybe you’ll consider a trip to this small west African country.

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Mommy Coal

Dried, fried and smoked fish

Little Princess and her personal hairdressers

A student in Lome

Mariam

Beauty queen

Road side cook

In the village of Foguegue

Warrior women in the village of Nyitakpo

Sassy girl

Aji

Akou

Abla

Yawa

Amé

Mother and son

Ami

I got your back

Her favorite dress

Me and my mom

Young mother

Up from below

Sisters

Road side snack vendors

Games

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