Februaru 9, 2010
We're home safe and sound, but after a 12.5 hour trip. The group allowed me to ride in the front the whole trip (and I had a water bottle and wash cloth to cover my face when billows of black exhaust came in the windows) so I did not get ill like on the way down. That's about the only thing that went right. The van that took us half way, picked us up by 7:30 am. We were on the road at 7:45. I'll try to make a long story short.
The wheel on the van was fixed, but it died a couple times. We flooded it out and had to be pushed off the side of the road. A horrible noise under my seat sent us off road again. One thought it was a wheel bearing, another a loose break pad.. Since we were in the middle of nowhere, we drove slowly to the "mechanics". At an intersection there was little shanty (roof only) with lots of cars sitting around, hoods up, and a few people. They said they could take us right then. Off came the wheel, and the proble was a missing bolt on the caliper. So it was replaced: Labor 500 N ($3.33) Parts 100 N ($.67) Unbelievable ! ! ! We've contacted Clement who is meeting us half way to let him know we're on the road again. There are Traffic Safety people out blocking the road every mile or so. At one stop they produced a nail board, so we knew we were in for trouble. It took about 1.5 hours of haggling - we paid 1,000 N and they took the spare tire to insure we'd return to pay more. At this point Nse got angry. He came to the van, got a piece of paper and pen and returned to their "office".(an unbrella, plastic table and chairs) He told them he wanted their number, he was getting the police and he'd be back for his tire with them. Very quickly they decided that we could have our tire back and they wanted us to know out of the goodness of their hearts they were doing this, and since they loved God and we were missionaries they would let us go for only 500 N more.
We finally made it to the meeting place where Clement had been waiting 3.5 hours for us. Switched vans and off we went. We were stopped almost immediately and told our brake lights weren't working. Clement said they were and got out to show them. They tried to find other things wrong, but finally let us go without making us pay. I decided it was us that they had it out for, not the van. We had to drive the last hour in the dark, which isn't good here, but we made it. When we arrived there was no power and the jen wasn't on. So there was much scurrying in the dark to get things lit up. I'm ready for a good night's sleep.
Monday, February 22, 2010
February 8, 2010
Well, here I am siting in the parlor at Phyllis Sortor's home in Iket (It is spelled several different ways). I just watched a rerun of the Super Bowl (the live program was on at 1:30 AM) congrats Saints, what an exciting game. This seems to me to be so unbelievable. I'm in a land that doesn't have a fax machine in the whole country, and yet I can watch the Super Bowl. The boys at Emi-woro who are boarding at the school sleep in thatched huts,don't have running water or a bathroom (as we know it) but have cell phones. Things just seem so contradictory. What an amazing place.
Phyllis' home has three proper bathroom, six bedrooms that I've seen, and a guest house that I haven't seen the inside of yet. It is a perfect place for a teqm to come and be housed. In addition there are a number of projects that can be worked from here.
We did not leave to return to Emi-woro today because the van is being worked on. That back axle needs to be firmly in place before we start back. Our driver, Nse, assures us that all will be well. He did that each time the van engine died on the way here too - and we made it. We will leave early Tuesday morning. This means that I will miss my evening class for beginners. I'm sure Bridget will ask Mohammed to cover for me. Attachments are formed and therre is an investment in the lives of the people here. There is a need to see projects to completion.......
We have scrapped the plan to drive by the Hope Academy that was taken over by Joe. We would have to drive through his village to go by the school. The pastor assures us nothing will happen and we have every right to do it. Bature is dead set against it. He says that you cannot predict the young thugs. They don't think about the consequences of their actions. If one of them recognized us on the road he could hurl a stone and at the very least damage the van. This would also stir them up and make the oppostion angrier. None of us were afraid to go, but thought that Batures' argument was valid and chose not to make that trip. Paul has some video of the school from 2008, so we will look at that to get a picture of what is there. The courts have all agreet with Phyllys and there is a "warrent" out for his arrest, but no one is interested in enforcing it apparently. The wheels of law enforcement grind slowly here and sometimes not at all.
Phyllis and Devin were gone most of the day. Phyl was to have a meeting at 12 but no one showed up (including her) until 3. Then Phyl and Devin came home an hour later and them others arrived. The meeting got under way about 5 pm. NEPA(power company) - ( also popularly known as Never Expect Power Always) was on and off today, and the jen went down and wouldn't start. Devin was getting concerned that he wouldn't be able to watch the Super Bowl.(there was another rerun at 7:30) The Nigerian way of doing things is so different from the States! ! !
Well, here I am siting in the parlor at Phyllis Sortor's home in Iket (It is spelled several different ways). I just watched a rerun of the Super Bowl (the live program was on at 1:30 AM) congrats Saints, what an exciting game. This seems to me to be so unbelievable. I'm in a land that doesn't have a fax machine in the whole country, and yet I can watch the Super Bowl. The boys at Emi-woro who are boarding at the school sleep in thatched huts,don't have running water or a bathroom (as we know it) but have cell phones. Things just seem so contradictory. What an amazing place.
Phyllis' home has three proper bathroom, six bedrooms that I've seen, and a guest house that I haven't seen the inside of yet. It is a perfect place for a teqm to come and be housed. In addition there are a number of projects that can be worked from here.
We did not leave to return to Emi-woro today because the van is being worked on. That back axle needs to be firmly in place before we start back. Our driver, Nse, assures us that all will be well. He did that each time the van engine died on the way here too - and we made it. We will leave early Tuesday morning. This means that I will miss my evening class for beginners. I'm sure Bridget will ask Mohammed to cover for me. Attachments are formed and therre is an investment in the lives of the people here. There is a need to see projects to completion.......
