June 07, 2010: Rivers State (Portharcourt) – Bayelsa (Odi, Kolukuma/Okpuma LGA) – Delta (Irri, Isoko South LGA)

Drive Time:
Portharcourt – Odi 2.5hrs
Odi – Irri 1hr20mins
Irri – Benin City 1hr40mins

We had spent the night in Portharcourt after yesterday’s visit to Eeken, both in Rivers state.

Today, on our 26th stop, we were privileged to serve a rural clinic (Odi Health centre) situated in the popular town of Odi in Bayelsa state. We were given the choice of going to another healthcare centre in Sagbama (also in Bayelsa state), but we opted for the historic Odi.

Odi’s popularity comes from the time the predominantly Ijaw community was razed to the ground in november 1999 on the orders of the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo. Soldiers destroyed Odi town following the murder of 11 policemen by some youths from the community. The conflict had been an ongoing battle in the Niger Delta over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection. Except for a bank (First Bank), the Anglican church, and the health centre, evrything else in Odi was destroyed by the Armed Forces.

We were pleased to see signs of the community’s regeneration, with buildings cropping up where there was once ashes.

And so our pictures today are all about Odi:
a)the house of the Militant leader, Ken, who sparked the Odi crisis (we hear Ken was killed a couple of years ago)
b) the rusted signpost of the Odi Community Health Centre
c)the mother who was delivered of a baby boy last night
d)the clever but crude contraption which the nurses used as lighting during the delivery (we were incredulous)
e)the evident joy (another ‘Solar Lamp Dance’) expressed by Florence Enadeghe (the clinic’s Midwife) when she got a replacement light in the form of our combined solar lamp/phone charger.

If the whole ‘event’ were scripted, we couldn’t have acted it out any better!

The Irri Healthcare centre (Delta state) was our 27th stop. Here, our efforts were blessed by Arch Bishop Apena of the Bethseda Gospel Mission. All on their own, the clinic staff also rallied and presented Team Solar Jooce with N1,000 and two cans of a malt drink – to show just how much they appreciated graduating from a kerosene lantern to a solar-powered one.

Things are moving along nicely. Spent the night in Benin city.

Connectivity

Glo Internet: Superfast HSDPA in Portharcourt (& most of Rivers state) + Bayelsa (even in Odi community). Very moderate EDGE service in Benin (Abuja Quarters area)

June 06, 2010: Akwa Ibom (Afaha Udo Eyop, Ibesikpo Asutan LGA) – Cross River (Ikot Offiong Ambai, Akpabuyo LGA) – Rivers (Eeken, Khana LGA)

Drive Time:
Ibesikpo LGA - Akpabuyo LGA
Akpabuyo - Khana 2.5 hrs

Not every stop on the campaign trail is filled with sunshine and afrobeat. Our first let-down was the Primary Health Centre in Akwa Ibom state. Not because the place looked run down but it was as good as deserted. Doors were padlocked shut, rooms were thick with cobwebs and dust, and beds were devoid of mattresses. The Village Head turned up at the centre to welcome Team Solar Jooce, but there were no clinic staff in sight! We shot down a suggestion to hand over our solar lamp gift to the gateman/security man, and advised that we would return to this basic healthcare centre only when there was visible proof that it functioned.

We had a much better experience in Cross Rivers state. First of all, Calabar is such a beautifully kept city. Anxious to follow our brief (we had asked to donate a solar lamp to a ‘clinic of contrasts’), our local contact, Bishop Archibong Archibong took time out of his church service to hand us over to the Akpabuyo Local Government Chairman, Hon. Boniface Archibong.

The Ikot Offfiong Ambai health centre , recommended by Hon. Archibong, fit the ‘clinic of contrasts’ description perfectly. It had some of the more advanced medical equipment we had seen so far (including mosquito nets and all), yet the centre had no electricity. The ubiquitous kerosene lantern and candle lighting solution was well and alive here, and so, expectedly our solar lamp donation was very well received.

