Pamela returns from another fruitful visit to Nigeria

Three weeks at Fantsuam Foundation Thanks to British Airways

Pamela McLean

I arrived in Nigeria early on Tuesday September 21st and returned home on Monday October 13th. I spent all the time with Fantsuam Foundation at Bayan Loco, Kafanchan, Kaduna State. I have been working (in a voluntary capacity) with Fantsuam Foundation for several years, and have been much helped by the travel opportunities given to me by A Ray of Hope and British Airways.

This time my visit had a dual purpose. I was going in order to do some training, as usual, but I was also along taking a contact of mine, Marcus Simmons, to do some training of a very different kind.

Marcus is from an organisation called Eco-Shelter. He is interested is low cost sustainable approaches to building, and also in wider issues of sustainability such as permaculture. He was taking advantage of the arrangements FF had made for me, so he could travel at the same time into this rural area, meet my contacts, find out for himself the realities of rural Nigeria, and do a small experimental building, helped by local people. Fantsuam Foundation is setting up a sustainable village project. Marcus gave free valuable training and advice – which would probably not have been arranged without my trip taking place.

My own challenge this time was to help develop the recently opened Knowledge Resource Centre (KRC), and also to help develop the work of the Children's Computer Club.

The problem that John wanted me to help him tackle relates to the local culture of teaching and learning. Local schools rely largely on rote learning, and strongly discourage any idea of pupils asking questions. This puts people at a severe disadvantage when they are given the opportunity to learn for themselves through the KRC. They expect a teacher tell them what they need to learn and give them all the facts to remember. John has provided the FF KRC as somewhere for adults and children to be able to learn as Self Directed Learners (SDLs) – but they need to develop new skills and attitudes in order to take advantage of the opportunities and resources.

I worked with a group of potential Self Directed Learners for two weeks, and gave them an experience of self-directed learning. I set up some project work for them to do. Then I helped them to build the skills that they needed, by looking at DVDs, going on the Internet, asking each other, and being ready to seek help from teachers at a distance. By the end of the course they were posting messages and photos to their own blogs, were exchanging information through yahoo groups, and were beginning to behave like SDLs in their readiness to connect with other people world wide. This blog is evidence of what was achieved. http://dadamacsdl1.blogspot.com/
The words of praise are rather extravagant by our standards, but that is the Nigerian way. However the things we covered during the training are accurately listed.

I had helped to get the CCC involved in a project organised by Teeside University, before I travelled. This project, called People and Place, is to help build friendships and understanding through exchanging photos online with schools in the UK and elsewhere. The first photos were exchanged before I travelled and during my visit I was able to help the People and Place participants to get more actively involved and start to look at photos sent by the other schools and start to send messages. See http://www.peopleandplace.co.uk/ I also spent time in additional informal teaching activities and visits to update my local knowledge.

I hope that the work we are doing at Fantsuam to increase communication and exchange of information will contribute to the bonds of understanding and friendship that A Ray of Hope seeks to foster. Please convey my thanks to those at BA who make my journeys to Nigeria possible.