We have scrapped the plan to drive by the Hope Academy that was taken over by Joe. We would have to drive through his village to go by the school. The pastor assures us nothing will happen and we have every right to do it. Bature is dead set against it. He says that you cannot predict the young thugs. They don't think about the consequences of their actions. If one of them recognized us on the road he could hurl a stone and at the very least damage the van. This would also stir them up and make the oppostion angrier. None of us were afraid to go, but thought that Batures' argument was valid and chose not to make that trip. Paul has some video of the school from 2008, so we will look at that to get a picture of what is there. The courts have all agreet with Phyllys and there is a "warrent" out for his arrest, but no one is interested in enforcing it apparently. The wheels of law enforcement grind slowly here and sometimes not at all.
Phyllis and Devin were gone most of the day. Phyl was to have a meeting at 12 but no one showed up (including her) until 3. Then Phyl and Devin came home an hour later and them others arrived. The meeting got under way about 5 pm. NEPA(power company) - ( also popularly known as Never Expect Power Always) was on and off today, and the jen went down and wouldn't start. Devin was getting concerned that he wouldn't be able to watch the Super Bowl.(there was another rerun at 7:30) The Nigerian way of doing things is so different from the States! ! !
Saturday, February 20, 2010
January 18, 2010
Saturday was market day. Bridget Meyers shops for the school children, the work team of 6 that is here until the 28th, her family of 4 and Paul Frazier and me. Because their funding is strictly budgeted they must be certain of the costs of everything and what line item it will be drawn from.
Our cook, Bassey, (pronounced Bossy) goes with her to shop. Otherwise she would not be able to get the best price. We are the only white faces seen in the town. Pat, from the work team, and I went with her. Only the pictures will tell you what that experience was like. The odors of market ranged from wonderful spice smells - to the opposite. Christmas dinner - we were told- was cow's head. (you know like turkey and ham??) We were hoping to see one in the market but were too late. They had already been sold.
At one point Pat and I struck out on our own to look at fabric. The colors are brilliant and beautiful. We tried to strike a bargain with two of the shop keepers, but were not successful. They wanted 2,000 Naira for 6 yards of fabric, and we had been told to only pay 1,000. Later we took another young man that had come with us, but the shopkeeper wouldn't come down lower than 1,700. So we went into a shop that we had not tried to bargain in and he was able to get us a price of 1,400 for the six yards. That would be just under $10 for 6 yds. of 45" wide fabric.
We purchased live cat fish for fish and chips this week. Later that day Pat went to get water from the freezer and one of the packages moved. To quote her, "I nearly jumped out of my skin". We had seen them kill the fish earlier and assumed that they had done that to ours - not!
The market took 5 hours. We were very hot and sweaty, but Bridget wasn't done yet. Her husband Devin took us and a truck load of groceries home and returned for her. He made three tips to town this day. (Last week it was four) So we're getting better.
Sunday everyone was dressed to the nines. They are always dressed in beautiful colors, even the men, but Sunday is special. All of the children sit together in the front on the right side of the church (clinic), and there is a man and woman whose main job is to make sure that they behave. Helena had a stick in her hand and if a child misbehaved, she tapped them with the stick.
Today - Monday-I will spend time in each of the classrooms that I haven't visited yet. On Friday I was able to visit 5 rooms. There are a total of 13. I've been asked by the head teacher to evaluate each class and then meet with the teachers and give them suggestions that will help them move forward in their instruction. At 4 pm I will meet with the adults that want to improve their reading and writing.
Okay that's it for now. I'll load this on Paul's juno outboc and when he can connect he'll send it to Pat Fowler, who will type it into the blog. Thanks Pat. I owe ya'.
THIS WAS PUT IN LATE, ON FEB 20TH. SORRY FOR THE MIX UP CAROL'S FAULT.
Saturday was market day. Bridget Meyers shops for the school children, the work team of 6 that is here until the 28th, her family of 4 and Paul Frazier and me. Because their funding is strictly budgeted they must be certain of the costs of everything and what line item it will be drawn from.
Our cook, Bassey, (pronounced Bossy) goes with her to shop. Otherwise she would not be able to get the best price. We are the only white faces seen in the town. Pat, from the work team, and I went with her. Only the pictures will tell you what that experience was like. The odors of market ranged from wonderful spice smells - to the opposite. Christmas dinner - we were told- was cow's head. (you know like turkey and ham??) We were hoping to see one in the market but were too late. They had already been sold.
At one point Pat and I struck out on our own to look at fabric. The colors are brilliant and beautiful. We tried to strike a bargain with two of the shop keepers, but were not successful. They wanted 2,000 Naira for 6 yards of fabric, and we had been told to only pay 1,000. Later we took another young man that had come with us, but the shopkeeper wouldn't come down lower than 1,700. So we went into a shop that we had not tried to bargain in and he was able to get us a price of 1,400 for the six yards. That would be just under $10 for 6 yds. of 45" wide fabric.
We purchased live cat fish for fish and chips this week. Later that day Pat went to get water from the freezer and one of the packages moved. To quote her, "I nearly jumped out of my skin". We had seen them kill the fish earlier and assumed that they had done that to ours - not!
The market took 5 hours. We were very hot and sweaty, but Bridget wasn't done yet. Her husband Devin took us and a truck load of groceries home and returned for her. He made three tips to town this day. (Last week it was four) So we're getting better.
