Category Archives: general update

Market Visit and Dinner at the Melting Pot ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-28general update, Travelgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogueRodney

Every hard working team needs a night off 🙂

Today we made a visit to the market in order to do some shopping (weren’t so successful but was nice to look around) and after the market we went out for dinner which was a nice change from the hotel. The place is called The Melting Pot was a fun night out at least in the beginning! In the end the place was just so busy and the staff was so disorganised and confused that the night ended in a huge debate with the staff over the invoice so the place is not to be recommended for dinner, but our lunch experience was fun enough!

Anyway, we’ll remember the fun parts and the good photos 🙂

Dams and Kings ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-25general update, Travel, Workgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogue, workRodney

After a great volunteer experience on Saturday, on Sunday we took a visit further into Ekiti State to visit Ero Dam in Ikun-Ekiti (to understand where the water comes from), and paid courtesy visits to the Onikun of Ikun, the Onigogo of Igogo, and the Oore of Mobaland.

The visit to the dam was really interesting. On the drive out to the dam as well as at the location itself, you’re reminded constantly of the natural beauty of Ekiti State and that even though it is land-locked, it has so much going for it in terms of natural resources that with the proper development could be used for renewable energy as well as some other things such as crop production, tourism, and economic development. Since I was lucky enough to share a car ride with the Permanent Secretary whose portfolio includes these areas, I was able to share some of my views and we had a really great conversation about opportunity and development.

The visit to the Kings was equally exciting. We paid a courtesy visit to the Onikun of Ikun (the dam is located in his village), and then we paid a visit to the Onigogo of Igogo (who is also American) and His Majesty hosted a lunch with traditional Nigerian food and palm wine for us at the community centre. Finally, on the way back to Ado, we paid a courtesy visit to Oore of Mobaland, who could be considered to be the “King of Kings.” In each of the cases we were grateful for their hospitality and making us feel at home.

At this point it would probably be helpful to explain the concept of Kings in Nigeria (at least as I understand it). In every town there is a King. In a sense we would consider the King to be something like a Mayor. However, they have no political powers and are not elected by the people. Like other royalty they inherit their position by birth or succession. But even without political authority, they carry strong moral authority amongst the people of the land that they have responsibility for. Thus they have pretty strong influence in their communities and therefore have a form of soft power. They are custodians of history and keepers of tradition. Where they live are considered to be palaces (however extravagant or modest they are). Furthermore, there levels of Kings. In addition to Kings of villages, there are also Regional/State Kings as well.

After our final royal visit we made our way back to the hotel for a quiet night – which was sorely needed after having such an active Saturday and Sunday.

It dawns on our now that in our assignment there are fewer days ahead than there are behind. One some level I am excited because my next stop is Kilimanjaro with Christina. On the other hand, Ekiti State has really grown on me. 🙂

(sorry for the sideways pictures..I’ll fix them before they go up on my Fotki website I promise!)

School for the Deaf and the Blind – Community Service Event ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-24general update, technology, Travel, Workgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, technology, travel, travelogue, workRodney

Community Service Event: School for the Blind and the Deaf ( #ibmcsc )

On Saturday the team went to the Ekiti School for the Deaf and Blind, which was our community service event during our trip in Ekiti state. Kelsen, Mithilish, and I made an early visit to the school on Wednesday in order to understand the environment and to get some ideas around the ways that we could contribute. We were determined that the day be something more than a “meet and greet” where we shake hands with officials and get a tour – the team wanted to be interactive and get their hands dirty!

After the meeting we came up with one very clear project: to take the computer equipment that they had received a few months earlier and use our expertise to set up their specialised computer lab which could support visually-impaired students. We also asked them to give us suggestions as well in time for Saturday. So we received their listing of suggestions on Friday evening and shortly after we got to the schools we took on the following projects:

Building a computer lab that supports visually-impaired students
Washing clothes
Weeding
Erosion Control (digging a gutter)
Personal hygiene counseling
Cooking
Sporting activities
“The Future” for the Visually-Impaired

I participated in the project for personal hygiene counseling, setting up the computer lab, and “the future.” I have to say that this was one of the best parts of the experience so far. The kids were so thankful that we were just spending time with them, getting to know them, and helping them with things that they might not have been able to do themselves.

