Wavin Flag

Members of Nigeria IV and their time spent volunteering in Calabar during June/July 2010. The song is "Wavin' Flag (Celebration Mix)" by K'naan. ♥

This was my first time making a video clip, was fairly easy and fun! My mum showed me how to use it :)

Final Presentations and Farewells

Time really does fly! I think when you're busy and stretched, the brain has less capacity to focus on duration. It has been one month since I landed in Nigeria. I’m currently sitting in my hotel room and reflecting on the past few whirlwind weeks in a mixture of melancholy, happiness and a feeling of content accomplishment.

I’ve learnt so much in the last weeks, it does make me ruminate that I do waste a lot of time back in Sydney and must take steps to rectify my laziness back home. Apologies for the lack of blogging in the past weeks. It has been a frantic tumultuous time – we had deliverables to finish off, presentations to prepare for and lots & lots of farewells to clients and friends.

I’m proud to say Fi and I delivered what we promised in our revised scope of work. We have additionally left the Ministry with medium and long-term roadmaps. There are many challenges the Ministry faces and as we hand over our work, the ball now falls into their court to continue on with our work. The word of the day is Sustainability. I hope the leadership team recognises that continuous process improvement will lead to boosting staff morale and ultimately, prosperity for the State and farmers.

Our final presentation to the Leadership teams and the departments was well received. They expressed gratitude and appreciation for our work ethic and the relationships we had built with staff. They also made many valuable insights and suggestions which we conveyed at the Governor’s presentation to the Executive Council - funds need to be invested in agriculture. (On a slight tangent, an interesting fact: formal meetings all start and end with a prayer. Yes, JC is strong in Cross River State)

On our last day in the office, we had a farewell meeting where both Fiona and I got quite teary. I’m not putting those photos up!! :p There are people in this Ministry that I have incredible admiration and respect for – they are just lovely human beings who stay motivated, focussed and in good spirits despite some of the frustrating ongoing issues. They will be my inspiration when I start self-pitying at work. I feel so honoured to have worked with and for the staff. Words simply cannot express the gratitude I feel.

The Planning, Research & Statistics department presented us with farewell gifts. This was really unnecessary as there is lack of funding in this Ministry and therefore, I would much prefer they spend their money on themselves. I was incredibly touched by this gesture in addition to their kind, thoughtful words. We actually couldn’t properly give our thanks and appreciation in return as we were both a little choked up. We went to say goodbye to Mrs Christiana Ugwu, the Director of PRS, after formalities and all 3 of us got quite teary. I would love nothing more than to come back and work with PRS to achieve some of their objectives and we made that quite clear in our recommendations about signing a commercial contract with IBM.

The final presentation at the Governor’s office took place today (the Executive Council convenes every Wednesday). It was interesting to be involved in local politics. IBM’s message was clear – communication and collaboration – these should be the drivers for the government. Whilst we finished our scoping, deliverables and recommendations today, it is now up to them, the leaders of the State, to start on where we have left off. Fingers crossed.

Tonight, it is time for celebrations after weeks of hard work! There’s nothing like finishing a project to give you a sense of accomplishment. The hotel staff have expressed sadness and we’ve exchanged numbers & emails. Arrggh – I’m going to celebrate tonight and forget that I have to say goodbye to my friends in Calabar very shortly! There will always be a piece of my heart in Calabar.

Tomorrow we fly to Lagos for a press conference at the IBM office on Friday. Lagos sounds hectic!

I've attached some photos below from our farewell with the Ministry below.

And some photos from the media event

Team IBM

Our driver today ran out of fuel and money so we didn’t quite make it to the office this morning. Therefore, Fi and I declared it a working from “home” day. Home in this case translates to the pool bar at the Axari hotel. It is rather nice to reacquaint ourselves to working conditions where we have a flushing toilet, access to lunch, internet and ongoing power. Having said that, I do miss being in the office and maximising my time here with the staff.