Sunday everyone was dressed to the nines. They are always dressed in beautiful colors, even the men, but Sunday is special. All of the children sit together in the front on the right side of the church (clinic), and there is a man and woman whose main job is to make sure that they behave. Helena had a stick in her hand and if a child misbehaved, she tapped them with the stick.
Today - Monday-I will spend time in each of the classrooms that I haven't visited yet. On Friday I was able to visit 5 rooms. There are a total of 13. I've been asked by the head teacher to evaluate each class and then meet with the teachers and give them suggestions that will help them move forward in their instruction. At 4 pm I will meet with the adults that want to improve their reading and writing.
Okay that's it for now. I'll load this on Paul's juno outboc and when he can connect he'll send it to Pat Fowler, who will type it into the blog. Thanks Pat. I owe ya'.
THIS WAS PUT IN LATE, ON FEB 20TH. SORRY FOR THE MIX UP CAROL'S FAULT.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Good Morning All!
Im safe and sound at home - getting ready to go back to work tomorrow.
What an amazing experience! As we prepared to leave Emi-woro, I found it difficult to keep my composure. My last meeting with the teachers was pretty tough for them, and yet they all thanked me for the information and suggestions I had given them. They needed to be reminded that they needed to be at work on time. They had signed a contract and when Phyllis was away they played loose with that, and yet continued to sign in at 7:59. It was particularly hard to say goodbye to Solitu. I wanted to bring him home with me and get him proper medical attention.
Our trip home was interesting. We loaded everything into the extended cab pickup and drove the three hours to Abuja. Clement and Devin came in with us and all our luggage. Somehow my back pack had gotten gasoline on it and it really smelled bad. I had to remove everything and wipe off my laptop. I can still smell it now, so must have gotten some inside. Any how we were dropped off at 3 pm even though our flight was due to leave at 11:25 pm. Devin and Clement had to get back to Emi-woro before dark.
Long story short, we were in airports or on planes for 30 hours. It was a 5 hour flight from Abuja to Dakar, Senegal. Here we loaded on to near full capacity. They some people started leaving the plane. First a guy, then a whole family. Soon we were told that the grounds crew was off-loading all luggage. This had not happened in the 20 years the captain had piloted for Delta. There was some explaination about overweight with gas requirements - a long and confusing explaination. Of course most people were upset, but had no choice. My own take on this was that the people that got off couldn't identify all their luggage and for safety reasons ALL luggage was removed.
I just got the luggage at 3:56 this morning.
I think I might have left out some of the happenings between the last blog and this one, so will review and post more if that is the case.
Thanks for your support and prayers.
Carol
Im safe and sound at home - getting ready to go back to work tomorrow.
What an amazing experience! As we prepared to leave Emi-woro, I found it difficult to keep my composure. My last meeting with the teachers was pretty tough for them, and yet they all thanked me for the information and suggestions I had given them. They needed to be reminded that they needed to be at work on time. They had signed a contract and when Phyllis was away they played loose with that, and yet continued to sign in at 7:59. It was particularly hard to say goodbye to Solitu. I wanted to bring him home with me and get him proper medical attention.
Our trip home was interesting. We loaded everything into the extended cab pickup and drove the three hours to Abuja. Clement and Devin came in with us and all our luggage. Somehow my back pack had gotten gasoline on it and it really smelled bad. I had to remove everything and wipe off my laptop. I can still smell it now, so must have gotten some inside. Any how we were dropped off at 3 pm even though our flight was due to leave at 11:25 pm. Devin and Clement had to get back to Emi-woro before dark.
Long story short, we were in airports or on planes for 30 hours. It was a 5 hour flight from Abuja to Dakar, Senegal. Here we loaded on to near full capacity. They some people started leaving the plane. First a guy, then a whole family. Soon we were told that the grounds crew was off-loading all luggage. This had not happened in the 20 years the captain had piloted for Delta. There was some explaination about overweight with gas requirements - a long and confusing explaination. Of course most people were upset, but had no choice. My own take on this was that the people that got off couldn't identify all their luggage and for safety reasons ALL luggage was removed.
I just got the luggage at 3:56 this morning.
I think I might have left out some of the happenings between the last blog and this one, so will review and post more if that is the case.
Thanks for your support and prayers.
Carol
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
This is still Saturday's news. We traveled to Pastor Jillian's home where we were to have lunch at 1 pm. The time is now after 4pm. The lunch was a beautiful buffet of rice, red sauce with meat in it, and chicken. I took very small portions, because at this point I knew my stomach was rebelling against movement and the food would just make it worse. We took a tour of his palm oil factory and had an agriculture lesson on distinguishing banana trees from plantain trees etc. He was able to identify a number of plants that we'd had questions about. One plant is called the living stick. It is what Devin and Bridget would like to have planted around the school borders' area. They will make a wonderful fence and be nice and green. They will require much water to begin, so will be planted when this soon to come rainy season starts.
