This week I had my first field visit - a visit to Niger state where the bulk of our project will be focused. This gave me chance to get out of Abuja, see where my colleague and volunteers would be based, and see another Nigerian state. My third if you count landing in and driving through Enugu.
We were going to train some of the National Youth Service Corps 'corpers' who have been recruited to support our project. All Nigerian nationals are called up to do a year of service after graduation, often working in schools, local businesses or government agencies, with an element of community development thrown in. It's an opportunity for them to give some time to the community and gain work / professional experience. It is often in a completely different area from where they originate from, so they also get to experience living in a different part of the country.
We had been postponing the training and the market assessment work that needs to be done out in the field due to the elections, but once we heard that they had been delayed until the end of March we realised we could quickly get some things started.
So, on Tuesday I left the office with the driver around 9am and we picked up the project coordinator and three volunteers.
It was a nice drive, and we drove right past Zuma rock - the famous rock that is said to be the geographical heart of the country. According to my guide book it is 1km long and 300m high with sheer cliffs on all sides and vertical lines carved into it by centuries of rainfall running down from the summit.
After a quick stop at the College of Education in Minna to do some photocopying, we headed to the hotel where the training would be. At the College I was fascinated to see how many of the female students had babies strapped to their backs. It looks like they just take them to class with them. In The Gambia I had seen female employees bring their babies to meetings and training sessions, but for students to bring them to college seems excellent. The babies are often so quiet, and if they are unsettled then often the whole group will take responsibility for calming them, and it is seen as completely normal for the babies to be there. Quite unlike the UK I think.
Anyway, once at the hotel we started the training straight away. 16 young people on the first afternoon and 18 on the second day. I did a quick intro to the project, showing them the work that was planned, and how this all hung together as a global project, and then we started training on some skills. They will be supporting the team to undertake the market assessment so we focused on observation skills, market mapping and research skills.
I did a session on listening skills, or active listening. It was really different to what I would usually train on or focus on so I actually really enjoyed doing it. I ran a couple of exercises to test their listening skills, including one where they worked in pairs and one person had to draw a picture that the other described. There were three rounds, on the first the drawer could not ask questions, on the second the listener / drawer could ask closed questions and on the third round the drawer could employ all the active listening skills and use of probing questions etc that I had just run through in my presentation. It worked really well! It was also a nice activity to do as I had the after lunch slot, so it kept everyone awake and engaged after a heavy Nigerian lunch.
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| My drawing activity |
The second day of training went well. I didn't have sessions so I fitted in some meetings from my hotel room, and just popped in and out of the training. One of the volunteers did a nice exercise at the end where he got everyone to tape a piece of paper to their backs with their name on. They then had to go around the room and get everyone to write one positive thing about them on the piece of paper, and they returned the favour. At the end each person read all the statements that had been written about them, preceded with 'I am...' so they would be reading statements like 'I am a good speaker, I am well dressed, I am smart' - it was really sweet!
On Thursday we had a day in the new local office the team have established and did some planning. I also got to see more of the town - much bigger than I expected, and to drive around in a few keke's (pronounced keh-keh) - the little auto-rickshaws they now use instead of motorbike taxis.
On Friday I had some more online meetings, and more planning time. My driver came and collected me at around 2pm but we didn't set off until about 4:30, so I got in last night at about 8pm, had a nice cuppa and went to bed - tired but in a nice way.
Next week my whole (global) team are coming to Nigeria so we are doing another trip out to Minna (a day trip this time) and lots of meetings, including a mid-year update call to our donor. It will be a good but busy week I am sure. Ken, my counterpart who is based in Cambodia will be staying for two weeks and advising the Minna team while they undertake the market assessment, so he will travel back to Minna in the second week, and I may well end up joining him. I think the three hour drive to Minna will soon become very familiar!
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| My hotel room |
You might have to move out of the way for cows... and peacocks!
It's hot!
I keep comparing the seasons to my time in The Gambia, but of course we are further east and closer to the equator here, and things are different! I have gone from boiling my water to bathe with, to showering in water that is so hot from the sun on the tank you can't believe it isn't coming from the hot tap. Avocados are in the market and the mangoes are coming - it feels like everything is happening too early!
