Last week I was walking down my street. There is a club on the corner and it was night, so lots of people were around. Here was an encounter I had with one girl:
Girl: Oyibo! (that means white guy)
Me: Hey, how you doing? (I keep walking)
Girl: Look at the Oyibo, walking around Abuja so freely. If this was Port Harcourt I would kidnap you!
Me: HAHAHAHA!
This could be a continuing series, people say lots of funny stuff to me on the street.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Old Peace Corps Pics
Hi All-
Just a normal work week this week, except I got a couple packages in the mail. One had Eminem's new autobiography, woo hoo! The other had tons of old pics from Peace Corps. One volunteer collected everyone's pics and made a CD of them and mailed them to everyone. Here are some old ones I never saw before...
This one is definitely on the bus from Johannesburg to go to Botswana for the first time...
Here are a couple pictures during our initial training...
Here are a some more from that kickass trip to Mozambique....
Seems like a long time ago. Hope you enjoyed.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Lagos
Hi All- I am in Lagos for meetings. We are starting up a new program here. I am very optomistic that it is going to be extremely successful. The potential is great since the population is so large.
Here is a bit on Lagos:
Lagos State is an administrative region of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the second most populous state after Kano State, and arguably the most economically important state of the county, containing Lagos, the nation's largest urban area.
Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 states. Prior to this, Lagos Municipality had been administered by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the City of Lagos.
State took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital. However, with the creation of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos ceased to be the capital of the State which was moved to Ikeja.
Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12 December 1991, Lagos Island ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos remains the center of commerce for the country.
I am staying at a hotel with the fastest internet I have had in like 3 years, so here are lots of pictures...
Here are some of the Doctors I was working with at the teaching hospital here in Lagos. It was one of their birthdays:
Here is a general hospital in Lagos that was a small grant award winner. They are building a child friendly waiting area that will have toys and health education DVDs. They are just starting construction it now:
This one if from Nasarawa State last week. You can see some coworkers reviewing patient charts for that study on Expert Clients:
And here are more random pics from the car window in Kano State. You can see the Emir's palace, the main mosque, and some other sculptures:
And just because the internet is so good, here are 2 pictures of me in funny hat
s:
Please write some comments!!!!
Here is a bit on Lagos:
Lagos State is an administrative region of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the second most populous state after Kano State, and arguably the most economically important state of the county, containing Lagos, the nation's largest urban area.
Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 states. Prior to this, Lagos Municipality had been administered by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the City of Lagos.
State took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital. However, with the creation of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos ceased to be the capital of the State which was moved to Ikeja.
Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12 December 1991, Lagos Island ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos remains the center of commerce for the country.
I am staying at a hotel with the fastest internet I have had in like 3 years, so here are lots of pictures...
Here are some of the Doctors I was working with at the teaching hospital here in Lagos. It was one of their birthdays:
Here is a general hospital in Lagos that was a small grant award winner. They are building a child friendly waiting area that will have toys and health education DVDs. They are just starting construction it now:
This one if from Nasarawa State last week. You can see some coworkers reviewing patient charts for that study on Expert Clients:
And here are more random pics from the car window in Kano State. You can see the Emir's palace, the main mosque, and some other sculptures:
And just because the internet is so good, here are 2 pictures of me in funny hat
s:
Please write some comments!!!!
More Kiva!
Ok, I am still obsessed with http://www.kiva.org/ and can't stop talking about it. If you still don't know what it is, what is wrong with you? :) It is a microlending site you can do online with your credit card. You receive email updates of the progress of those you lend to on creating their businesses and they pay the money back in 3-6 months right back into your account. I did a profile of the 3 loans I made last year. Grandma got me some gift certificates, so now check out the 3 others I just make this year:
Eribarik Paulo, age 29, is single. He has a catering business. He started this business in 2006 and works daily from 8am until midnight. He is able to earn a monthly profit of around US$ 177.
This will be Eribarik’s fifth loan from Tujijenge Tanzania. He used the previous loans to build his private house and has repaid the loans successfully. He now hopes for the fifth loan to buy a good stock of food for his business.
Eribarik will share this loan with his loan group "Neema Kimara", which totals 16 members. The members of the group hold each other accountable in paying back their loans. In the picture, Eribarik is in the middle, front row, in a white T-shirt. About Group Loans In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.
Béatrice Wilangi is 49 years old and the mother of four children, of whom two are twins. They are aged between 17 and 25. Besides her own children, she also takes care of an orphan aged 17. Three of the children in her care are enrolled in school.
Béatrice began her business in 2004 selling a five-kilo bag of sugar. Her beginning capital was US$ 5. As she used to sell near a garage, she quickly noticed what the mechanics’ needs were. She then catered to their needs by buying and selling peanuts and cakes. Over the months, those mechanics become loyal customers. With hard work and good management, she used her profits to increase her inventory from one five-kilo bag of sugar to ten.
Béatrice joined "Beni", one of Hope’s groups, last September. The two loans she has received have helped her to diversify her business by beginning to sell loaves of bread. Beatrice’s business makes a profit of about US$ 40 per week. Her dream is to open a beverage store and a clothing shop. Beatrice’s strategies are based on keeping up good relationships with her customers and knowing their daily needs. About Group Loans In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.