About six pm we left there and since we were so near Bassey's home, we stopped by there to visit. We brought him with us to visit his family. He will return with us on Monday. By the time we started home it was dusk. It is not safe to travel after dark, so we all said a prayer for safety and off we went. We got to Phyllis' town of Eket after dark and the Saturday night festivities were in full swing. We turned a corner about 4 blocks from her house when an awful noise sopped us. The rear axle had come off its pin and was resing on the springs or shocks. Devin, Paul and Bature all got out and immeidately went to work. Phyllis called her second in line mechanic since number one was far away. At that moment a man came to the window and introduced himself as Kevin. Phyllis knew him and was so happy he had appeared. The guys assessed the situation and said we could not dirve the car, but if she backed up a little they might be able to get things to a point where we could slowly drive home. Paul grabbed a 2x4 by the side of the road and used it as a lever to punch the axle back in place. At this point I thought I might lose my dinner, so kept the window wide open. The fumes from the hundreds of "machines" (motorcycles) made things worse. Fortunately I didn't lose anything, and we slowly drove home with Paul constantly reminding Phyllis to go slow and don't hit any potholes. That's the joke of the year. You have to pick the least damaging of the potholes to hit - slowly!!! God is so good! Had this happened in the bush or anyplace else we were, we'd have been in serious trouble. So thankfully it happened in town where people knew Phyllis and were able to help.
I showered, ate a piece of bread - all I could muster, and went to bed. The Lord was still pouring out blessings. I slept until 5:30 am. I knew when I awoke though, that I needed to remain close to the bed and bath for the day. So here I am typing a humungous blog and resting. The rest of the crew is out visiting several churches. They say they will be back early - but I know what that means in Nigeria. I also know I'm missing another adventure. Paul has promised to video everything and give me a copy.
That's it for now.
Carol
About six pm we left there and since we were so near Bassey's home, we stopped by there to visit. We brought him with us to visit his family. He will return with us on Monday. By the time we started home it was dusk. It is not safe to travel after dark, so we all said a prayer for safety and off we went. We got to Phyllis' town of Eket after dark and the Saturday night festivities were in full swing. We turned a corner about 4 blocks from her house when an awful noise sopped us. The rear axle had come off its pin and was resing on the springs or shocks. Devin, Paul and Bature all got out and immeidately went to work. Phyllis called her second in line mechanic since number one was far away. At that moment a man came to the window and introduced himself as Kevin. Phyllis knew him and was so happy he had appeared. The guys assessed the situation and said we could not dirve the car, but if she backed up a little they might be able to get things to a point where we could slowly drive home. Paul grabbed a 2x4 by the side of the road and used it as a lever to punch the axle back in place. At this point I thought I might lose my dinner, so kept the window wide open. The fumes from the hundreds of "machines" (motorcycles) made things worse. Fortunately I didn't lose anything, and we slowly drove home with Paul constantly reminding Phyllis to go slow and don't hit any potholes. That's the joke of the year. You have to pick the least damaging of the potholes to hit - slowly!!! God is so good! Had this happened in the bush or anyplace else we were, we'd have been in serious trouble. So thankfully it happened in town where people knew Phyllis and were able to help.
I showered, ate a piece of bread - all I could muster, and went to bed. The Lord was still pouring out blessings. I slept until 5:30 am. I knew when I awoke though, that I needed to remain close to the bed and bath for the day. So here I am typing a humungous blog and resting. The rest of the crew is out visiting several churches. They say they will be back early - but I know what that means in Nigeria. I also know I'm missing another adventure. Paul has promised to video everything and give me a copy.
That's it for now.
Carol
Saturday, February 6, 2010
It's been a week since I typed anything for the blog. So sorry! I'm in Eket at Phyllis' house in the south. It is really nice. There is grass, shrubs, and trees in her little compound. The problem? No power. Here in the city they have less power than we have in rural Emi-woro. But let me back up.
During this week, the teacher conferences were completed. I had one at 8 am and another at 1:30 pm. Then I had a meeting with the Head Mistress, and Bridget. We discussed all of the problems the teachers were experiencing, solutions I had suggested and suggestions the teachers had for the future. We agreed to take this information to Phyllis and get her opinion. We're also looking for a good evaluation form for the teachers. Here they are in their second year of operation and the teachers have never been evaluated. Interesting!
The Adult classes are continuing. Muhammed has been visiting and will cover my Monday class since we will be traveling back to Emi-woro that day. Which brings me to the trip from there to here(Eket). It was 11 hours and about half the roads were horrendous. Huge pot holes, the like that Pennslvania has never seen. This was the most jarring trip I've taken in my long life. The roadside scenery became more lush and green as we drove though, and we saw more western clothing being worn. I think Paul got some video of the roads and congestion in the towns we traveled through. I timed how many wrecked vehicles we saw in 15 minutes - 15. The battered cars and trucks are just left on the side of the road to rust. Before that happens they are picked clean of anything that can be used. In one area we ran across 3 recently happened accidents. One of them had cattle on the road. Clement said that they would die. So sad. We found out how these accidents happen the second half of the trip. Clement is a very careful and cautious driver. We met another driver half way, and whoa what a difference. He drove like all the other Nigerian drivers. He passed cars passing motorcycles with motorcycles coming in the other direction. We had a couple near misses. It was just best not to look forward. We left at 8 in the morning and arrived here at 7 pm. No bathrooms along the way, which was okay for the men, a little more challenging for me. But we all made it safe and sound. We stopped at a National Teacher Institute on the way down for Devin to see about getting what was needed for them to attend conference in Kenya in March. I got out to video the grounds and building. Big mistake! I was facing away from the building to start the pan when there was quite an uproar behind me. I immediately stopped filming - knowing what the problem was. I keep forgetting that they don't want you filming any public buildings. I turned around and there was a uniformed man with a very large rifle coming towards me. "No pictures" he said. I walked toward him and expressed my deep sorrow. He seemed okay, so I went to the van and put my camera inside. As I continued to walk around he came back and asked if I had "captured" anything. I said no that I was turned away from the building when I started to film. He said "I know, I saw you". Paul tells me later that he wanted my camera. I didn't get that from any of the conversation, but anytime someone is talking to you with a huge gun across his chest - you want to listen very carefully.