I’ve spent the morning doing productive research on agricultural practices around the world. I think I’ve mentioned in a prior post that we have uncovered data integrity issues around convoluted data collection methods from farms/fisheries/etc from field officers here in Cross River State. One of our recommendations for the future will be to adopt new technologies such as handheld devices for accurate and reliable data similar to the solution offered by CDS in Jamaica.

I just remembered now to write this blog post about Team IBM (I’ve also still got cuisine and politics on my list). As we’ve spent the last 3 weeks together practically 24/7, we’ve forged strong bonds and relationships. Fiona calls this “Luxury Survivor”, put 12 strangers together and watch the fireworks! :p We’ve talked about our families, friends, life back home, our work, politics, movies, hypotheticals, religion, philosophy, cute soccer players… you name it, we’ve spoken about it! I’ve really enjoyed all their company hence why I’ve actually spent very little time alone!!!

So here is my little tribute to these lovely people that I’ve grown very fond of over the last few weeks. And yes, I’m getting sentimental as I realise I only have one week left before we fly to Lagos. When will we ever be back in a situation with all 12 of us together again?? In alphabetical order:

Albert (Philippines). Albert is sweet, has a wonderful smile and loves a good party. I’m so proud of Albert as he has struggled the most with language and cultural difficulties but he has persevered to continue to challenge himself. It takes a lot of strength and willpower to push through and he does it with a laugh even in the most taxing of circumstances. We’ve had some great one-on-one conversations and he’s such a bright kid. I can call him kid in a non-patronising way because I’m like his older sister. :p He’s very modest, for example, he’s an Excel guru but has been hiding it!

Ashley (US). What is there not to love about Ashley? She’s gregarious, searingly intelligent, warm, and full of joie de vivre. Ashley and I can talk about anything under the sun ranging from frivolous subjects like boys to more serious discussions around race relations & feminism. I love that she thinks CNN is not real news too!! It’s such a shame we live in different countries as there is nothing I would love more than have Ashley over for good food, wine and great conversation. On this trip, "Doing an Ashley" is breaking out into a song and dance at any given time.

Bernd (Germany). I am so fond of Bernd and have enjoyed of our late night bar chats whilst the rest of the team are sleeping. At the beginning, I was wary that perhaps Bernd and I would clash on many viewpoints especially around my rather ardent optimism (Bernd is just a tad more cynical than me). However, I have a lot of respect for his well-thought out opinions and really enjoy our avid debates. He is very good-natured putting up with my interfering personal questions and has such a kind good heart. I love listening to Bernd talk about life because he has a bundle of passion, conviction and spirituality. He’s also so uber-cool cause he makes his own paneer!

Boris (Netherlands now Hungary). Boris Boris Boris. This trip would not be the same without our friend, Boris. Make that everyone’s friend! Boris is one of those people that can melt the coldest of hearts and dismantle all barriers whether they be communication, cultural, you get the gist. Anyone who meets Boris just instantly loves him. He’s so enthusiastic and full of life that he just makes you happy being in his vicinity. I’m smiling now just thinking about Boris and his wacky antics. I like vicariously living through Boris’ life and friends. Not surprisingly, Boris is the hotel’s staff’s favourite.

Ganesh (India now US). Our resident theorist and philosopher. Ganesh is the deep thinker of the group - he’s always thinking about how something can be improved with the ultimate goal of improving people’s lives and improving the world. I have a soft spot for Ganesh because I think, politically, we are the closest aligned. He has a wicked sense of humour, is always giving me a good ribbing but he’s also sensitive and genuinely concern for all of us (for example, he checks to make sure I’m ok after teasing me for hours! lol). He also has awesome taste in movies. The only downside to Ganesh is that he doesn’t read fiction!! But I’ll work on that and then he will be perfect! Haha

Heeseok (Korea). As an honorary Korean, Heeseok and I hit it off straight away. Oh wait, he’s actually not that Korean because he doesn’t like karaoke (but he does smoke like a chimney)!! Heeseok is hilarious in an understated way – I really strain to listen to his deep American-tainted voice but it’s worth it for his dry sense of humour and one-liners. I do wish Heesoek was more Korean though because any self respecting Korean would have bought kimchi with them!! However, I will find it in my heart to forgive him because he is well travelled, understands my random pop culture references and has two adorable young children.