Our favourite stop of the day was the visit to Pope John Paul II clinic in Eeken, Rivers state. Rev. Sister Marie drove up to meet us at Ikot Abasi (Akwa Ibom state) and led us to the clinic, just metres away from the Akwa Ibom border. Sister Marie would remind you of the extra-jovial Reverend sister in the film, Sister Act. She and her team were really excited to receive our solar lamp/phone charger, and the reactions so spontaneous - they did what we now call 'the solar lamp dance' in appreciation of our gift. Sister Marie shared with us that because of the long hours of darkness at the clinic, patients preferred to check themselves out over the weekend (especially children) and then return during the weekday.

She said the new solar lamp would be useful especially in the maternity ward (where kerosene lanterns are used for birthing) and in trauma cases, when a bright solar light can mean the difference between a bad suture and a good one.

The clinic does have a generator which, because of the high cost of diesel, is used only for surgery in high trauma cases.

Finally, Sister Marie added that the better lighted the clinic was, the more it would encourage the sick to come in and have themselves properly looked at.

Connectivity:
Mobile phone: Glo outperforms MTN in both Akwa Ibom and Cross River state. MTN is the stronger network in Portharcourt.

Internet: Acceptable speed in Akwa Ibom. Faster experience in Port Harcourt.

June 05, 2010: Anambra (Awka) – Imo (Atta, Ikeduru LGA) – Abia (Umukabia, Ohuhu LGA) – Akwa Ibom (Uyo)

Drive Time:
Awka – Atta 2.5hrs
Atta – Umukabia 1hr
Umukabia – Uyo 2hrs

So far, we’ve driven for a total of 6,331 km (Abuja – Akwa Ibom). The days are going by really quickly and since the states in the South are much smaller than those up North, we’re now averaging three states/day.

We started out at Awka and made a beeline for our first stop of the day, Atta in Ikeduru local government area of Imo state.

A few metres from Awka, there was a little drama involving men of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) office. They insisted our vehicle documentation was complete except for some state tax sticker. Even though we eventually sorted things out, one couldn’t help but wonder why these supposed IGR men set up an impromptu office on the high way. I thought their motive might be a bit shady when one of the IGR team asked to see our waste bin. The driver patiently showed him a bucket always kept at the back of the truck, but Mr. IGR immediately snapped, saying it wasn’t the recommended waste bin. When I didn’t utter a word, the matter was dropped.

A travel tip: Beware of the endless road blocks/ stops in the Southern part of Nigeria. The checks are many atimes mindless. In the North, this wasn’t our experience.

The highlight of the day was the visit to the Atta Health Centre. There, we met and chatted with Hajara who had given birth to a baby girl yesterday night, of course by..... [rusty] kerosene lantern! As we were shown round the clinic by the staff Nurse, Ibeawuchi Amarachi, Hajara was quite curious about the solar lamp and shyly asked what it was. We explained, and her immediate thought was that it would be nice to have the room lit up when she had her next baby!

Considering Hajara had just had her 4th child, we all burst out laughing at her cheekiness. However, our local contact, Reverend Sister Stella Onyemaobi, had the presence of mind to gently advise Hajara to immediately consider family planning.

Seriously though, lighting is such an important element of everyday life, even in rural areas. News of our visit quickly reached the monarch of Atta, HRH Eze Ben Uduneho Eziako – the Olu Oha I of Atta West - and he sent a representative (Mr. Geoffrey Akubunmadu – Vice President, Atta West) to thank us for our gift and pray for us.

Nothing was different at our next stop, the Umukabia Health Centre. This village, like each and every one we have been to, is so deprived of electricity that any access to slightly better alternatives to torchlights, kerosene lanterns, candles, and mobile phone lighting, is a hugely uplifting experience for them.

In Umukabia, we were hosted by the monarch, His Majesty, Eze Samuel Nwaubani JP.

Connectivity
Internet: GLO mobile Internet was consistently strong, even on the road between Umuahia and Uyo.

Mobile phone: In both villages (Atta, Umukabia), we found MTN to be the better/stronger network. In Uyo, Glo worked better.

June 04, 2010: Enugu (Ubahu) - Ebonyi (Umuhuali) - Anambra (Nawfija)

We covered three states today - Enugu, Ebonyi, and Anambra (in that order).