Three times during our drive to Eket the van chugged to a stop and died. The driver, who is a "mechanic" would throw back his seat and remove the engine cover (a thick piece of cardboard) remove a few things put them back then blow through a pipe in a small piece of the engine, put it back and off we'd go. I think it was the starter he kept clearing with a good puff of air.
Back to the present: The night was difficult. I showered and went to bed at 9 pm. I knew the "jen" would be turned off at 10 and was hoping to be asleep by then. Not! At midnight the downtown area was partying big time. Their loud speakers were on top volume with music and singing. At 3:20 the roosters started announcing the forth coming dawn. I decided during the night two things. One was that I would purchase the needed fuel to run the "jen"(generator) for the next two nights and two that I would purchase a floor fan if possible. I also wondered about the possibility of purchasing a ticket to fly from here to Emi-woro on Monday. My thoughts about that were punctuated by our outing on Saturday.
What an adventurous day. It started out with the announcement that we would visit a church in Omon and then go to Pastor J's house for lunch. I took a small bottle of water and wore my flip flops. First mistake for today. The church was waiting for us and held a little meeting meant to give us information about the area and the need for a proper school there. The information was typed on two pages and given to us to read as the Superintendent read it to us. This certainly is an area that needs a school. Then Phyllis announced that we would be "stopping by" a little fishing village on the way to Pastor Jillian's home. Sounds simple, right????? Okay - here's how simple goes in Nigeria. We drove quite a ways on bone crushing, teeth rattling roads (and Phyl assures me that they are MUCH better now than they have been) and I knew I was in trouble. My abdominal area was protesting loudly with each jolt of the van. But I toughed it out as we went from paved roads to dirt roads to wide, rutted walking paths. We were stopped by a guard at some point here and told that there were two tribes that had been warring with each other, but we should be okay - just to be aware. It turns out that the original owners of the land found out that oil and gold had been discovered there and came back wanting to repossess their land. When the present owners weren't about to let that happen, the other tribe began to burn their homes. We saw some of the resuts of this. Really nice homes burned to the ground.
We parked the van at a crossroads where further driving was not possible. We were to "trek" the rest of the way. (remember the flip flops? And me with plantar____ however it's spelled) Okay I'm still game! Off we go down this narrow path through jungle like growth. Around each corner I'm expecting to see the village. Paul swears it was two miles that we walked. I think it just seemed that long. We come to the "bridge" that I might have tried if I'd not been carrying a comcorder, camera and bottle of water, which incidentally was getting very low and I wasn't at the halfway point in the trip. So Pastor Jillian hoots something into the jungle growth several times and pretty soon - here comes a "can-o" (that's how they pronounce canoe). We all won't fit, so I'm in the first bunch. Every time the driver paddles, the boat tips to one side and the water is very near the top of the side. The thought of a saying came to mind - Tippy Canoe and Tyler too. I don't even know what that's from. Anyway Paul kept telling me to sit still. I really was trying. We arrived at the village and got off the canoe to wait for the second group. Right away we saw that the burning had reached the village. There were about four homes there burnt down. We walked through the narrow pathways between the houses made of palm leaves and bamboo. They were quite large, square and rectangle shaped homes with many rooms inside. Between each house you would find someone working on something. Mending a fishing net, cutting something, preparing food, etc. I would love to see this village from the air. I think it's huge. So our trek wasn't over. We finally came to the church. Someone went to get a key, chairs for us to sit on. Phyllis sent for some mineral and biscuits. The people wouldn't let us pay for them. The mineral is orange fanta, coke, lime drink - it's our pop or soda. We were able to take pictures of the children, and show them the picture. They loved it. There was a boy in his early twenties with a hugely swollen foot. He was walking with a cane. Phyl thinks it's elephantitus. She will look it up on the internet and see if anything can be done to ease his pain, and possible stop the progress of this disease.
I have been thinking about Lauren this whole trek, and at this point I was impressed that she needs some medical training. Lauren your teaching degree will be used to a huge degree on the mission field, and I think you will want to help the people physically too. Maybe while you take your Bible training you can also get some medical classes. I remember your immediate response to the boy in the jungle of Venezuela. His finger was nearly cut off and you went right to work helping the pharmacist work on him. How we wished we had sutures and needles to sew him up. But you made do with a pitiful first aid kit and the knowledge the both of you had. By the time we returned to the boat, I knew - had you (Lauren)been here you would have said to me again - "Gram, this is the most exciting day of my life". Our return to the van was uneventful, and it seemed not to take as long. I discovered thay my terrible towel was missing. I thought I left it in the van, but it was not there. SO, there is a Terrible Towel near a fishing village on the Niger delta in Nigeria Africa!
I best stop this for now and start another one, just to make sure we can upload this to Paul's Juno account. More news to come!
During this week, the teacher conferences were completed. I had one at 8 am and another at 1:30 pm. Then I had a meeting with the Head Mistress, and Bridget. We discussed all of the problems the teachers were experiencing, solutions I had suggested and suggestions the teachers had for the future. We agreed to take this information to Phyllis and get her opinion. We're also looking for a good evaluation form for the teachers. Here they are in their second year of operation and the teachers have never been evaluated. Interesting!