It's nice to be back though. Of course I miss my husband and having a social life (new resolve to make more friends here now that I am back) but on a professional level it's nice to be back. The staff here really welcomed me back, and it's a vibrant, lively office that inspires work... rather than inspiring the feeling that you want to fall asleep on your desk.
Since I returned I have been feasting on salad and fruit, a natural reaction to being on holiday and treating myself a lot I guess. I came back craving vegetables and have been happy to find an even better variety in the market than when I left. Pink grapefruit, beetroot, avocado, green beans, nice lettuce, juicy onions - exciting times!
I have also hung my new curtains. I took the material away with me and gave it to my regular tailor as it seemed easier than finding someone here (although I will have to eventually!). He made them for me at a very cheap price, and to a good standard, so I am really happy with them. I am enjoying the privacy they give me, and they make the place look more homely. Once I get more established I'll reveal more pictures of the inside of the house, but until then... here are the curtains.
Apologies for the hiatus! 'I travelled' as they say here in this part of the world.
My passport was returned to me in mid-January with a shiny new visa sticker. This one was a re-entry visa, giving me the freedom to come and go from Nigeria. As soon as I had my passport in my hand I booked a flight to go and see my husband and some of my friends.
Getting there was a bit long winded, I had to fly via Lagos and had a long wait in the airport in between flights. This was compounded by the flight being late (with no information or explanation of course) and a heart-stopping moment where I didn't think I would be allowed to board. At that point, time seemed to come to a standstill. I'll come back to that.
Lagos airport was calmer than I had expected, but with most of it being refurbished and closed on a Sunday afternoon, it was a fairly boring wait. I was caught out with having to pay to shuttle between the domestic and international airport (I later found out that the airline offer a free shuttle but this was not apparent or forthcoming at the time) and I stupidly didn't take much naira with me, so I couldn't even eat my way out of boredom!
When the time came to finally board I was suddenly floored by a request to see my entry visa for my destination. As I stammered 'I don't have one, it's visa on arrival' my heart was pounding... I was thinking, 'Have they changed the entry rules? Does it make a difference if I enter from Nigeria? Will I get to see my husband? Oh my god I'm going to be stranded in Lagos with nowhere to stay and no naira!'. I was eventually allowed to get on the plane but it was a pretty worrying experience! Afterwards I wondered if she had been looking for a bribe (which failed as a) I never think to offer a bribe and b) I had no money on me!) but apparently it often happens on that route. The staff see a UK passport and figure that a visa is needed, like it is for Nigeria.
Anyway, two hours late, I arrived at my destination and had a fantastic two weeks. I had chance to spend a lot of quality time with my husband, and see some very good friends. I took some days as annual leave and then worked the rest, but I felt like I had had a good holiday / break, and I must look refreshed or 'fresh' because since I got back taxi drivers keep trying to over charge me!
While away I was warned that my flight back was likely to be delayed. According to my itinerary I was supposed to land in Lagos at 6am and fly to Abuja at 9am. Plenty of time right?! Well, we didn't land until 7:30 and then it took me a while to get through immigration. The staff seemed a bit baffled about my re-entry visa. One guy told me I had to buy him a coke and give him $10 to thank him for letting me through. I happened to have a 100 naira note (about 30p!) with my documents so I jokingly offered him that. He handed it straight back to me, but I suspect he wouldn't have done if it had been a proper amount! By the time I was waiting at the conveyor belt for my bag it was near to 8am and I was seriously doubting that I would make my flight. And then, out of nowhere, a man asked my name and handed me my boarding pass! It turns out there were a few of us doing the transfer, so they rounded us up, shuttled us to the domestic terminal and fast-tracked us through the airport. I made it to my gate just as they called everyone to board!
In all the haste I didn't get chance to arrange my airport pick up, and resigned myself to taking a random taxi from the airport (rather than I driver I knew who would give me a fair price). I texted a work colleague to get an estimate of the price I should pay, but I didn't hear back before I had to switch my phone off. Once in Abuja I exited the airport and started trying to figure out where to get a taxi from, only to spot my office driver holding up a sign and waiting for me! A great surprise and a very nice welcome 'home'.