I have to say that I am particularly proud of the computer lab. We managed to set up a machine that can make photocopies of braille pages, a printer that can print out in braille, and set up some computers and laptops which support the visually impaired. So both the hearing and visual-impaired kids can take advantage of the computer lab. We also downloaded some activity kits and software from IBM’s On-Demand volunteer community so kids could plays games and do events teaching them more about math and science.

I am also proud of time we spend with the blind children talking about the future. I gave them a homework assignment that they had to write me a letter telling me what they want to be when they grow up and I promised to do some research to find good examples which would help to prove to them they can follow their dreams. And several of us from the IBM team committed to use our personal connections to see what we could do to support the school after we left (we had each begun working on contacting organisations separately and it’s wasn’t until a few days later that it was clear that several of us were reaching out to our personal contacts. It’s moments like these when I am at my proudest to be an IBMer and work with colleagues who think beyond themselves. 🙂

But rather than write a lot of text about it…pictures 🙂

Meeting with the Ekiti House of Assembly Leadership ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-22general update, Travel, Workgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travelRodney

Today the group working with the ICT department had a meeting with the leadership of the Ekiti House of Assembly, including with RT Honourable Speaker Omirin Adewale Albert, Hon. Deputy Speaker Orisalade Adetunji Taiwo, and senior members of their staff. We heard from the Speaker and were given the opportunity to explain to the Speaker and his staff our work our Smerter Governance and Citizen Identity Management Systems projects (Cynthia did a great job representing the team as the primary speaker). It was a great opportunity to meet with more members of the government and get a legislative perspective to our projects (and it even resulted in some small scope change which will be great for the project).

And of course, pictures from the event:

Tomorrow we will be working on our community service project at the School for the Deaf and Blind. The team is looking forward to the volunteer opportunity. And with all of the major photo-takers in our team there, you can be sure that we will have a lot of photos 🙂

Bonus Experience: Yoruba Art and Women’s Development

2013-02-21general update, Travelgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogueRodney

During our visit to a rural area in order to meet with elderly citizens whom would be impacted by our project, we had the opportunity to make a short side visit to see some Yoruban artwork. Many of the pieces were intriguing and awesome to look at, and I share some of the pictures here. Leslie, Kelsen, Yemi, and Ayo are the others in the pictures.

We also had the opportunity to visit the Raliat Ojudu Women Development Center (ROWDEC) which is named for the mother of one of the senators in Ekiti State. We got to see the arts and crafts that were being made. We also got to hear about future plans. It sounds very exciting and like a very good cause.

Church and Golf

2013-02-17general update, technology, Workgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogueRodney

This morning I woke up and went to church, which I have to say is the first time in a very long time. However, I really wanted to participate in a church service in Nigeria as I had heard that they were very intense experiences with lots of prayer and singing. About half of the group went to the services and I have to say that I am very glad that we did go! The church was welcoming of us all, and even took a few moments out of the service to mention that we were there, what IBM was working on in the community, and then the minister asked the congregation to pray for our success. It’s really hard to describe what we experienced. In some places, it was about solemn reflection. And in other parts of the sermon, it was only what I could describe as “violent prayer.” Not violent in the sense where people were hurt, but in the sense that there was a lot of shaking, shouting our prayers and asking for redemption, and holding hands. If the roles of ministers are to whip the congregation into a frenzy of devotion and unity of message and purpose, then the mission was accomplished. The congregation seemed to hang on their every word. At the end of the service, the congregation gave us some small gifts and told us we were warmly welcome back. It was hard not to smile leaving the church. Next week we hope to visit a traditional Yoruba church as well as a mosque as Ekiti seems to be a multi-religious society.

