Having spent the last few months advising on agricultural techniques and financial literacy, I never really thought about some of the more everyday challenges farmers here are facing, especially in terms of personal health.
One of Star's stars.
However, recently I found myself face to face with this reality. A brilliant community based charity asked me if I’d be an ambassador to one of their programmes. VSO really encourages us to take part in these kinds of activities. They know that stepping out of your comfort zone and helping in a way you never could have imagined is a fantastic opportunity to look at the challenges in your project from a whole new perspective.
The charity is called the Stars Foundation; as part of their work they visit marginalised communities to talk about simple and vital methods people can use to protect their health. As I have been developing relationships with farmers throughout the Mariga, Rafi and Mowka areas, they asked me to help them run workshops with those living in rural communities there.
Explaining the nets.
Fighting malaria
Nigeria is one of the countries worst affected by malaria with the disease causing over 100,000 deaths in 2015 alone. Therefore this was the most important issue we spoke about. We were not only handing out mosquito nets, we also emphasised how vital this equipment is for them and their families. This is not the first time the farmers had been given nets. However in the past they would often see them as useful fishing nets and bug blinds for windows. To counter this, we started by speaking about the symptoms and the risks of malaria, then explained how it is transmitted, and ended by showing how the nets could stop this.
This is proof of the importance of knowledge sharing. By explaining the issue, you can let people see for themselves how the nets can make a lasting difference.
Time to wash your hands
During the second half of the program, we spoke about personal hygiene. Simple things like washing hands can make such a difference to both the health of the farmer and those who use their products. Members of Stars demonstrated why, where and how farmers needed to wash, and then gave a demonstration on how “wood ash”, makes a great soap as well as being cheap and easy to source. I was called into play as a guide, wetting one hand with water and putting ash in the other and rubbing them together. The ash, which is of course sterile and slightly abrasive, does a surprisingly good job of getting you clean.
The kids showing their clean hands!
You can see on the left the leader of one of the villages we visited; he is the man wearing the green shirt and beret. We asked him to translate into the local dialect. Having him backing our advice meant, that we were far more likely to be taken seriously and have our guidance actioned. When it came to approaching sensitive topics like feminine hygiene, he was able to give the instructions without pause or hesitation, let alone embarrassment, as he knew how important it was – a great chap.
Pretty amazing farmers
These farmers were content, jovial and wonderful company. They found the fact I could speak only 25 words or so of Hausa very entertaining, over half of the village joined in with my party piece of counting to 19.
What struck me most about the farmers in these rural communities was the pride they take in their farming, which was obvious from the quality of the crops they were growing. I saw huge beets of maize stands and wonderful green melons (I think they are a form of marrow, but they grind the seeds to make Egusi, a national dish and don’t eat the flesh at all).
Our local water supply
A watery challenge
There are so many every day issues that would never affect a British farmer yet are the norm here. Whilst Minna is in no way a minor city (it is in fact the capital of the largest land mass state, that of Niger) there are very few properties that have their own water supply. Whether public or owned, water is pumped up through a borehole sunk in the land. Private boreholes tend to work for most of the year but in hot weather most become dry as they aren’t very deep due to their high cost, nearly N1,000,000 (about £2600).
Local young lads wait at public boreholes to fill ten 20 litre containers with water and pack them into their carts, which have motorcycle rims and tyres. The wheel spokes are welded in pieces of re-enforced steel for concrete, it is all done very well.
However, it is damn hard work to push these carts across and up dusty unmade roads with 200kgs of water, in 38+ degrees of heat, and then to empty them into plastic tanks, so that it can feed a standpipe. We have to carry water from this standpipe into our rooms for everything from washing, brushing teeth, flushing the toilet and washing clothes. I’m kept quite fit carrying water up a steep flight of stairs every other day, and I can tell you it makes you more frugal with water than any meter could!
Thank you!
That’s all from me for now, but I’m already looking forward to writing the next post. Writing these updates makes my day! And knowing you guys are out their supporting me really is fantastic.
Cheers,
Ian
