We hope that this blog update finds everyone well and happy. We are doing great in Nigeria - continuing to understand what it means to live, work and relax with Nigerians! The time since our last update has been quite busy and fast paced in the small southeastern city of Calabar. Everything from late night motorbike rides to bargaining for reduced rental costs, Nigeria and its people continue to offer adventure and passion. The biggest and most exciting news, however, is that Adam's big brother, Ryan and sister-in-law Alyson - living in Wisconsin, USA - celebrated the birth of their first child, Winnie on July 1, 2009! Congratulations to Ryan and Alyson, and we wholeheartedly welcome little Winnie to the Jones Family and look forward to spending time with them at the end of the summer.On Monday, June 29th, One Sky's Executive Director, Mike Simpson arrived in Calabar to take the helm in running the second leadership intensive (first workshop was in March 09) in the Leading from Within project. Mike arrived after 3 days of international travel from Canada, and even managed to witness the Brazilians beat the Americans (heart-breaking game) in a soccer match while he spent the night in Lagos in route to Calabar. During the afternoon that Mike arrived, we searched and inspected the available real estate in Calabar looking for a place to rent that would serve as both an office and house for One Sky. And even though we checked out some very interesting places - and even had a lead on one house - we didn't come away with any promising prospects on Monday. In the evening, we went over the coming day's intensive schedule and prepared our materials for the following mornings' early start.
The intensive started at 9:00am on Tuesday morning. Prior to the start of the intensive, on Tuesday, there was a looming question about whether or not all the participants in the project would return for the second intensive. We wondered if some of the participants might have decided that this project wasn't for them, and thus not return for the second intensive. We figured that attrition is natural, and should be expected. Of the 33 participants enrolled in the first intensive, 32 returned for the second intensive - and we even enrolled another person throughout the course of the 4-day intensive - bringing the total participants back to the desired 33!
The first day of the second intensive (Tuesday) we spent time reviewing material from the first intensive, as well as playing games that required the participants to work in small groups and problem solve with efficiency in mind. The second day (Wednesday) we taught new theoretical material, and had them practice in an experiential-based role play. On the third day (Thursday) the participants debated one-on-one some of the key issues that are relevant to this part of Africa - taking special care to practice the art of perspective taking and providing constructive feedback to one another. And on the fourth day (Friday), we spent time looking ahead to the August workshop as well as introduced some of key tenants of conflict resolution fully recognizing that "our" way maybe be culturally ineffective.
Along with standing in front of the class and traditionally teaching concepts and answering questions, Kate and I had the opportunity to teach experientially through role-playing and acting. It was a fun and action-paked four days! The intensive was a wonderful opportunity for us to really get to know the participants - helping to lay the groundwork for our remaining time in Africa mentoring, coaching and visiting communities. Looking forward to the August intensive, we are working with the One Sky team back in Canada and are eager to integrate our thoughts and insights. We are running the show for the August intensive - so it should be a lot of fun....At some point during the course of the intensive, Kate and Patricia (One Sky's in-country Program Director) found a very suitable house to rent for One Sky's office/home. Mike confirmed, and by the weekend (Saturday (4th) and Sunday (5th)), we were not only debriefing the workshop and looking forward to the third intensive, but also making plans to clean, write contracts for One Sky staff (2 guards, 1 cook and house cleaner) and move into the new house the following week. After church on Sunday morning (3 hour service), Mike, Kate and Adam went out to a local hotel/bar to celebrate the week's success, both in intensive delivery and finding a new home for One Sky (N2.8 million rent for two years). We were invited to said hotel/bar by one of Mike's local friends, Uk, and had a wonderful time relaxing, talking Niger-delta politics, dancing Africa-style and listening to Uk sing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." We even bumped into some of Adam's new found friends that he plays soccer with on Saturday mornings with the Judge. We felt like locals - and even though Nigeria is far from the United States - it felt like home for a little while.
On Monday morning, July 6th, we put 10% down (N286,000) on the new house, took pictures with the housing agent of the existing damage, got the keys and started cleaning. We quickly realized that we were going to need more hands and more cleaning supplies, so we went to the market and bought everything from paint scrappers to bleach to floor wax and buckets. When it was all said and done it took us 2 hours and we spent roughly N20,000. But as we would come to find out in the coming three days - that was money well spent!
Even though the house was in "good shape" it required a tremendous amount of work to clean and prepare for One Sky's work. Mopping, scrapping, sweeping, scrubbing, waxing, brushing, drying, organizing....and on and on. And that's just inside. It took us three days with roughly 10 people (N1,000 per person or $10 a day) to clean and prepare the inside of the house for habitation. Lots and lots of work. And now - Thursday afternoon (it is raining) and Friday we can start to tackle the staff quarters (separate building on the property) and start to tame the jungle that is the grounds. We have a grand vision for the grounds - orange trees, banana trees, lime trees, coconut trees, mango trees and lots and lots of flowers. And of course, a vegetable garden. Plants, trees and the like grow about three times as fast in the tropics - so we are excited to have our vision become a reality in our remaining six weeks! And somebody was just telling us that the rainy season is here now....
Our plan is to move from our current accommodations (as guests with the Judge and his wife, Oten) to One Sky's new home on Monday afternoon, July 13. The new house doesn't have any power, water or furniture though - so it is going to be a bit like camping for a week before we get all that we need and settled. A shipping container of beds, tables, desks, two trucks, and all kinds of office/house supplies is sitting on the docks with Customs in Lagos. With any luck we will see the contents of that container (the Canada-purchased furnishings of our new home) by the end of next week. We'll see. For now, things are clean and we are happy to take everything slow in getting One Sky up and off the ground in Calabar.
In addition to all that has been happening with respect to the One Sky intensive and house finding/cleaning, etc., Kate has also been volunteering regularly with the Oten Ita Foundation in Calabar. We are currently staying at Oten's home - and they continue to be incredibly kind and welcoming - our family in Nigeria. Kate has been going to the office, participating in committee meetings regarding fundraising, web design, and has also spent time at the Foundation's school. Oten's right hand men, Afo and Jakes have also been working closely with Kate, eagerly searching for ways to improve the Foundation's ability to work with young people. And just the other day, Kate spent three plus hours getting her braided!
So, we've almost been here three weeks, and it seems like ages! Much more to come. Consistent and powerful internet continues to be quite difficult to find. Hopefully it will get easier so we can upload more pictures and videos. Thank you to everyone for their support, well wishes, and interest in making in-kind donations to One Sky and the Foundation. Once the office gets up and running - stable - we'll figure out the best way to make it all happen.
In the meantime...
Lots of love,
Adam and Kate
