Better Days
I opened my eyes to see the spirogyra decorated white ceiling of my room. It was not intended to be that way. It was usually just white
Learning for Peace
Imagine a world not too distant from our own, where the shadows of conflict cast a pall over communities. Amid this turbulence,
Fun Times to Commemorate the Global Week to #Act4SDGs
Young advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals. As an organization, we can be serious but…we also love to have a good time. When we heard about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) hangout organized by Connected Development (CODE) to commemorate the Global Week to #Act4SDGs, we were excited. Hangout equals fun, right? CODE was launched in 2012 to improve public governance in Nigeria and across Africa by empowering marginalized communities to demand high levels of accountability and transparency from the government. Through its Follow The Money (FTM) Initiative, CODE enables citizens to demand better from their government and directly influences government policy to ensure public funds work for public good. Shades of Us has followed the activities and been an ardent fan of CODE for years and we were excited to be part of the celebration of their decade of impact in mobilizing communities to #FlipTheSwitch for the SDGs. On September 17, 2022, we donned our excitement caps and attended the SDG hangout. Sights from the SDG hangout. The hangout was fun filled and we got to meet various individuals and learned of organizations working on similar SDGs projects as we do: no poverty; zero hunger; good health and wellbeing; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; decent work and economic growth; reduced inequalities; climate change; peace, justice and strong institutions; and being open to partnerships for the goals. One of the key highlights was seeing children explain the SDGs and honestly, quite better than many adults. Children are not just the future of the SDGs…or any form of development: they are the present. We must be deliberate in including children, adolescents and young people to meaningfully contribute to the global goals and envision a better community, nation, continent and the world at large. We were especially excited to just unwind, dance, eat and enjoy the ambience of activists and advocates taking a breather. Imagine our surprise when the Nigeria Idol star, Francis was called to the podium. He serenaded us with two new songs and suffice to say, many women wanted to be married at that moment. When the event was over, we were ecstatic to get back to work on the SDGs. There is, after all, a lot of things to achieve as we work towards 2030. Check out more pictures here. How did you commemorate the Global Week to #Act4SDGs?
Illiteracy and Functional Illiteracy in Nigeria.
Photo by RF._.studio from Pexels by Vanessa Oyiwodu Audu illiteracy /ɪˈlɪt(ə)rəsi/ noun 1. the inability to read or write. 2. lack of knowledge in a particular subject; ignorance. The loose definition of illiteracy can be subjective, especially when the ability to read, write and speak proficiently in a specific language is the main focus. By hammering on the ability to read and write, people can be perceived as literate in certain areas and considered ‘illiterate’ in others. An example can be seen with a person who is able to read, write and speak English proficiently but is not able to use a computer. By considering them ‘computer illiterate’, one may be diminishing the scope of their literacy. Rather than arguing about who is literate or not, the question that should be asked is if an individual is able to contribute to, and improve themselves and their society based on the level of their skills, knowledge, talent or education. In Nigeria, there is this belief that illiteracy is the cause of our underdevelopment or some of the social vices we face in the country. That may have been the reality in the past, but it is not the only reality of our country today. Over the years, the number of schools and graduates have increased across the country but the economic progress still remains low. So… should we still say illiteracy is one of the major causes of underdevelopment in the country? It is still a possibility. Illiteracy is without argument, a shortfall in Nigeria, but dwelling on it would be foolhardy. In truth, even illiterates can contribute to the country’s development. They might not be able to speak ‘proper English’ or even read or write, but they can still make use of their skill set and talents: some of which they were born with or acquired through informal learning. Rather than stigmatizing the individuals who are illiterate by standard definitions, we should consider giving them opportunities to show how their skills can be instrumental in our collective growth and development. Both illiterates and literates have something to contribute to the society and sometimes, hands-on experience in certain sectors can be a bigger plus than book-smarts. This brings us to the term, ‘functional illiteracy’. Functional Illiteracy means that a person has the ability to read, write and speak proficiently, but cannot use these skills for their own development and that of their community. Many individuals in Nigeria are functional illiterates who have spent many years in schools without being able to handle real life situations. What we should be fighting against is functional illiteracy. The reason underdevelopment persists in the social and economical sectors in Nigeria is most likely because we do not have literates who can function effectively or contribute positively to the development of the country. In conclusion, our struggle should be geared towards making individuals functional literates who can harness their knowledge, skills and talent in contributing positively to the economic and social growth of the society. One of the ways of doing so is by laying emphasis on the practical aspects of learning that ensure educated people are able to analyse problems and provide solutions for them.