The stop at Ebonyi was everyone's overwhelming favourite. It was a one room primary healthcare centre, with barely any drugs and a dirty ragged environment. A room next to the 'facility' is rented and occupied by a family.

Yet in this setting, the head nurse, Grace Otubo, delivers at least 5 babies every month. She tells us how in the absence of kerosene lanterns (you can imagine how unaffordable kerosene is to these people), she delivers babies using the light from a mobile phone or a local hurricane lantern or... get this... moonlight!! Even more sad is the fact that this sparse and neglected healthcare centre is the only one that serves people in its local government area - Isielu. The clinic has been reduced to a first-aid & crude maternity service centre. Anyone who suffers a serious illness must go at least 1.5 hours away to get any sort of decent medical attention. We salute Grace's courage in keeping things going despite all odds. Every morning, she puts on her pink overall and marches to work.

When a solar lamp was presented to the clinic, she leapt into the air, and did several jigs around the room. Again, get this.... her joy was purely for the pregnant lady who she expected to deliver of a baby this evening. In her words: 'darkness offers no comfort'

For this reason, our pictures for the day are those of the nurse doing the 'Solar Lamp Dance' and another, of the local lantern she uses when she can afford kerosene. We learnt that the lantern is called 'Mpaneka'. Our driver, Femi, was very amused by this make-shift light that consisted of 2 batteries housed in a rectangular wooden box, with tiny bulbs wired to the battery. The bulbs were then placed around the outer edges of a CD. Neccessity is truly the mother of invention.

Oh, how could we forget. There was this special moment at the Enugu state primary healthcare facility when the oldest man in the village blessed our team and presented us with a gift of N1,000 for bringing solar to the health centre. You will therefore see a picture of the generous 'senior citizen' presenting this gift on behalf of his community, while I knelt in true traditional custom to accept the offering on behalf of Solar Jooce.

We will all go to bed tonight energised that the solar seed is being planted in seemingly forgotten areas, and that hopefully, these seeds will soon mushroom into giant islands of light.

Connectivity:

Internet: GLO internet is quite strong in the 3 eastern states we covered today
Mobile: MTN & Glo work OK. In Nkalagu area (Ebonyi state) both networks faded in and out.

June 03, 2010 Tse Agberagba (Benue) - Enugu

Tse Agberagba in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue state was our major stop for the day, where we met with Recipient #17, Mrs. Mary Iortyomn. She is a petty trader and tailor. Tse Agberagba is about 1 hour's drive from Makurdi where we had spentthe night on coming in from Taraba state yesterday.

Mary trades during the day time and likes to catch up on her sewing jobs in the evenings. However, making do with the dim, flickering light of a kerosene lantern had become a big strain on her eyes. Having to buy kerosene also left her with not much in her purse at the end of the month. She was determined to be independednt, and would rather not ask her daughter, Vera (a teacher in Makurdi) to supplement her income from petty trading and sewing. But she knows she must preserve her eyes in order to continue her trade.

As has become the practise, we asked Mary to show us her kerosene lantern. The lantern emerged and it was easy to see why such poor lighting could damage her eyes. Constantly bending over the lantern would also cause her to inhale dangerous fumes, exposing her to chest infections. Having seen her circumstances, we were convinced Mary was a good candidadte for receiving our solar lamp. She will also find the lamp useful in tending to her goat (yes, just the one goat) and chickens in the animal hut just opposite her home. Even during the day time the hut, which one has to double up to enter, is pitch black.

One other thing? Word spreads fast in the village about strangers visiting. In no time, one of Mary's customers, Juliana Abulus, ran in to share the joy of Mary receiving a solar lamp, adding quickly that if Mary didn't mind, she (Juliana) might need to use the phone charging unit of the lamp from time to time.

Our work was done!

This trip marks the end of our tour of Northern Nigeria. Next, we head to the South East, South South, and South West regions, starting from Enugu tomorrow.

