And finally, a home...well almost!!

So, I have finally moved into my home, only to have to move out again…as you know, Nigeria is a very warm place, and because the flat did not get cleaned after the last guy moved out, and he was a bit of disaster, there was a little cockroach problem…luckily I don’t really have a problem with them, unlike my issue with mice and rats, which is a possibility in these parts, and there weren’t really all that many…but it is being taken care of and will be fumigated while I am on holidays. And with the apartment, came a pet, so I will not be living alone…I now have a pet gecko (these things are everywhere)…he is very friendly, and likes to eat ants and grapes. I have given him to my neighbor until I move back in after my holidays, as I don’t want the fumigators to kill him…and not sure he will ever come back, or if I will know he is the same one!

I live in a very expensive compound, with tennis, basketball and badminton courts, and they are building a pool, supposedly to be ready in 2 months, for when the really hot season sets in, but I have my doubts. All my neighbours are either UN staff or Israeli or Egyptian embassy staff, so not so bad.

Just an update on all the issues you may or may not be hearing about Nigeria, as I get some emails about concerns…there are a lot of issues happening south in terms of kidnappings and killings on the oil fields by the “Movement of the Emancipation of Nigeria” militia…this is all happening far from where I am based…comparison would be I live in Kansas and the attacks are in Florida…it is quite a distance from me, and they have no interest in coming up here, as they will just be shot and killed by the overzealous military here! They have also called a cease fire yesterday, so we will see how long that holds…but I think the militia are finally realizing that by attacking the oil fields that they are mostly hurting their own people and not helping them…

Work has been alright, but some of the meetings I have had to attend have really made me question people’s rationality and sanity…most recently, the meeting we attended was a facilitated discussion on strategic planning for our next round of immunization campaigns. There were groups from the south and groups from the north. The discussion got quite heated for quite some time, as the groups from the south were making the threats. The long story short…the south of Nigeria barely has any cases of polio and TB, while the north has hundreds of cases of polio and thousands of cases of TB…so, when you break this down, it all comes down to money. As the south is relatively clean, they get very little funding for polio, while the north gets the majority due to the high numbers (makes sense, right?!)…well the south is threatening to “infect” their children again because they want the “free” money and “free” cars that are provided to them, for the purpose of eradicating polio. While we don’t give cars, the money we do give is often inappropriately used by the local officials to buy new BMWs for themselves, instead of giving it to their people. And because we are considering withholding payment to the north, we are starting to hear rumours of the local officials telling their people that these 3 little drops the kids are to receive is actually our way of sterilizing the children, so as to control the population in these areas, or that these drops are in fact the HIV/AIDS virus! So, it is constantly an uphill battle…2 steps forward, and a mile back!

All that to say, a think my upcoming holiday will be well deserved! I look forward to seeing some old friends who I have not seen in years, and to of course eating Doritos, drinking beer, and eating cheese on everything! Also quite excited to see Iceland…my friend Catherine who I am going with, has ‘planned’ an exciting adventure for us…it is funny when I tell my colleagues where I am going, and they look at me like I am nuts, only because when people take leave here it is usually to go to Dubai or Doha for duty free shopping!

Good bye for now…and I will most likely write after I return from my adventures in Europe!

Andrea

Map of Nigeria...

As some of you have asked, I have added this map of Nigeria so that you can see where I have been and where I am going. Nigeria is divided into 36 states, just like the USA...basically the south part (Enugu, Delta, Cross River, Rivers) is the really bad area that you read about in the newspapers with all the kidnappings, as this is the oil part of the country. Up north, especially the north east, is the strict muslim area, where Sharia law has been adopted, and where polio is rampant at this point in time. I live in FCT, of which Abuja is the capital.

Mission to Enugu!

So, another week over….this time full of adventure. I will say that this week has been my craziest yet since arriving in Nigeria, and not one I wish to soon repeat. The mission itself is 9 hour drive each way on really bad roads, but absolutely stunning scenery, in which we listened to Christian rock/gospel/reggae (who knew there was such thing, but there is!!) the entire way, so at first while I half joked that I had “found the Lord” by the end of each trip, I think it may have helped on our mission!