After a morning of prayer (the service was 3 hours!), we had a an afternoon of golf thanks to the kind auspices of the Chief Security Officer (CSO). There were 3 of us who met up with the the CSO who took us to the golf course in Ekiti. I have to say that it was a great experience and it was great to spend the afternoon being a bit active and working on improving my horrible golf handicap! Towards the end of the game we were joined by a couple of other colleagues and just then it started to rain. So back at the lodge area, we had some beers and started talking with people around it. It was a great way to end the Sunday! I also realised that I am a long long way away from being anywhere close to Tiger Woods.

I don’t have golf pics at the moment, but promise to add them later!

A night out, Ado-Ekiti Style

2013-02-15general update, Travelgeneral update, nigeria, party, travelRodney

So after an interesting first week, our awesome hosts Yemi and Ayo realised that we needed a night out on the town. In Ado-Ekiti, there isn’t a restaurant and bar culture like you’d find in many other places. In fact, it just might be that the most popular bar in Ado Ekiti is attached to our hotel. But since we live there, we needed to get out of the building. So we were taken to a local bar, got a private performance from a local band, and had beers and danced and relaxed. It was a cool night out!

As normal (well, kinda normal anyway), some pictures 🙂 The internet connectivity continues to be a significant challenge, so I can’t upload so many just now 🙁

Market Experience ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-14general update, Travelgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogue, workRodney

So last night the team went out to the market to see the different style of cloth that get used in making the traditional Yoruba style of dress. It was great to finally have some contact with the population. Although we are here for a work assignment, another element of an experience like the CSC is the ability to have cultural immersion experiences and changes like the one we had at the market night.

We look forward to going to the market again! In the meantime, here are some pictures from the market.

Happy Valentines Day / Singles Awareness Day! \o/

2013-02-14general update, Travelgeneral update, nigeria, travel, travelogueRodney

I am one of the people on my team who was blogging even before the IBM CSC assignment to Nigeria, so I have to say that not every single blog entry will always be work-related to the project. Sometimes I just wanna have some fun on my blog post too!

So in that spirit, I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day to those in relationships! To us single people, I wish you a Happy Singles Awareness Day! It is that one day of the year when the world wants to remind the single people that if only we tried a little harder, we too could spend money having to buy chocolates, stuffed animals, teddy bears, clothing, or other items to demonstrate our affection.

This Valentines Day I have 2 special beings in my life: David and Gordon. They are the geckos that live in my hotel room. In normal circumstances I would hate having them around, but actually they are awesome roommates so far. They like to eat mosquitoes so they are instantly my friends. David is clearly the more awesome of the two (don’t tell Gordon) as he sees fit to explore the entire hotel and return back to my room and generally takes the watch above my bed as ultimate protector. Gordon on the other hand, generally lives behind the painting in my room. He darts out every now and then, says something that sounds like “nurp nurp” (I respond in kind), and then he goes back behind the painting. What I don’t like is that Gordon “sings” at 05.30 in the morning. Well even with non-human roommates, compromises must be made…

Thanksgiving 2012

2012-11-29general updateFamily, Friends, holiday, ThanksgivingRodney

So I celebrated Thanksgiving this last Satuday, November 24th I would have liked to have celebrated it on Thursday, November 22nd like they did in the US, but we don’t get that day off in Sweden so I had to move it to the weekend.

I have to say that the turkey and all of the side dishes turned out very well! And the desserts were very tasty as well!

I didn’t take so many pictures of my Thanksgiving cooking adventures, but judging by everyone’s comments, I think I did a really good job. My mother and sisters would have been very proud.

It was the fourth Thanksgiving I have hosted in Sweden since I moved here. I hope to host it again next year. It’s a wonderful wonderful tradition 😀

–R–

P.S. After eating turkey for 3 of the last 4 days, I can tell you that the magical feeling has worn off 😀 Thanksgiving dinner 3 nights in a row is enough for me! Now to do new and interesting things with all of the leftovers – including turkey corn chili, turkey soup, turkey burgers, etc, etc. After this I won’t be eating turkey for quite a few months 😀

Rodney's Blog

Taking it one day at a time, with all of the fun it brings