The Adult classes are continuing. Muhammed has been visiting and will cover my Monday class since we will be traveling back to Emi-woro that day. Which brings me to the trip from there to here(Eket). It was 11 hours and about half the roads were horrendous. Huge pot holes, the like that Pennslvania has never seen. This was the most jarring trip I've taken in my long life. The roadside scenery became more lush and green as we drove though, and we saw more western clothing being worn. I think Paul got some video of the roads and congestion in the towns we traveled through. I timed how many wrecked vehicles we saw in 15 minutes - 15. The battered cars and trucks are just left on the side of the road to rust. Before that happens they are picked clean of anything that can be used. In one area we ran across 3 recently happened accidents. One of them had cattle on the road. Clement said that they would die. So sad. We found out how these accidents happen the second half of the trip. Clement is a very careful and cautious driver. We met another driver half way, and whoa what a difference. He drove like all the other Nigerian drivers. He passed cars passing motorcycles with motorcycles coming in the other direction. We had a couple near misses. It was just best not to look forward. We left at 8 in the morning and arrived here at 7 pm. No bathrooms along the way, which was okay for the men, a little more challenging for me. But we all made it safe and sound. We stopped at a National Teacher Institute on the way down for Devin to see about getting what was needed for them to attend conference in Kenya in March. I got out to video the grounds and building. Big mistake! I was facing away from the building to start the pan when there was quite an uproar behind me. I immediately stopped filming - knowing what the problem was. I keep forgetting that they don't want you filming any public buildings. I turned around and there was a uniformed man with a very large rifle coming towards me. "No pictures" he said. I walked toward him and expressed my deep sorrow. He seemed okay, so I went to the van and put my camera inside. As I continued to walk around he came back and asked if I had "captured" anything. I said no that I was turned away from the building when I started to film. He said "I know, I saw you". Paul tells me later that he wanted my camera. I didn't get that from any of the conversation, but anytime someone is talking to you with a huge gun across his chest - you want to listen very carefully.
Three times during our drive to Eket the van chugged to a stop and died. The driver, who is a "mechanic" would throw back his seat and remove the engine cover (a thick piece of cardboard) remove a few things put them back then blow through a pipe in a small piece of the engine, put it back and off we'd go. I think it was the starter he kept clearing with a good puff of air.
Back to the present: The night was difficult. I showered and went to bed at 9 pm. I knew the "jen" would be turned off at 10 and was hoping to be asleep by then. Not! At midnight the downtown area was partying big time. Their loud speakers were on top volume with music and singing. At 3:20 the roosters started announcing the forth coming dawn. I decided during the night two things. One was that I would purchase the needed fuel to run the "jen"(generator) for the next two nights and two that I would purchase a floor fan if possible. I also wondered about the possibility of purchasing a ticket to fly from here to Emi-woro on Monday. My thoughts about that were punctuated by our outing on Saturday.
What an adventurous day. It started out with the announcement that we would visit a church in Omon and then go to Pastor J's house for lunch. I took a small bottle of water and wore my flip flops. First mistake for today. The church was waiting for us and held a little meeting meant to give us information about the area and the need for a proper school there. The information was typed on two pages and given to us to read as the Superintendent read it to us. This certainly is an area that needs a school. Then Phyllis announced that we would be "stopping by" a little fishing village on the way to Pastor Jillian's home. Sounds simple, right????? Okay - here's how simple goes in Nigeria. We drove quite a ways on bone crushing, teeth rattling roads (and Phyl assures me that they are MUCH better now than they have been) and I knew I was in trouble. My abdominal area was protesting loudly with each jolt of the van. But I toughed it out as we went from paved roads to dirt roads to wide, rutted walking paths. We were stopped by a guard at some point here and told that there were two tribes that had been warring with each other, but we should be okay - just to be aware. It turns out that the original owners of the land found out that oil and gold had been discovered there and came back wanting to repossess their land. When the present owners weren't about to let that happen, the other tribe began to burn their homes. We saw some of the resuts of this. Really nice homes burned to the ground.
We parked the van at a crossroads where further driving was not possible. We were to "trek" the rest of the way. (remember the flip flops? And me with plantar____ however it's spelled) Okay I'm still game! Off we go down this narrow path through jungle like growth. Around each corner I'm expecting to see the village. Paul swears it was two miles that we walked. I think it just seemed that long. We come to the "bridge" that I might have tried if I'd not been carrying a comcorder, camera and bottle of water, which incidentally was getting very low and I wasn't at the halfway point in the trip. So Pastor Jillian hoots something into the jungle growth several times and pretty soon - here comes a "can-o" (that's how they pronounce canoe). We all won't fit, so I'm in the first bunch. Every time the driver paddles, the boat tips to one side and the water is very near the top of the side. The thought of a saying came to mind - Tippy Canoe and Tyler too. I don't even know what that's from. Anyway Paul kept telling me to sit still. I really was trying. We arrived at the village and got off the canoe to wait for the second group. Right away we saw that the burning had reached the village. There were about four homes there burnt down. We walked through the narrow pathways between the houses made of palm leaves and bamboo. They were quite large, square and rectangle shaped homes with many rooms inside. Between each house you would find someone working on something. Mending a fishing net, cutting something, preparing food, etc. I would love to see this village from the air. I think it's huge. So our trek wasn't over. We finally came to the church. Someone went to get a key, chairs for us to sit on. Phyllis sent for some mineral and biscuits. The people wouldn't let us pay for them. The mineral is orange fanta, coke, lime drink - it's our pop or soda. We were able to take pictures of the children, and show them the picture. They loved it. There was a boy in his early twenties with a hugely swollen foot. He was walking with a cane. Phyl thinks it's elephantitus. She will look it up on the internet and see if anything can be done to ease his pain, and possible stop the progress of this disease.