I did not go into detail about my most recent mission nor about the “BER” months because there was a little bit of chaos involved in it, and wanted to make sure I came back without causing any worry. I spent all of last weekend basically trying to convince my direct supervisor to not make me go on mission….I was being sent to Enugu, which is by far one of the worst areas of Nigeria for unprovoked violence. The “BER” months basically represent the most dangerous and crazy months for the entire year….people are robbing others like crazy as the goal in this region is to produce as much ‘tax’ money as possible…those who pay the most (to the government officials of course) are given titles and privilege as a ‘christmas’ gift and therefore are known as elite in these parts of the country… For some reason, it was felt that I (the white girl who is a bit of a novelty in these parts) would be best to represent WHO Nigeria here, after 2 of our vehicles were sprayed with bullets (no one thankfully injured) and then an ambush on another vehicle, and then another ambush with the driver being shot through the thigh and the administrative assistant left completely traumatized as they held a machine gun to her head and threathened to shoot as she sat a foot away from him in the passenger seat with over a million naira (about $8,000USD) being stolen…so that’s to say she is still in a bit of shock..even being from here, she said she had never expected such violence. It is suspect here that there is some sort of internal arrangement between the various bank branches and local bandits, so that if we go and withdraw a certain amount of money to pay staff salaries, that some or a staff at the bank calls a bandit to attack our vehicles and then they share in the loot. The bullet that was removed from our driver is a police issued bullet, which also means that the pistols and machine guns (the weapon of choice) are police issued, which also means that the police are ‘renting’ out their weapons to known bandits for a fee!!! Of course if you somewhat imply any of this to a police official you will be arrested and probably sentenced to death or something… Myself and another colleague were sent here to more or less plead with the bank officials and senior police officials and government people to better support our work. Many of you that know me, know that I am not one that deals well/appropriately with authority figures, and that I won’t just call someone “Sir” or “Chief” because of their direct role, but I had to bite my tongue and swallow my pride and give in…as I was here representing WHO and the lives of the 30 or so staff that work in this region. This was by far the hardest thing I have had to do…the police are by far the most corrupt I have yet to meet (and I have met many in my short time in Nigeria) and are despicable human beings…lying to our faces about the investigations they are doing ( I should mention that when we entered the Deputy Police Chief’s office he was watching The Office – UK version)…if only I could send you a copy of the police reports on these incidents, it is actually comical….it is even tough to explain it in words, but I have learned that if ever I am in trouble I will NEVER EVER call the police for help, as they are usually involved in whatever crime is being committed…if you do need help, you had better have at least a bottle of Hennessy or Jack Daniels with you to just get your case heard!

I also got to witness my very first car jacking…basically men dressed in camouflage, although full faces showing, armed with shotguns and machine guns jumping off their motorcycles and out of their ‘Peugots’ while blocking travel taking whatever they can from the car they are attacking…one thing we were lucky about is we had a very good driver that knows the area and the problems well, and can get us out of trouble…Bimbo(real name, not making it up!!!) our driver on this mission, got us out of quite a lot of trouble on this mission…we also passed two road blocks where boards with hundreds of sharp nails were lined up along the highway, in an effort to get cars to drive over them and when forced to stop to change the tire, they would be robbed!! I don’t want you to think I took this lightly…by the time you figure out what is going on, it is over…it is actually rather scary to see, and you can’t imagine being the one who is being carjacked.

So, a very exhausting and stressful week. I have to say since getting here I have never really been concerned or stressed about travel, but this time I was a little freaked out and am happy to be back in Abuja…which I never thought I would say! While carjackings are normal here, the violence is not in Abuja, so it is nice to be back, and even nicer to know I am going on holiday to quiet and subtle London and Iceland!

