Nick's visit to Calabar!

Wow - an action packed weekend was had when Nick (a fellow VSO volunteer) visited Calabar. Lots of tourism, football and good food were consumed! 

Museums and Marina Resort:

Calabar Museum

Football fun - Nigeria beat Malawi in the World Cup Play-offs:

Nduenso and I enjoying the match!

Nick and I enjoying the football!

Nigeria win!!!

Trip around the oldest part of Calabar - Duke Town:

Me - the new hair, weight loss and Naija style!

So physically I've changed since being here in Nigeria - the diet of veggies and fruit have meant I've dropped some weight (although I'm sure I'll gain some by eating the treats mum sent out to me!!). 

I also found a lady who said she could cut hair and had trained with Aveda in America. So armed with N3,000 (about 12 pounds) I went to the salon and well - she coated my hair with an oil treatment, rubbed cholesterol treatment on my scalp, added mouse, then serum! My hair looks healthy but greasy! And the cut - well because she tonged my hair I couldn't really tell what it was like. When I washed out all the treatments from my hair and let it dry it was so uneven!! The right side was about 4 inches longer than the left!!Trained with Aveda - yeah right!! Fixed the worst of the lopsidedness myself and had Emilia's hairdresser tidy it up for me! 

But at least me and my hair are still looking healthy and I've finally learnt to pose Naija style in my photos!! 

 

Reflection on my placement and GPI

When I first saw NIGERIA on my placement match email from VSO my initial thought was “WHAT?!?!” I know I wanted a placement in Africa, but Nigeria – really??? A quick search on google did little to reduce my fears, Boko Haram, kidnapping, violence – what was I getting myself into? But when I read about GPI and saw what they are doing, well that was my decision made. How could I not go to volunteer in an organisation that was so obviously needed and so relevant, Empowering young women and helping them live health and happy lives free from violence and oppression – it was a worthy cause and one close to my heart. Having more time to research Calabar reduced my fear a little as it is the safest place in Nigeria and a tourist destination!!

And in the months I have been here it was the best decision I could ever have made to come here. I have loved every single moment. The year has had its challenges – malaria, no light for weeks, washing clothes by hand, heartbreak, accidentally eating nuts and loosing nan. But I’ve also learnt how kind strangers can be, how a simple smile or wave can leave me happy all day, how resilient I am, that I can make friends, live without electricity and a television! I’ve had time to read many books, reflect on my life and decide on my future. I’ve seen marriages, danced Atigy and Azuntu, drank star and guilder, ate cake, travelled along some of the worst roads ever, negotiated awesome deals in the market, made people shriek with laughter at my attempts to speak the local language, posed in hundreds of photos, had some great clothes made, and enjoyed being a local celebrity!

I’ve loved my time in Calabar and recommend people are brave and come and experience Nigeria – it really is not as bad as the media portrays. The people of Calabar are peaceful, kind, welcoming and generous!

And what can I say about GPI? Well, they are a bunch of dedicated and crazy people, but I love each and every single one of them. From day one they made me part of their family and I feel blessed they were my partner organisation. I’ve never been somewhere where everyone is this huge family, and everyone supports one another. Yes there are issues (or why else was I needed) but the team spirit is one thing to never doubt here at GPI.

And the staff – well here are my few words about you all:

Pastor Peter – greets me every day with a smile, laughs at my jokes and has the kindest heart

Nduenso – a great conversationalist, highly intelligent and lovely guy who will go far in this life

John – will always grab me for a hug and makes me laugh whenever I see him

Ine – quiet, strong and dependable, he looks great wearing traditional clothes!

Maggie – keeps my cubicle clean and has a smile that lights up the room and radiates warmness 

Oga Drive - our smiley "pilot" driving us safely to all our destinations!

Mercy – my “Nigerian Mum” and a wonderful friend and mother

Bassey – a princess no less who shares my sense of humour, would make an awesome TV presenter and is so down to earth

Comfort – my first GPI contact with a gorgeous laugh and a relaxed, kind manner

Emilia – my confident and friend through all the good, bad and crazy times!

Dorothy – the best dancer ever! So innocent, kind and intelligent

Arit – I admire her strength, focus and determination, she will achieve in life

Bliss – a deeply devoted Christian, wife, mother and friend whose advice I treasure

Helen – her honesty is refreshing and I learnt a lot from our conversations that challenged my own views

Ndodeye – I lost count of how many times this lady made me laugh – a comedian and natural leader

Maggie U – quiet and elegant, highly considerate of others

Maggie A – always a kind word and beautiful greeting each day, tall and gracious

Emmanuel – my knight in shining armour, protecting and helping me!

Mumsy B – a formidable lady who made all things possible by founding GPI

I will miss everyone from GPI so much and my next workplace has a lot to live up to!! I hope I have managed to meet their expectations and have made a difference. I pledge my continued support to GPI in any way I can and want to remain part of your lives forever.

