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