It is actually quite depressing to know what we are up against and who we are dealing with…the governments and police say they support our work, but if they don’t get anything out of it, then they have no reason to help. WHO is a respected agency, that many locals want to work with as we pay our staff directly, where as many other UN agencies that UNICEF, FAO, UNDP pay the local governments who take their own ‘cut’ before giving what ever remains to the people it is intended for, but we still get screwed because of this…the citizens here just don’t seem to see that we are here to help them, so it is an unforgivable and almost impossible battle…although I am an optimist, so I hope for the best.
I am not sure if the work I am doing and the issues we are faced with inspires me to want to work harder or if I should just start to behave like most others who have been here awhile and just give in and do what little you can…as a Taurus and a horse, I should want to fight it out, but I am sure it will be a pointless, useless battle, but we’ll see, I am not quite ready to say “They win”!!

So, all that to say I am safe although somewhat disillusioned by the Nigerian system, and really realizing for the first time that there is a reason that Nigeria has such a bad name in the media and around the world…it truly is a corrupt country…more than one could ever imagine!

Enough is enough…I am sure I will be arrested of something for writing this blog entry..but we’ll see…I still have a bit of fighting power left in me.

Attached are some new photos, taken from this most recent adventure! http://picasaweb.google.com/angelynne78/MissionToEnugu

Enjoy, Andrea

"BER" months

"BER" refers to the months ending in BER...SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, DecemBER...while it should be somewhat tranquil at this time, owing to Ramadan and all (which typically means a hold or end to violence while the holiday is observed), it has been anything but quiet and tranquil here in Nigeria and especially not for WHO or other UN agencies. I won't go into detail about it now, as I am leaving for an emergency mission south of Abuja (About 9 hours drive) for the next week, to do some meeting/pleading with local government officials and police officials to better support us...so wish me luck!

On another note, the President of Nigeria is back in Abuja...seems to still be alive, but from what we hear, he is barely alive...so looks like trouble could be brewing...good thing I am off on holidays at the end of the month...maybe I will have to stay in London for an extended period of time?!!

Apart from that all is well...I think I have found a flat, although there are always problems with that and they want to rent in advance for the next year...but who has $45,000USD to pay rent all at once, so trying to also get that taken care of by WHO, as they are the ones ultimately paying the rent anyways...so if anyone does come to visit, be sure to bring a tennis racket and swim suit, as it has both available!

I will update once I am back from my mission!

ciao, andrea

Thought of the day...

So, Sunday was the first day of Ramadan...basically for the whole month of September all muslims (except children, pregnant women and the elderly) fast from sun up to sun down NO liquids, no food)....this is an interesting concept, especially in a workplace where you sit in meetings all day long...by 2pm most of those in the fast usually fall fast asleep...and we are only on Day 3, so this will be an interesting month to see how far we get with everything...you learn very quickly to only plan meetings in the morning, and just go home early every day!

Also, I have finally got back on Skype, so anyone out there who uses Skype, my username is andrealynne78, or just enter my angelynne_thompson@hotmail.com account and you will find me...however, I can only use it when I am at work, as I don't have internet at my hotel (well I do but it is $30 USD per hour), but I often come in on weekends to do school work and stuff, so if ever interested in chatting just let me know, otherwise I am online during the day until about 6pm Nigeria time most days.

Nigeria is also in a bit of a state of confusion right now...we keep hearing the President is paralyzed or in a coma or dead...he is supposedly in Saudi Arabia, doing the mini hajj, but may actually be dead (not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion)...so the country is going a little crazy, so you may start to hear about escalated violence and stuff happening here...but, so far, so good, although there have been a few threats on the government, but I don't think that is really anything unusual for here!! All is well, but I will let you know if anything changes.

On the mend!!

Well, this week is so far starting out very good. I am finally healthy! The bout of giardia left me lactose intolerant, but that won’t stop me from eating copious amounts of cheese when I get to London in about 3 weeks!! So, for anyone who will be in London or anywhere in Iceland the week of September 27-Oct 4th, let me know and we can visit…I will be in London the weekends of the 25th and again the next weekend the 4th and 5th before flying back to Nigeria. The malaria was a good experience, but hope it stays away for a long time, but I did manage to lose a couple of pounds, so I highly recommend the giardia/malaria diet, you eat whatever you want (which in Nigeria means semolina and rice and bush meat), and you won’t gain a pound because it all exits your body just as quickly as you consumed it!!! Enough about that…it was an experience, but I do miss the hallucinations…it just put a different perspective on things here!