Things I have learnt about myself

1. I can't dance but I can get away not looking so bad here in Nigeria! 
2. I believe in "God" but its my own beliefs and I don't like to be forced into worship or to act in ways I don't agree with. A friend here said "God gave us our abilities and strengths, the world and all the resources we need - we don't need to pray for more but to get of our bum-bums and use them." Pray for hope, strength, love or thanks - not for things, make them happen yourself 
3. I think I may possibly want to adopt a child - Sarah with a child! A crazy thought and hard to believe....
4. I don't have to straighten my hair every day - curly/messy hair is fine 
5. Family and friendships survive relationships if the roots were right in the first place 
6. I can't live without a phone, internet connection and a kindle!! 
7. Living with less money makes you appreciate what you can afford 
8. Life goes on without chocolate.....
9. I miss a good steak and a fresh salad
10. Cultural differences can be funny when you're happy and challenging when you're sad 
11. I can fall in love and maybe one day I will get married 
12. I can hold my temper better now and when needed (with police, customs, immigration...) 
13. I am good at negotiating in markets 
14. I value being part of a community 
15. Living in a small place can be isolating and limits your views if you don't remember to connect with the outside world
16. A smile from/to someone can make their and my day 
17. I love attention - being an "oyibo" in africa is mainly fun 
18. I can grab opportunities when they are presented to me and I can develop professional networks 
19. It is fine to be somewhere on your own and survive - I can make friends! 
20. I can cope with living in the dark (although no power is frustrating at times!) 
21. I don't like being controlled by men - either personally or in the workplace. I like to be trusted, be respected, praised and have freedom! 
22. I know my tolerance limits and when I need to be alone 
23. I can travel to places I've never been to on my own 
24. I talk a lot 
25. I am stubborn, argumentative and cry when I am upset, angry or frustrated! But I am brave, strong, and can adapt into my circumstances 
26. I don't have to plan all of the time - I can go with the flow and see what comes up! 
27. I'm no longer early for things
28. I need friends to confide in and have fun with - they make my life happy and worthwhile 
29. Giving and helping others (even just a smile) is a great feeling 
30. I hate noice - I need peace and quiet especially at night!!! 

Nigeria has changed me, I hope my friends and family back home will recognise the new me!!

What have I achieved with GPI?

My year placement here with GPI is almost at an end, my role was to capacity build and strengthen GPI, and enable it to make more impact in its programmes. My main focus was to conduct an organisational development analysis, produce a report summarizing my findings and to develop a programme of work to strengthen GPI according to my findings. I worked with GPI staff members, board members, beneficiaries, funders, other NGOs GPI works/partners with and ministries to conduct the analysis, as well as researching into common issues faced by NGOs operating in developing countries.

The analysis found that GPI has a clear focus – with a vision and mission which is relevant and understood by all staff, beneficiaries and organisations GPI works with. Staff held a passion for this vision and mission, and this driving force was one of the most significant factors in how GPI has succeeded for so long and how activities are delivered despite funding issues and low wages paid to staff. Seeing positive impact on lives and helping others were main motivations for staff to work at GPI. The similar passion and motivation of staff also helped with teamwork – there is a spirit of family within the organisation with everyone pitching in to help to ensure that activities being run are as effective as possible for the beneficiaries.

The weaknesses of GPI lay within the areas of:

·         commitment and role of the Board - the Board had not met or engaged with staff for 3 years

·         succession planning for the Founder Coordinator of the Calabar GPI centre - who is approaching retirement ,

·         structure and staff roles - there was consensus that “everyone did everything”

·         information management and sharing - there is a lack of computers and documents are not stored in a central location leading to duplication of work and loss of documents.

In order to help staff understand and own the findings of the report, I ran several activities including workshops exploring the issues, 1:1 interviews, solution focused workshops and focus groups. 

In total, there were 73 recommendations, ranging from small changes to long-term large change. Staff voted on the recommendations they feel are required to be implemented immediately and will make immediate impact. We now have nine work streams established:

1. Programme Management & Development – this involved introducing project management theory, practice and documentation enabling efficient and effective planning and delivery of activities. Training has been delivered and documentation is being used to manage all activities

2. Monitoring & Evaluation – this group is focusing on how GPI can monitor its long-term impact on the lives of beneficiaries, as there are effective M&E structures in place to evaluate activities as they occur

3. Succession planning – this group is working on a strategy to recruit a successor into GPI, currently they are working on producing a job description and person specification for the Coordinator role

4. Structure and roles of GPI – this group is considering the pros and cons of moving from having a general structure to introducing specialist roles (e.g. M&E officer, communications officer) and producing job descriptions for all roles

5. Remuneration – this group is exploring ways to increase benefits staff receive, including pension or healthcare plans and annual leave. They are currently benchmarking their own benefits against those given by other similar organisations/NGOs

6. Managing & storing information – this group is looking at internet/cloud storage for documentation and producing a guide and training for staff on how to store and save documents

7. Provision of IT equipment & IT Training – this group is reviewing the existing IT equipment and exploring options to increase staff’s skills using word, excel, email and internet

8. Funding and income – this group will explore how GPI can generate some income and other funding opportunities to ensure it received the necessary funds to continue its activities

9. Website Development – this group is expanding the capability of the current website to enable more social media/interaction with beneficiaries and to enable GPI to reach more beneficiaries

Another success achieved is the Board met, engaged and voted on the priorities for action – which was a direct result from the circulation of the OD report and its findings.

I have loved my placement here in Nigeria and will be very sad to leave GPI. GPI have welcomed me into their family and every day I enjoy getting up and going to work with such a dedicated group of people. GPI have the skills and ability to continue with the work streams and projects once I leave and I will continue to support them in any way I can, as the adolescent girls benefit hugely from the work of GPI.