Ian (Australia). Ian is just the quintessential Australian – I don’t often resort to stereotypes but I know Ian would appreciate me stating this. He’s just so lovely, easy-going, immature sense of humour, loves a good laugh, happy-go-lucky, and all rounder decent Aussie bloke. It’s the reason why we keep calling him the “dad” of the group. Trust Ian to make dad jokes and laugh at our silly lame jokes. He’s also a big softie often found in his room watching chick flicks. :p

KJ (India). KJ has the best laugh ever – it is incredibly infectious!!! I wish I could bottle it up and take it back home to Australia with me. KJ is full of the milk of human kindness (that’s my Shakespeare quote ticked off), helpful and thoughtful. I’m so glad that Heeseok and KJ are working with the university as I know they can make the most difference for the students and the uni. Also, KJ really doesn’t eat that much so I love to strategically place myself near KJ at meal times. "Doing a KJ" is making a joke and laughing at it first loudly by yourself.

Lekshmy (India now US). No one has entertained me as much as Lekshmy. If I need a good pick-me-up, I love listening to Lekshmy talk to people and ask them some of the wackiest questions. She’s the youngest of the group and as a result, is a great sport for putting up with our merciless teasing. Of course, being the strong independent woman she is, she gives us plenty back! Never a dull moment around Lekshmy. I’ve told her to sign that beautiful face to Nollywood with me as her agent. That’s my get rich scheme in Nigeria and it’s not a scam! This girl owns the title of “most marriage proposals ever in the space of 3 weeks”.

Tetsuya (Japan). I love listening to Tetsuya talk – he has the most calming soothing voice. I can actually picture the words being translated from Japanese to English then back again in his head before he speaks. Thus, -he is very eloquent and is so nice – I would say he has the best manners of the group. Also, it goes without saying that he’s our professional photographer – he’s able to capture the most heart warming of moments on his kick-arse SLR. I also find it amusing that Tetsuya is always surprised that we have heard about Japanese culture - I told Tetsuya that some of my favourite books and movies are from Miyazaki and Murakami and he was very surprised. Also that we knew about Iron Chef! "Getting Tetsuya-ed" means falling over concrete and hurting yourself.

Fiona (Australia). I’ve left Fi to last because I am so unbelievably fortunate to have Fi as my partner in crime. I could not have asked for a better person to share this adventure with. Not only is she exceptionally intelligent and a data guru, she’s just a wonderful human being who loves a good party! Fi is the person who always makes sure everyone has food before she eats. She’s generous to a fault and takes great care of all of us. If there was a crisis situation, she is most adept with dealing with it with her cool calm collected head. I love that Fi and I get to spend heaps of time together working, sitting by the pool shooting the breeze and having a good old laugh. Oh yeah and she's so disciplined when it comes to exercise, puts me to great shame.

So that is our team and we are heading to Obudu for the long weekend! Have a great weekend everyone and we are heading into our final week. Time really has flown. Go the Netherlands in the WC Finals!

The danger of coming here...

Someone wise said to me that the danger of coming to Africa in the first place is that I just may not ever want to leave. As I contemplate all good things coming to an end, I'm trying to work out how I can stay for longer. It's a cliche but the continent is soo vast and countries differ so greatly that I want to wander and explore it all.

We had a trip planned to Obudu Cattle Ranch this weekend but unfortunately, it was not confirmed with the Governor's office. Therefore, it has been a relatively quiet one in Calabar - a walk around town, a trip to an arts & crafts store, another supermarket run and lots of World Cup quarter finals action. (Ghana was completely robbed by dirty cheat Suarez!)