June 02, 2010: Adamawa (Sankeupo, Ganye) - Taraba (Tsokundi, Wukari) - Benue

Drive Time:
Adamawa – Taraba (Wukari 4.5hrs)
Taraba – Benue (Makurdi 2.5hrs)

We left Ganye at exactly 6.14am and it was such a long journey to Wukari. It took us another 1 hour to get to Tsokundi primary health centre, a 12-bed, run-down facility. Here we see a mother whose tiny daughter is hanging on to life. She was brought into the clinic in the middle of the night with severe diarrhoea and dehydration when treating her at home with traditional herbs had failed to heal her.

The Clinic-in-Charge, Eric Iyongo says fitting the drip into the little girl’s arm was tricky because of the low lighting source they use (kerosene lanterns). I asked to see the kerosene lanterns and he fished out 4 battered ones from the side of his desk. When we showed Eric how to work the solar lamp gift we had just presented to him and his staff, he burst into loud laughter and chants of prayer for Team Solar Jooce. In turn, we prayed with the little girl and her mother, hoping she would recover quickly.

From Tsokundi, we drove straight into Makurdi to spend the night. Tomorrow, we’re headed to Tse Agberagba, Konshisha LGA, still in Benue state to meet our beneficiary #16, Mrs. Mary Iortyom. Mary is a tailor/petty trader who would like to replace the kerosene lantern she works with for two reasons: the first so she can see better and put less strain on her eyes. Second, to extend her working hours beyond after dark so she can earn more income. We met up with Mrs. Iortyom’s daughter, Vera, in Makurdi and she will be escorting us to Tse Agberagba. Vera is so proud of her mom’s tenacity.

Connectivity
Internet (GPRS/EDGE): Was able to browse using GLO USB modem in Ganye, Makurdi and on the highway between Taraba & Benue state.

Mobile phone: GLO & MTN work ok in Makurdi, although not so well on the highway between Taraba and Benue state. In Ganye, Glo is the stronger of the two networks.

June 01, 2010: Yobe (Dudaye, Nangere) - Borno (Marama) - Adamawa (Sankepuo, Ganye)

Drive Time:
Yobe – Borno 3.5hrs
Borno – Adamawa (Yola 3.5hrs. Sankepuo 6hrs)

Today was easily one of the best days on the tour. And it was all about our visit to Sankepuo village in Ganye Local Government Area of Adamawa state.

First, I must say that it was disappointing to get into the state where our ex Vice-President (Alhaji Atiku Abubakar) comes from, and discover that it is not well developed. What has he done for his people? His people echo the same sentiment. Sad, really.

Anyway, we got to Sankepuo village several hours behind schedule but the indigenes waited. And with the welcome we received, you would have thought we brought electricity to the whole village for the first time. We were treated to a song and dance performance by a Women’s group – the Sankepuo Women Micro-Credit Union. And then I was personally presented with a ‘drum’ of pure natural honey, sourced from the village. It was amazing. When our solar lantern gift was presented to the head of the Sankepuo primary healthcare clinic, Jehega Bunu, the women began to ululate loudly and come in turns to hug members of our team. The experience was priceless! All of this was co-ordinated by our friends on ground – Ayal Yohanna of CRUDAN, and Rev. Eliseus Voma.

Before Adamawa, we had been to both Yobe and Borno state.

In Borno state, Mary Muna Madu (staff nurse/midwife) at Marama hospital tells us that the hospital gets electricity supply just once a week, which lasts a maximum of 45 minutes. The hospital improvises with candles, torchlights and hurricane (kerosene) lanterns.

The story is very much the same in Yobe state where the village chief< Alhaji Hassan Adamu, said he would be most grateful to secure many more solar lamps/phone chargers for his people. He says the combination device (light/phone charger) is very useful for attending to the lone patient that is admitted to the clinic (unbelievably, this is a one-bed hospital), and ensuring the clinic head’s phone is always charged and available when he needs to be reached in an emergency. Adama Buba, the female clinic staff is so excited at the prospect of replacing candles with a much stronger and safer light that she can hardly stop smiling. Her boss, Ilyasu Umaru, is no less appreciative. Hmmm, it reminds you how much we take for granted in the urban areas...