When No One Is Looking
Photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas from Pexels As long as I can remember, I have always cared about the issues that affect Africa, Africans and people of African dissent, with special focus on how these issues affect women and children. Even as a child in primary school, I can remember expressing anger at people who treated women and children poorly and standing up for the girls in my class. It would not be far-fetched to assume I was born this way, having what can be described as a gnawing need to lend my voice to women and children’s issues. I was probably around 10 years old when I learned about basic human rights and the government’s role in protecting them. Without meaning to, that became my Bible and code of conduct. I started creating content from a very young age. I wrote stories and school plays that centered women and children in roles that were not usually associated with their sex or age. These stories became church dramas because for most of my teenage years, I found expression in the church. Granted, most of what I created then was quite gruff and had a diamond-in-the-rough kind of feel but a central theme shone through all my pieces: women and children were human in themselves and needed to be treated with the full respect accorded to them by their basic rights. I remember a play I wrote that we performed in church. It started with the parents of the lead character – a young teen – finding out that she was pregnant. Rather than be judgmental, it promoted allowing yourself to be hurt if your child gets pregnant ‘out of wedlock’ but, loving (and supporting) the child regardless. It showed that children were themselves overwhelmed by the consequences of their actions and beating them or kicking them out of the house was not a fair way to handle the issue. This play connected so well with people that the way teen pregnancies were handled – a problem that was predominant in the community where the church was situated – became markedly different. It was for this openness that I was chosen when I was about 14 years to be part of a peer-education capacity building session on complete sexuality education. This opened my mind’s eye to the Millennium Development Goals and a world bigger than the things my environment had constrained it to. I began to actively promote these goals because I was: unhappy that the world didn’t take the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger as seriously as it should; wondering what could be done to achieve universal primary education; sure I needed to actively promote the idea of gender equality and the need to empower women; broken at the rate of child and maternal mortality and wondering how I could help; hated all discriminatory acts to people living with HIV/AIDS in a world where it was okay to do so; didn’t want anyone to die from Malaria or any other disease that could easily be prevented with small lifestyle changes; and, hated that our environment was gradually becoming dirty and unsustainable as a result of poor sanitation due to reduced enforcement of communal environmental protection activities. These issues became my issues. They mattered to me. And I wanted to do something about them. As I grew from teenager to young adult, I began to refine the areas that I was interested in. While I wanted to work in the field to directly help women and children, I knew it was cost heavy and living on the poverty line myself at that time, I didn’t think there was much I could do to help these people. So, I chose a path that centered more on creating content that could cause a mind shift in the general public and change behaviors that put women in boxes marked, ‘second class citizens’. I continued to write stories and plays for church, making sure to include the women empowerment nuggets in the overall message of the Christian faith. With the advent of social media, I found a bigger outlet for my work…especially as I was questioning faith and removing myself from the church. I began to share my views – my very gruff and many times, antagonistic views – on my social media platforms. A friend told me about blogs and the possibilities they held for massive, and maybe even global, reach. So, I learned about this new frontier of communication and started my blog: Shades of Us. I continued to evolve as a person, finding more perspectives to human rights and seeking even more succinct ways to communicate my ideas around them. When I heard the word ‘feminist’ during Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TedX Talk – We Should All Be Feminists – I knew this was the word that perfectly described exactly who I was and the issues that mattered to me. So here I was: Ramatu Ada Ochekliye, creating content around the Sustainable Development Goals and hoping I could change the world with my words. But, reality check. The world really doesn’t want to be changed. If the world has its way, it will continue to be patriarchal, misogynistic and abusive to women and children. It would continue to express hate against people whose sexuality is different from the accepted norm. It would continue to be intolerant of people’s rights to association, religion, belief and dignity. This is why, my work – and the work of other feminists, human rights activists and advocates, and anyone who just believes in the basic rights of all human beings across the world – can be really tasking. Nobody tells you that it is easier to maintain the status quo, as oppressive as it is, than it is changing anything. And because of this, many activists suffer the painful burnout that comes with wondering if their work even means anything. Oh! There are many reasons to keep
Poor People Work Harder…for a Whole Lot Less
Men watching from a gate.Image: The Daily Maverick I live in one of the poorer communities in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. Like most of the communities surrounding it, Jikwoyi is a densely populated area. Because most things – accommodation, food, clothing and transportation – is much cheaper than other areas in the Federal Capital Territory, it is not unexpected that there are more people who live around these areas and places like this. One of the first things you notice about the neighborhood is that it pulses with activity and life; almost like a hive. People are always busy. Activity starts as early as 5am; earlier in fact. People who want to beat the eventual daily traffic jam leave as early as possible. And trust me…you don’t want to be in that traffic situation. So as early as 5am, you begin to see lots of cars heading out to town. Because the number of buses allocated to our part of town isn’t nearly enough to cater to the number of people in the area, many private vehicle owners pick up people as they head out to their ‘8-4’s or ‘9-5’s. It is an opportunity to make an extra N500 or N1,000; depending on the size of the car. Shop owners also begin to open up for the day’s activities. Most notable are people whose businesses are in the food sector. They may not be catering to the early birds – unless they sell things like Akara, puff puff, massa or other such fried foods – but come 9am, most of the rush