Tomorrow is Sunday and the majority of people will be at church. I will be trying to rest as I haven't been able to get solid sleep and we have a big week ahead. I'm not sure whether that is a result/side effect of my anti-malaria tablets or just not being able to switch off mentally. The frogs and thunderstorms keep me company late at night. We have entered rainy season in Calabar . There's something inexplicably calming about the monotony and solitude in listening to the rhythm of the rain beating against the roof and windows.

How to organise training in Nigeria 101

Organising a training session in Nigeria is in actuality quite an experience! Basically, it can be a logistical nightmare cause not only do you have to attend to the usual contentions of preparing material customised to a local audience – there are also a plethora of issues like the venue to hold the training with sufficient working computers, power, back up generators, transportation. The list of things to organise and things going wrong are frighteningly endless. However, in my humble opinion, I am happy to report it was a success from Team IBM and Team CruTech.

To start from the genesis of this idea, we would need to cast our minds back to last weekend, specifically, Sunday afternoon. Our first formal team meeting in the conference room at the hotel to discuss commonalities amongst our various projects and clients. We identified the need to conduct some basic and intermediate Excel training across the ministries. Boris and I volunteered ourselves as this was right up our allies being daily Excel users and advocates, not to mention, excitable and enthusiastic people.

First and our most significant difficulty – where would this be held? When you’re in Nigeria with lack of reliable power and IT infrastructure, this is a most considerable issue. Heesoek and KJ thoughtfully offered to speak to Mr Terence Eyo (Director of Cross River State University of Technology) about using the uni’s facilities. This was confirmed on Tue night after much investigation whether there would be enough power to generate the total desktops required and Mr Terence having to cancel classes for the day!! We are indebted to CruTech for their assistance and support. Leading up to the day, we were still confirming final numbers and made the decision to run two sessions, in case, the large computer room was unavailable. In my summary of the events, it sounds relatively easy and smooth but trust me, there were lots of last minute frantic phone calls.

On Wednesday, Jane and the Governor’s driver kindly drove Fiona, Lekshmy and I around the markets to buy CDs, markers, covers and refreshments for the training sessions. We also realised there would be transportation issues as staff were coming up to us asking for transportation money (CruTech is around 30mins away from the Agric office). Enter superwoman Jane who coordinated picking up the Agricultural staff in the morning, then picking up Forestry staff at 12pm then driving Agric staff back to the office at 1pm.

Boris and I worked right up nervously through our dinner preparing the training material as we have been uber busy and productive at our workplaces this week. There is a funny shot of us sitting seriously and manically typing away at our laptops right up to about 10pm. The rest of the team patiently waited for us to transfer the finalised training materials to their laptops in order to burn 50 CDs before the morning. An early night for the two trainers (I went to bed, Boris went to the bar! lol )

In the morning, we both woke up energised and ready to tackle the tasks ahead. We took a laissez-faire approach as there are mutiple things that could go wrong like power going off, too many people turning up to the sessions (it had spread through word of mouth and as free training is rare, we generated much interest). This was tested when it was 10am (the scheduled start of the first session) and we were still waiting for the keys to the computer lab. I was impatiently pacing around Heeseok’s and KJ’s office. We killed some time by taking silly photos.

Once we got the keys and opened up the computer lab, the bus with Agriculture staff of around 12 had arrived!! There was a mad dash to test the power, get the projector up and running, getting the desktops booted before ushering in the first “students” of the day. Before we knew it, the training had started and it went smoothly from there onwards. No technology or power glitches - hurrah!!

The students from both sessions were very engaged and it was so gratifying to be able to help them with something tangible. I was somewhat concerned that the training was seen as a novelty for some but my fears were unfounded, most people were genuinely eager to learn how to apply Excel to their daily jobs. The biggest barrier now is access to computers to continuously practice. (Also, a typing course is required as staff have limited access to computers hence, their typing is quite slow. I’ve taken for granted that we are actually quite fast typists back home.)

