1st June 2009

Abuja Skills Share Workshop

Ahh, it’s been a fun few weeks. 2 weeks ago I travelled up to Abuja to take part in a VSO skills sharing workshop. I met up with Clare and Martyn at Howard’s place where we stayed for the weekend preceeding the workshop. We went out for drinks with Thessa (an ex-VSO who now works for the Dutch embassy), her boyfriend Bash, Trina, Richard and Wahab, other VSOs who were up for the workshop. On the Sunday, Clare, Martyn and I headed over to an ex-pat compound called the ‘British Village’ where we found a bar showing football, tennis courts and a gorgeous outside pool gleaming in the Nigerian sun and calling us in. It was an extremely refreshing swim (as well as stretching the muscles, it did quite a good job of cleaning my feet, which seem to be in a constantly dirty state despite regular baths). That evening we headed over to share some wonderful croaker fish at a grilled fish restaurant called Abacha Barracks. It’s actually a working army barracks, but also opens its doors to trade and people in search of very tasty spiced fish. We met Thessa and Bash there along with another VSO down for the workshop called Binu and some Indian friends of his. Clare and Martyn were also able to finally meet up with the brother of a friend of Clare’s from the UK.

Anyway, VSO business started on Monday. It was run by fellow volunteers Cicely and Laurie with various others facilitating sessions. It was very informative and covered issues such as participatory approaches, how to fundraise, HIV/AIDS awareness and the rights based approach (using the U.N.’s Human Rights Acts as a basis for development). It ran for three days and we finished off on Thursday. It was a great workshop, especially as it was good to catch up with other volunteers and generally mix with some really positive people. I could also browse on the hotel’s wireless broadband and watch CNN!

Cakes at the Hilton

I stayed in Abuja for the weekend after the workshop and stayed with Berry, another volunteer who was based in Lagos, who is unfortunately going home because her placement hasn’t worked out. We were all exceedingly sad about this, but I’m glad I got to spend some time with her while she waited in Abuja for her flight home. We pottered about, ate some nice food and spent some good time with another volunteer called Stacey. Oooh, and on the Sunday, after frequenting the British Village swimming pool again, Berry, Teleri and I went to the Abuja Hilton! We were feeling incredibly indulgent and spent N1500 (just over our daily allowance and equivalent to roughly £6) on their afternoon tea buffet. What a treat! There was an endless supply of a range of teas, little smoked salmon and cheese sandwiches, petit fours, chocolates, huge cheesscakes, brownies, apples tarts and gorgeous cakes. Oh, and scones with jam – yum! We ate as much as we could and generally felt much scruffier than we ought to have been, but we didn’t care!

Back to Akwanga

It was nice to get back to Akwanga the following week and see my work friends again. While I’d been away they’d finished off the lesson observations at the demonstration primary school, which was great. We had to put that project on hold, however, because Liz wanted us to work on a proposal for CRD to carry out some research for VSO on the National Youth Volunteering programme. It’s a scheme that graduates take part in and involves them moving to another state and working in schools as teachers. So we had to plan how we would carry out this research and compile a budget. That took a couple of days and on the Wednesday we went to attend the opening of ‘Beter Leven’s permanent site. Beter Leven is Tashi and Manga’s Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that works with local widows and orphans to train them in self-sustaining skills such as knitting, bead making and small business enterprises. They had been given money from the Dutch Embassy here in Nigeria to construct the building, so the deputy Ambassador for The Netherlands came along with a range of local dignitaries. The ceremony was great, culminating with some cold drinks at a local café.

Last Friday was a public holiday and I went up to see Clare and Martyn in Kaduna. Kaduna was the capital of the north and a 2-3 hour drive north of Abuja. I travelled up with Thessa and Bash (Thessa has a car!) and met up with C&M that evening for a super fish and chips supper in Kaduna.

The following morning C,M and I travelled up to Kano, another 2-3 hours north of Kaduna to stay with Binu. Kamal (another VSO) was also there. We had some nice Indian food and went clubbing. Beer has been disagreeing with me, so I’m off alcohol from now on, so it was interesting to see how I’d last on the dance floor. As it turned out, this new tee-total idea is quite a good one and I had lots of fun with no hangover! We also visited the dye pits (see pictures) and the ancient market. It was quite a labyrinth, and although I haven’t been, it reminded me of what I’ve seen of Moroccan markets. Within was an old slave pit where traders used to barter for labour. Some of the guys wanted a group photo there, something I thought inappropriate. Kind of akin to doing a thumbs up pose outside a prison camp.

Clare, Martyn and I travelled back to Kaduna on the Sunday to find no lights and no gas left in their kitchen. There was also no food on the roadside or local ‘chop house’ (restaurant), but we did find some beef being barbecued. I’m not sure how to spell it, but it’s called ‘soo-ya’. It’s very tasty, but, as Martyn and I found out later after trips to the toilet, something was wrong with it (Clare had wisely abstained)!

Weekends whizzing past

Time really does seem to be flying by, so a quick summary of other things I’ve been up to.

v I’ve visited Kaduna again and seen some great Hausa theatre (dancing, music and drama).

v Went down to Kwara State in the south of Nigeria with CRD to research the current national volunteering scheme for VSO. We conducted interviews with all the key stakeholders and then wrote a report on our findings. I then went to Abuja and took part in a meeting with VSO to present the report and discuss plans for the next role out phase.

v Enjoyed a party that David and Eriye threw to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary. We had goat that I watched being slaughtered and cooked (it’s amazing what you’ll find in the belly of a goat – I wonder how long those plastic bags will take to decompose!)

Sorry the quick briefing, but I’ve gotten so behind with things that it will take me a month of Sundays to go into detail. I’ll try harder in the future!