As for the work here, it is really nuts. Our most recent results show that polio is way out of control, with over 60 new cases reported last week alone. So, we are in trouble. That is the only nice way too put it. One major issue is that the staff we have currently hired to support the program (well over 400 national Nigerian staff), from nurses, to immunizers, to medical doctors, are not being compliant. Many of them feel that if we eradicate polio that they will be out of a job, and therefore are not collecting samples or immunizing the children as many times as they need to be in order for them to be immunized for life. We had a major country wide blitz where consultants were brought in from countries like Pakistan and India and Egypt where they have been able to basically eradicate the disease and the consultants noticed that many of these staff were just not doing their jobs appropriately, and more or less taking advantage of their roles and responsibilities. It is a scary thing to consider that these people were sacrificing the quality of life for these children. The thing is with polio is that we want to eradicate it, as a country’s future depends on its future workers being healthy and able to function and work. Polio is not the only disease in Nigeria and Africa in general…there is always another new disease out there that we have not yet experienced, or are not able to commit funding and resources to because polio still exists. So nobody will ever be unemployed in the health sector here. If we eradicate polio, maybe we can then really start to work on reducing HIV/AIDS rates (which is my opinion, having seen what it does firsthand, is way more serious than anything else)…This being said, this is why health human resources (meaning people who work in the health care industry eg. Pharmacists, nurses, doctors, lab technician, vets, epidemiologists, occupational/physio therapists, dieticians, etc…)is such a huge problem here…there are not enough people to do the work. This is of course not the only issue or concern. We are still facing significant denial from the northern, muslim states, who refuse to vaccinate their children, saying that it is “Allah’s will” that chooses the course of life for the child. Now I have never read the Koran, but I doubt that anywhere within it does it say to not do everything you can to protect your child from illness/death?! So, that is one of the major things happening here. Beyond that, everyday is still a constant struggle with my own team. They are nice people on a day to day informal basis, but trying to get anything done is a real learning curve (READ=impossibility), one that I am completely perplexed about…I may not be the most experienced manager, but even the most experienced one would be driven to drink…drinking I find brings out my ‘creative’ side, and a few of us often go out for drinks during the week to brainstorm new ideas…so far, nothing…so anybody with any ideas please send them my way. But, I do think I have decided on what my masters MBA thesis will be about…culture and change! I have a living case study at my disposal, so it will turn out to be interesting and educational I think…although it may turn into a phd wit the amount of information I can collect here!

Some good news…besides me regaining my health…I have found a house! Well, a flat. It is in a nice compound, with many other UN and embassy staff from all over, with tennis courts and a pool is being built…It has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and is a nice space, with lots of space for visitors! I have hired a person to help me out (basically mandatory here)…so she will do my shopping and cleaning, and not sure what else, but she will probably watch tv 6 hours of the day and look busy when I come home from work!! But, I have no real problems with that…she will live on my property, but there is separate housing for house workers…a very interested (sad) life…as their ‘house’ is about the size of a small closet or one of those half washrooms that has only a sink and a toilet)…often they live in it with a spouse and a child or two…not sure how, but they manage…and it is good work for them, as we pay them well, and we cover them for health insurance, so not a bad set up really, I guess. But, at least I am getting a home, and not a hotel…the hotel has been great, but it is still a hotel at the end of the day. My flat is extremely expensive ($45,000 USD) a year, and trust me in Toronto for that amount, you can buy a house for less than than…but that’s what it costs to be an international here! At least I don’t have to pay all of that, but still such a waste of our resources.

Anyways, that is it from me for now. Life is good. I am settling in, but definitely looking forward to my holiday in Iceland at the end of the month. It will be nice to see old friends, some of which I have not seen for about 4 years. It will definitely be a well deserved party, and I look forward to seeing those that are able to make it to London…my mobile number is 0803 9600875, but will probably get a SIM card for London once there…speaking of which, if anyone ever wants to call…from overseas, this is how I think you call me….011 234 803 960 0875…I may be wrong (so my actual number is above just in case)…take care, andrea