I have been thinking about Lauren this whole trek, and at this point I was impressed that she needs some medical training. Lauren your teaching degree will be used to a huge degree on the mission field, and I think you will want to help the people physically too. Maybe while you take your Bible training you can also get some medical classes. I remember your immediate response to the boy in the jungle of Venezuela. His finger was nearly cut off and you went right to work helping the pharmacist work on him. How we wished we had sutures and needles to sew him up. But you made do with a pitiful first aid kit and the knowledge the both of you had. By the time we returned to the boat, I knew - had you (Lauren)been here you would have said to me again - "Gram, this is the most exciting day of my life". Our return to the van was uneventful, and it seemed not to take as long. I discovered thay my terrible towel was missing. I thought I left it in the van, but it was not there. SO, there is a Terrible Towel near a fishing village on the Niger delta in Nigeria Africa!
I best stop this for now and start another one, just to make sure we can upload this to Paul's Juno account. More news to come!
Wednesday, January 27th
Hello again! The past two days have been really busy - hot and humid. We all feel like melting ice cream cones Ohhhhhhhh sounds good. I might have to have a Brusters White Turtle when I get back even if it's snowing.
I wasn't able to wrap up the teacher observations yet, but did get news that there would be some Fulani Muslims planning to attend Tuesday. Murphy's Law struck! There was only one new Student, and she was not from the village. We worked on their names anyway. I think this makes them feel rather accomplished to be able to print their name. The class went well and Muhammed sat in to observe.
Today I completed the observations, met with one teacher at 8 am to go over his observation. Met with a second teacher at 1:30 when the students went home. We've worked up an excel spreadsheet for them to keep track of the "topics" that each student has masterd in English and Mathematics. The headteacher Agnes is to meet with the teacher and I but so far has been unable to do that. I will give her a report later. We will also do a spreadsheet for her to use in checking the teachers progress so she will have record of it.
The school is from our Kindergarten to Fourth grade. The students are in the class that matches their level of ability - not their age. As I observed today I was amazed again at the differences between our classrooms and theirs. The teacher, if she has a small child, carries him/her on her back as she teaches. There is also a small mat with some giant Leggo's on it. The baby will sit and play there, or lay down and nap.
My "advanced" class this evening had one new member. She doesn't speak English, but her friend does - so that helps a lot. They didn't show up until 4:45, so we had only 45 minutes of class. We did accomplish quite a bit though. We reviewed all letters and sounds, the greeting phrases, read two stories from the Queen's Primer II. Then each student told me one thing they had in their house. I wrote the word on the easel's (boy have those come in handy). Then went back to each one and had them use that word in a sentence and I wote that on the board. They copy this in their notebook and then practice it at home on their day's off. They had asked last week if they could take the Primer's home, and I finally got permission from Head Teacher Agnes for them to do that. She said they must return them or she will find them and demand 200 Naira. They all laughed when I told them this.
After dinner we gathered on the porch and had a wonderful time of fellowship with the Nigerian Leadership team and the work team from Wenatchee, Washington. The six on the work team will leave tomorrow about noon. We shared commuciation at the end of our time together. What a touching time of sharing. I will truly miss them when they leave.
I wasn't able to wrap up the teacher observations yet, but did get news that there would be some Fulani Muslims planning to attend Tuesday. Murphy's Law struck! There was only one new Student, and she was not from the village. We worked on their names anyway. I think this makes them feel rather accomplished to be able to print their name. The class went well and Muhammed sat in to observe.
Today I completed the observations, met with one teacher at 8 am to go over his observation. Met with a second teacher at 1:30 when the students went home. We've worked up an excel spreadsheet for them to keep track of the "topics" that each student has masterd in English and Mathematics. The headteacher Agnes is to meet with the teacher and I but so far has been unable to do that. I will give her a report later. We will also do a spreadsheet for her to use in checking the teachers progress so she will have record of it.
The school is from our Kindergarten to Fourth grade. The students are in the class that matches their level of ability - not their age. As I observed today I was amazed again at the differences between our classrooms and theirs. The teacher, if she has a small child, carries him/her on her back as she teaches. There is also a small mat with some giant Leggo's on it. The baby will sit and play there, or lay down and nap.
My "advanced" class this evening had one new member. She doesn't speak English, but her friend does - so that helps a lot. They didn't show up until 4:45, so we had only 45 minutes of class. We did accomplish quite a bit though. We reviewed all letters and sounds, the greeting phrases, read two stories from the Queen's Primer II. Then each student told me one thing they had in their house. I wrote the word on the easel's (boy have those come in handy). Then went back to each one and had them use that word in a sentence and I wote that on the board. They copy this in their notebook and then practice it at home on their day's off. They had asked last week if they could take the Primer's home, and I finally got permission from Head Teacher Agnes for them to do that. She said they must return them or she will find them and demand 200 Naira. They all laughed when I told them this.