Ramatu Abubakari is 28 years old. She is married and has two children - a son and a daughter. Ramatu's daughter is already in school, while her son is yet to start. Ramatu and her family live in a rented apartment in Koforidua, a suburb of Offinso in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Koforidua is a farming as well as a commercial community, and many of its inhabitants are either farmers or traders. Ramatu works hard to help her husband financially support the family. Her husband works for one of the timber firms in the locality. Ramatu herself earns income as a food vendor. She prepares and sells porridge at the market square in the mornings. Porridge is eaten for breakfast by many Ghanaians. Ramatu procures the necessary ingredients, such as maize and millet, from Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region where they are readily available.
She has been in the food sales business for about three years and currently needs a loan to buy millet and maize in bulk in order to cut down on the cost that she otherwise incurs as a result of the frequent trips made to procure the porridge ingredients. She hopes to thereby increase her business profit and be able to better support her husband in paying for their children's education.
So I obviously thing this thing is pretty cool. It makes such a difference and it so easy to do. I know the economy is a bit tight in America just now, but try it out sometime...
Eribarik Paulo, age 29, is single. He has a catering business. He started this business in 2006 and works daily from 8am until midnight. He is able to earn a monthly profit of around US$ 177.
This will be Eribarik’s fifth loan from Tujijenge Tanzania. He used the previous loans to build his private house and has repaid the loans successfully. He now hopes for the fifth loan to buy a good stock of food for his business.
Eribarik will share this loan with his loan group "Neema Kimara", which totals 16 members. The members of the group hold each other accountable in paying back their loans. In the picture, Eribarik is in the middle, front row, in a white T-shirt. About Group Loans In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.
Béatrice Wilangi is 49 years old and the mother of four children, of whom two are twins. They are aged between 17 and 25. Besides her own children, she also takes care of an orphan aged 17. Three of the children in her care are enrolled in school.
Béatrice began her business in 2004 selling a five-kilo bag of sugar. Her beginning capital was US$ 5. As she used to sell near a garage, she quickly noticed what the mechanics’ needs were. She then catered to their needs by buying and selling peanuts and cakes. Over the months, those mechanics become loyal customers. With hard work and good management, she used her profits to increase her inventory from one five-kilo bag of sugar to ten.
Béatrice joined "Beni", one of Hope’s groups, last September. The two loans she has received have helped her to diversify her business by beginning to sell loaves of bread. Beatrice’s business makes a profit of about US$ 40 per week. Her dream is to open a beverage store and a clothing shop. Beatrice’s strategies are based on keeping up good relationships with her customers and knowing their daily needs. About Group Loans In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.
Ramatu Abubakari is 28 years old. She is married and has two children - a son and a daughter. Ramatu's daughter is already in school, while her son is yet to start. Ramatu and her family live in a rented apartment in Koforidua, a suburb of Offinso in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Koforidua is a farming as well as a commercial community, and many of its inhabitants are either farmers or traders. Ramatu works hard to help her husband financially support the family. Her husband works for one of the timber firms in the locality. Ramatu herself earns income as a food vendor. She prepares and sells porridge at the market square in the mornings. Porridge is eaten for breakfast by many Ghanaians. Ramatu procures the necessary ingredients, such as maize and millet, from Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region where they are readily available.
She has been in the food sales business for about three years and currently needs a loan to buy millet and maize in bulk in order to cut down on the cost that she otherwise incurs as a result of the frequent trips made to procure the porridge ingredients. She hopes to thereby increase her business profit and be able to better support her husband in paying for their children's education.
So I obviously thing this thing is pretty cool. It makes such a difference and it so easy to do. I know the economy is a bit tight in America just now, but try it out sometime...
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Kano State
Last week I traveled to Kano State to help do a study on the effectiveness of our Expert Client program and to monitor a small grant we awarded to a hospital there.
Foreign investments and investors can be seen all over the city. It is arguably within the first five states in terms of commercial activity within Nigeria.
Here we are at on eof the hospitals.
Kano State is a state located in North-Western Nigeria. Created in 1976 from part of the Northern Region, Kano state borders Katsina State to the north-west, Jigawa State to the north-east, and Bauchi and Kaduna states to the south. The capital of Kano State is Kano. The state originally included Jigawa State which was made a separate state in 1991.
Historically, Kano State has been a commercial and agricultural state, which is known for the production of groundnuts (peanuts) as well as for its solid mineral deposits.
Foreign investments and investors can be seen all over the city. It is arguably within the first five states in terms of commercial activity within Nigeria.
Kano's once booming manufacturing sector has been stagnant over the last 15 years. Largely due to epileptic power supply. Plans are being considered to build a Nuclear Power Station in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria.
The official language of Kano State is English, but the Hausa language is commonly spoken.
According to the latest census figures from Nigeria Kano State has a population totalling 9,383,682.
According to the latest census figures from Nigeria Kano State has a population totalling 9,383,682.
We were mostly inside hospital records rooms the whole time, but on Sunday we did a bit of site seeing with one of the doctors and here family. Here are some pictures:
We went to a soccer match where the local time played a team from Chad.
We went to the top of Dala Hill to see the whole ancient city. Look at all the crowed mud houses.
Here we are at on eof the hospitals.
We also met the Doctor's whole family:
Lately, I have been traveling in Kogi and Nassarawa states. Pictures from there next week...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)