to head out would have begun to slow down and people who work in the community would need to eat. And when school is in session, students pile the roads on their way to getting an education. They need to be catered to by provision store owners who sell biscuits, drinks, sweets, and other pacifiers children take these days. Or it could be to provide books, pencils and pens, or other necessities for school. Soon after, other businesses open up for the day and Jikwoyi becomes a full hub of activity. It is not hard to tell that the soul of the community is driven by work. What is surprising (to me) is that this work doesn’t seem to let up until late at night when I return home, which is usually between 8 and 9pm. In fact, if anything, it seems to pick up at night. Lights blazing, open grills, loud noises as cars jostle to pass the narrow roads, hawkers and street vendors calling out their ware and people generally conversing in louder tones because of the racket of everything else that is going on is how you would describe Jikwoyi at night. The sounds of chaos and the smells of all sorts of food mixed with putrefying drainages and gutters greet you as soon as you return to the community. Jikwoyi at night is bedlam. But it doesn’t end there. There is an active night market scene in Jikwoyi. You can buy almost anything at the Jikwoyi Market from between 6pm and 9pm when some people begin to close up shop. So if you had a craving for Ogbono soup at 7pm, you wouldn’t have to worry about satisfying your craving because, not only are there a myriad of restaurants that sell the soup, the market will be open if you are the type to want to cook yourself. I learned that many people who owned shops in the market – and the entire stretch of shops that are at the Jikwoyi junction and surrounding areas – are also those leaving the community at 5am to do their day jobs. To make this clearer, many people in this community leave for their offices in the day time and return home to their businesses to make a little extra cash before they go home at around 10pm (or later) so they can wake up again and set out for work at 5am the next day. For these people, the rat race seems a bit unending. In spite of all these, neighborhoods like Jikwoyi are home to some of the poorer people in Abuja. It is a mix of the extremely poor, people just above the red line of poverty and the aspiring middle class hoping for one move away to wealth and knowing that they could also be one move away from poverty. These types of neighborhoods are replicated everywhere in Nigeria and many parts of Africa. But it gets worse. Neighborhoods like mine are only considered ‘poorer’ neighborhoods because they are in the Federal Capital Territory and because they pale in comparison to the suburbs at the city center. In reality, there are many more neighborhoods with people living in extreme poverty than there are neighborhoods like mine. And the people in these neighborhoods have to do even more to survive. It is not hard to see that these are some of the most hardworking people in the community. They have to be up earlier and usually not by choice; they have to deal with some of the worst traffic as they leave for work; they juggle at least two jobs, with very little increase in income; they come back home through even more traffic at the end of the day; then they come home to their businesses in a quest to make even more money. In spite of all the work and time they are putting into their day jobs and night time businesses, many people in these types of neighborhoods will never get out of the poverty that they are mired in. The big question is…why? For one, the economy isn’t helpful. Inflation means that the prices of goods and services is constantly going up. This wouldn’t be so bad if salaries are increasing concurrently. But they aren’t. Which means that you have to spend more out of the steady pay you are getting. Think rent, water, electricity, feeding, healthcare, spousal and
Getting It Right With Arthritis
Photo by Ricardo Fontes Mendes on Unsplash by ABE ONCHE It creeps into your joints and plays havoc with your nerves, and at the worst times it keeps you up late at night. It leaves you spontaneously swelling, sapping your strength and before you know it, the simple joys of going down the stairs or pressing a remote control become a waking nightmare. You can hold off the call to your pastor, though. It’s no malevolent spirit, it’s more likely ARTHRITIS. What is Arthritis? This is a bit like asking a mechanic what is wrong with your suspension. Arthritis is a common term used to describe a joint disorder that features varying amounts of pain, reduced flexibility and dexterity, as well as fatigue. The tissues, muscles and bones of the joint all show varying signs of damage that worsen as the condition grows. There are several forms of arthritis that are classified for the specific characteristics that people exhibit. Is it genetic? How is it contracted? The major causes of arthritis are trauma to the affected joint, infection and aging. “Trauma” refers to differing degrees of injury that collectively lead to wear and tear within the joint. Infection, mostly by bacteria, is also capable of producing similar trauma to the joints. This damage features eroding the bone and tissue until they grind together like old gears. In infectious cases, called septic arthritis, damage to the joints is controlled by rapid detection and administering antibiotics. What are the predisposing/contributory factors? Obesity, sedentary living and a previous history of injury to the joints are the things that predispose people to arthritis. An unbalanced diet low in calcium has also been suggested among the culprits. Arthritis is mostly associated with older people, especially women, primarily due to the most common form called osteoarthritis which is coupled with decreased calcium retention in the onset of menopause. Women by the age of 60 tend to have some osteoarthritis, so when Mama starts to complain, you should listen. Osteoarthritis is less common in men, and almost rare in children. However, other forms of arthritis affect a much broader population, with notable examples like septic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and gout. Major symptoms of arthritis · Pain – all victims of arthritis suffer from pain in the joints · Swelling – more common in rheumatoid and gouty arthritis · Difficulty moving the joint/loss of full range of motion · Poor sleep and general discomfort What are the available treatment options/procedures? Diagnosis of arthritis is by clinical examination following a study of the history of the joint, and x-rays are likely to be performed. Recent research has been able to pinpoint biomarkers for rheumatoid arthritis. Think of them as Nature’s little red indicators that can help very early diagnosis. There is no cure for arthritis, so forget about popping pills and laying back. Arthritis is best handled by physical therapy and lifestyle changes. In more extreme cases, orthopedic braces are required and even surgery (a procedure called arthroscopy) can be performed but it is universally accepted that physical therapy is the most effective.