Some funny memorable moments from the training:
- when we started the class with ‘Good Morning Class”, everyone stood up. So very formal and polite of them!
- Boris and I made daggy jokes and Excel examples with little success. Tough crowd! :
- The excitement and happiness when we told the students that they could keep the CDs
- My Agriculture employees were quite excited to have their girl training the class. They all wanted photos with me. I believe I spent more time posing than actually helping! ;)

It was such a wonderful day and will stand out as one of the coolest satisfying things I’ve been involved in. I suspect I will reminisce about it fondly in the future and feel all warm and fuzzy. It could not have happened without CruTech’s support with Mr Terence backing the project, Team IBM organising logistics and staying up burning CDs, Heeseok and KJ hosting and assisting us during the day, Iwara – our technical support officer and all the wonderful “students” who participated. Last but not least, my totally awesome co-trainer, Boris, who worked tirelessly and patiently with me. :-) I am so proud of Team IBM! xx

My extraordinary Agric staff with Boris and I :-)

Our computer room for the training

Having fun running the sessions

Christopher's story

I cannot believe I have been here for a week already. Although, paradoxically, I feel like I have been here forever and my life in Sydney is a distant memory from another world. On a rare free moment to mull, I think about the days of commuting on a train, work in an office cubicle, watching Q&A at home, eating dinner with Patrick. It’s just an observation that how one perceives time is an unusual & personal concept and how quickly as humans we familiarise ourselves to new environments.

I spend a lot of my day talking and interviewing people about their jobs and subsequently, their private lives as well. I really am a nosy and naturally inquisitive person. To my great delight, the staff at the Ministry are generously open and willing to disclose and share insightful information about their lives. Calabar really does not receive a lot of international tourists, therefore, they are quite intrigued by this Vietnamese-Australian and I suspect, they too, enjoy the interaction. At least, I hope so!

It is unequivocally the most rewarding thing I have done on this trip – learning from the employees. However, it is the saddest thing that breaks my heart listening to their stories and struggles. There have been quite a few (unprofessional) embarrassing instances of teariness and I’ve had to pretend to look away. There’s this trick where if you lick the roof of your mouth, it will stop you from crying. I cannot attest to its effectiveness though. On reflection, I really defy anyone to listen to these stories and not be moved by the hardship. I don't think it's myself that needs to harden up but I think it's the world that needs to listen and soften up... :-)

I thought I would share an example of one such story of a public servant in Nigeria. When I first met Christopher, I was immediately drawn to him because he is one of those people that when they smile, their whole face lights up and their eyes crinkle in warmth and compassion. He was very excited to meet us and he said to me “Haven’t I already met you? Didn’t you conduct the workshop for us in March?” Turns out he had confused me with another Asian IBMer who was here earlier in the year. He had the good nature to smile when I jokingly replied with “All Asians look the same to you, don’t they?” (I know, racial jokes are an acquired taste).

Christopher works as statistician collating all agricultural data from the various departments. He always has a friendly smile and genuinely looks happy to see us every time we cross paths even though he has a demanding workload and is extremely busy. Christopher has three young school-aged children and he and his wife also work selling books to support the family. It is not unusual for public servants to have a 2^nd or 3^rd job on the side as their salaries are not sufficient. For example, Charles our driver also lectures at a uni on economics twice a week after work.

It takes Christopher about an hour to get into work each day as public transportation is unreliable. Once in the office, we only have on average power about 2 hours day. The lack of power is very disempowering to staff – the state complains they are lazy and do not work, but how does one work without power?