After dinner we gathered on the porch and had a wonderful time of fellowship with the Nigerian Leadership team and the work team from Wenatchee, Washington. The six on the work team will leave tomorrow about noon. We shared commuciation at the end of our time together. What a touching time of sharing. I will truly miss them when they leave.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
We have now experienced the heat of Nigeria without A/C. Friday we had intermittent power. When there was power it was ranging from dim to dimmer. The A/C man did not come until after 2 pm on Saturday. Most went to market, Paul stayed here to work on the aministration building. The boys stayed with me and we did all we could to stay cool. Saturday was a lost day for me. Just talking with Ben and Jack, and laying on the floor with my feet up on a chair. The ankles have swollen badly. Haven't had this happen except once on a long plane flight. It must be the heat.
I have to tell you about the administration building. The man hired to put up the pillars in front of the building did such a poor job that when Paul went up late last week to do some leveling on top, the archway came down. So they tore out all the archways and pillars and have to start over. The Wanatchee Team advised Devin that that guy was not good at his work, so they let him go and hired Simeon. Simeon has proven that he was a stickler for level, square etc. Yesterday I found out that after having given Simeon the contract for the next portion of work - he hired the guy that wasn't good to be his helper. Oh my........what to do????
Pastor John said that "the heat is coming". So I guess our winter here is over. Pual's gauge registered 110 degrees yesterday.
It may be possible for us to travel south next weekend to the place where Phyllis is. We will get to see the property and Pual can make some determinations about constructon there. I must talk with Agnes to see if I can rearrange the teacher conferences first.
Bridget wants to give Bassey the day off today, so I will fix lunch. I've made the tuna sandwiches and plan to have pickles, sliced tomatores, chips and some fruit. I hope to get some family pictures today since there is the possibility that I won't be here next Sunday.
The morning service was good. There were about 6-8 new people that attended and committed their lives to the Lord.
It is possible that we may drive into town this afternoon and go to Nostalgia. That will give me time to look at the blog if the internet is up and the boys may get to swim in the pool.
I have to tell you about the administration building. The man hired to put up the pillars in front of the building did such a poor job that when Paul went up late last week to do some leveling on top, the archway came down. So they tore out all the archways and pillars and have to start over. The Wanatchee Team advised Devin that that guy was not good at his work, so they let him go and hired Simeon. Simeon has proven that he was a stickler for level, square etc. Yesterday I found out that after having given Simeon the contract for the next portion of work - he hired the guy that wasn't good to be his helper. Oh my........what to do????
Pastor John said that "the heat is coming". So I guess our winter here is over. Pual's gauge registered 110 degrees yesterday.
It may be possible for us to travel south next weekend to the place where Phyllis is. We will get to see the property and Pual can make some determinations about constructon there. I must talk with Agnes to see if I can rearrange the teacher conferences first.
Bridget wants to give Bassey the day off today, so I will fix lunch. I've made the tuna sandwiches and plan to have pickles, sliced tomatores, chips and some fruit. I hope to get some family pictures today since there is the possibility that I won't be here next Sunday.
The morning service was good. There were about 6-8 new people that attended and committed their lives to the Lord.
It is possible that we may drive into town this afternoon and go to Nostalgia. That will give me time to look at the blog if the internet is up and the boys may get to swim in the pool.
Friday January 29, 2010
Things are certainly quiet around here with the Wenatchee team gone. Phyllis is back in Eket where the other school is that she is trying to recover from Joe. The last we heard about that situation is the courts want to know the names of the 4 officers that were with her when they went to enter the school grounds. I have a feeling they are n trouble. We feel quite certain that Joe has paid them well to do nothing. He is hoping that we will give up and leave them be. To help you understand why he thinks he should have control, a little background would be helpful. His father was a godly man, and started the Free Methodist Church in Eket. After this, funds from the US built and started the school in the same village. Last April when he took over, there were 600 students in the school. He seems to claim ownership by association. fortunately Phyllis has all the paperwork and evidence that the school is certified separately. This is why all the court proceedings have gone in her favor. It is amazing that he has not been arrested and taken to court. I guess he knows the system and has certainly been working it. We certainly hope this will be resolved by the time I come home.
It is the end of a week, and I have started my one-on-one meetings with the teachers. They have all gone quite well. We are hoping that we can get them to use the school library and all the resources that have been sent here from the US. I guess they are much like us, they don't use what they are unfamiliar with. Both of my group teacher meetings have included presentations of available materials. Ruth, you will be excited to know that the greatest response I had was when I used the cassette player you donated to play a phonics tape. They loved the A, ah, apple...etc. A flash card goes with it, and the tape verbalizes what the card shows. They all laughed and chattered in their own language when that was demonstrated There are enough batteries to get three uses. We've told the team that just left what size to bring so their June team can bring some more.
The weekend lies ahead. I've completed Atlas Shrugged and Come Thirsty by Max Lucando. I'll see what I can find to read during the slow hours after dark and before bedtime..
It is the end of a week, and I have started my one-on-one meetings with the teachers. They have all gone quite well. We are hoping that we can get them to use the school library and all the resources that have been sent here from the US. I guess they are much like us, they don't use what they are unfamiliar with. Both of my group teacher meetings have included presentations of available materials. Ruth, you will be excited to know that the greatest response I had was when I used the cassette player you donated to play a phonics tape. They loved the A, ah, apple...etc. A flash card goes with it, and the tape verbalizes what the card shows. They all laughed and chattered in their own language when that was demonstrated There are enough batteries to get three uses. We've told the team that just left what size to bring so their June team can bring some more.
The weekend lies ahead. I've completed Atlas Shrugged and Come Thirsty by Max Lucando. I'll see what I can find to read during the slow hours after dark and before bedtime..
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