After 20+ years with the Ministry, Christopher sadly tells me, in his customary soft-spoken manner, he has nothing to show for it – “no car, no house, no savings”. The cost of living has risen sharply but wages have not increased with the trend. Half his salary goes into rent each month, a large portion goes to schooling and the rest is for necessities such as food. Christopher is not self-pitying, he speaks honestly and passionately about life and explains the choices he has made like marrying later in life, using all his money to support his childrens’ education, not buying a generator as they are costly and dangerous. He is also aware that he is fortunate relative to a lot of the State living in poverty. I am humbled and moved by his intelligent articulate vision for the country and his aspirations for his children. It saddens me deeply that such a lovely, compassionate, hardworking, kind-hearted, appreciative man struggles to make ends meet. (I also told Christopher that I consider him a feminist when he shared his views on equality with me!)

A lot of the staff tell similar stories. They know that life should be better - that conditions and living standards can be improved - it’s just a question of when. I am appalled and angered by the evident growing disparity between the affluent and the poor.

On a slight tangent, the use of generators in Nigeria is very alarming and not a sustainable solution. There have been many reports of people dying from generator-related deaths usually from carbon monoxide poisoning or fires. Christopher told me an profoundly moving story of a family of 3 in Calabar who died. There are also the obvious environmental effects from the fumes. There is a power crisis in this country that needs to be addressed.

What on earth is happening in Oz??

I’m stunned at the ease at which our popular Prime Minister has been ousted by his own party. In what democracy do we not allow an elected PM to serve a full term? I am also profoundly disturbed that Gillard made a deal with the devil. Make no mistake, I have nothing against Julia Gillard, in fact, she is intelligent and competent. And of course, I am a strong advocate for the historic day in which Australians can and will elect a female PM. However, this is unquestionably neither the means nor manner in which to accomplish that aspiration.

Poor Kevin Rudd. I always genuinely felt he had a good head and a good heart. Whatever his perceived faults or failure, this was completely unnecessary and a travesty.Can someone back home give KRudd a hug for me?

I’m going to remain optimistic and hope Gillard can lead Labor to victory. It remains to be seen how different her policies will be from Rudd? I think she’s watering down the resources tax (but can’t be sure as I’m getting all my news from CNN and Facebook. Sidenote - Stan Grant is the correspondent for CNN. For some reason, I’m really struggling to get on to SMH, ABC or any other news sites! Arggh!). Interesting times ahead.

Thank God it’s Abbott leading the Libs and not Turnbull. Mind you, the fact that we are one step closer to the reality of an Abbott dystopia fills me with trepidation.

In other local Nigerian news, I am having an incredible time working and living here. I am falling in love with Calabar with each passing day. I am trying hard not to contemplate that this will come to an end and enjoying every amazing moment I have here.

I am inspired by the wonderful staff of the Ministry who provide encouragement and information generously and willingly. They make me laugh every day, I think I make them laugh albeit with my naive questions. Despite the challenges, they are engaged and knowledgeable even though they lack the very basic of tools and technology to carry out their duties. It will be so difficult to leave them at the end of this, we have built heart-warming relationships discussing our different lives. They have made us feel so welcomed and their natural curiosity about Australia and us, as people, is very endearing. Everyone is horrified when I tell them we eat kangaroo meat!

The IT infrastructure is not as dire as originally assumed. The ICT team showed us the switches, patch panels and ports to illustrate that the Government is investing in networking all the MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies). However, yesterday we had a massive storm which took out our switch. Obgi is asking for it to be fixed as soon as possible in order for us to test the speed of internet connectivity.

I hope the Governor will invite me back one day to roll out a project where we equipped all employees with laptops and conduct training and career development. One can have lofty dreams… :-)

Tonight we are going to a Lebanese restaurant of all places! My after work highlight this week definitely was watching the Nigeria vs Korea game in an open bar under a lightning-lit night eating fresh grilled pepper fish. The locals didn’t even mind that I cheered for Korea. They were fairly disgusted with the amatuerish missed goal opportunities. I asked them to cheer for Korea now! Yay!