So, the real and final countdown has begun. Next Friday night I will be on a plane out of Nigeria for good, and I am quite happy to be leaving this country! I know it won’t be the last time I see it (I have already been told that I will be back here for a meeting in February), but at least I won’t have to deal with the day to day problems here! It is bizarre as most places I leave, I leave with a bit of a heavy heart, but not so much here, so that means it is time to leave! But before I go, there will be one last big bash to host at my house, which will be this Saturday night at my house…
The last few weeks have been really crazy. We just finished our last round of polio campaigns for the year…our ninth! The average most years is 5 or 6, so that is how serious we are getting now, and things are looking up, but only time will tell if polio can actually be eradicated from Nigeria. Those in senior positions with WHO and UNICEF keep saying Nigeria will now be the first to eradicate, so only time will tell! But, Nigeria has been a very interesting experience and has taught me more that I thought I ever wanted to learn or ever need to learn, but I have, and am sure that it will come in handy one day. Like a good friend of mine who recently joined us in Nigeria said “Take me back to Afghanistan any day…this place (Nigeria) is worse…” The real stories and experiences over here will really only come out over many, many bottles of wine, when instead of being horrified, we will all just laugh! But, I leave at a perfect time…not so burned out that I need to be placed somewhere in a corner of a room, rocking myself back and forth, but just at that point where I would need that corner any day. Nigeria, in all of its glory and self praising, is a far way off from being “the horn of Africa” as it calls itself, but there is a lot of potential and a lot to offer the rest of Africa, if it can fix a few of its issues (corruption, killing, religious issues, kidnapping for money, to name a few). And when not in Hamattan, this country is actually very pretty, with more green than one could imagine for a country not quite the size on France and a population of over 200 million!!
Much to look forward to…Not sure how much I explained the last time, but although I am leaving Nigeria, I am not leaving the polio program completely behind. I have agreed to support the polio program in India, which is in a bit worse shape, mainly due to population, but from everything I hear, the work is tough, but you feel good when you go home everyday! And finally, any day now my brother and his wife will finally have their baby…although I think he is waiting for me to come home for my poor sister-in-law to go into labour…so far 5 days past her due date and no baby! I have delivered a few babies over here, so what’s another one?!?! But, hopefully soon for their sakes.
I look forward to lots of snow while I am home, as I want to be outside as much as possible....
Merry Christmas, Happy Sallah, Joyous Quanza, and Blessed Hanukhah to everyone!
But thanks for reading about my adventures in Africa…the real stories will one day be shared…as I don’t need to give my poor, worrying mom a heart attack! I will keep updating it with India stories while over there!
Take care,
Andrea
jeudi 26 novembre 2009
mardi 10 novembre 2009
Just a few short weeks to go....
So, an update to the below…we have now had about 40 new cases of polio in the last few weeks since I posted, so while this is still good, it is not ideal. We are still getting really close, and we basically have until May to prove we can do it, and hopefully it will happen!
Nigeria is somewhat on track and the experts are saying that Nigeria will actually eradicate before India, but the difference being that in India the government will just call on the military and they will go and force families to immunize children (the problems in India are not about compliance, as the families accept vaccines, it is just the population is soooo huge that it is hard to get every child, in every small village…). So, we’ll see what happens!
In some exciting news, I will be home in Canada for at least a month before I have to take off again for a little bit! It will be nice to be home for winter and of course Christmas. It will also be nice as after nine long months (for my brother and his wife), their new son, and my new nephew should soon be making his way into the world! So, will be nice to see him, as it will be awhile again before I see him. Good thing with babies, the first few years they hardly recognize you, so as long as I head home once a year or so, he should know who I am.
In other exciting news, looks like will be out supporting the India polio project from time to time! A great opportunity came up that I just can’t pass up at this time, so instead of settling down, getting an office job and whatever else, I have decided that my “African adventure” will just need to be extended to my “Asian adventure”!! It won't be a permanent thing, but from time to time, I will spend a large chunk of time over there, and if anyone wants to see polio eradication campaigns, you are welcome to come visit and I can bring you out with us! India is truly an amazingly beautiful country that everyone should see once in their lives!
Rainy season here has yet to end, and in fact is the worst on record! The storms are massive, with amazing lightning and thunder…but it is very temperamental. Just the other day we were playing tennis, and literally we were completely dry, continuing to play on the court, and not 20 feet from us, it was a total and absolute downpour. We sat there watching it, getting ready to get off the court, but the rain never moved towards us, and so we continued playing another 30 minutes before it finally started, and then stopped almost as soon as it started! It was very amusing! But, this is not good, as the rains have destroyed every crop that is planted for dry season, so while things like papaya, carrots, and other things that like the rain have done well, these things have run out, and the dry season crops like millet, yam, potatoe, etc have all been destroyed and cannot be salvaged…so what does this mean, it means a huge famine is to come, as there won’t be any food to feed the people. Even me, in safe Abuja, who has money to buy fruits and vegetables, cannot find the food to buy, there is literally nothing to buy, and Nigeria does not import fresh foods…so it is a lot of canned goods and pasta. So, to echo my brother’s comments, please pay very close attention to the upcoming Climate Change meeting scheduled for early December in Denmark. This is serious, and to see it first hand in its full magnitude, really makes you question the stance of our world leaders, and the countries we live in!
Anyways, enough for now. Hope to see some of you over the holidays!
Take care, Andrea
Nigeria is somewhat on track and the experts are saying that Nigeria will actually eradicate before India, but the difference being that in India the government will just call on the military and they will go and force families to immunize children (the problems in India are not about compliance, as the families accept vaccines, it is just the population is soooo huge that it is hard to get every child, in every small village…). So, we’ll see what happens!
In some exciting news, I will be home in Canada for at least a month before I have to take off again for a little bit! It will be nice to be home for winter and of course Christmas. It will also be nice as after nine long months (for my brother and his wife), their new son, and my new nephew should soon be making his way into the world! So, will be nice to see him, as it will be awhile again before I see him. Good thing with babies, the first few years they hardly recognize you, so as long as I head home once a year or so, he should know who I am.
In other exciting news, looks like will be out supporting the India polio project from time to time! A great opportunity came up that I just can’t pass up at this time, so instead of settling down, getting an office job and whatever else, I have decided that my “African adventure” will just need to be extended to my “Asian adventure”!! It won't be a permanent thing, but from time to time, I will spend a large chunk of time over there, and if anyone wants to see polio eradication campaigns, you are welcome to come visit and I can bring you out with us! India is truly an amazingly beautiful country that everyone should see once in their lives!
Rainy season here has yet to end, and in fact is the worst on record! The storms are massive, with amazing lightning and thunder…but it is very temperamental. Just the other day we were playing tennis, and literally we were completely dry, continuing to play on the court, and not 20 feet from us, it was a total and absolute downpour. We sat there watching it, getting ready to get off the court, but the rain never moved towards us, and so we continued playing another 30 minutes before it finally started, and then stopped almost as soon as it started! It was very amusing! But, this is not good, as the rains have destroyed every crop that is planted for dry season, so while things like papaya, carrots, and other things that like the rain have done well, these things have run out, and the dry season crops like millet, yam, potatoe, etc have all been destroyed and cannot be salvaged…so what does this mean, it means a huge famine is to come, as there won’t be any food to feed the people. Even me, in safe Abuja, who has money to buy fruits and vegetables, cannot find the food to buy, there is literally nothing to buy, and Nigeria does not import fresh foods…so it is a lot of canned goods and pasta. So, to echo my brother’s comments, please pay very close attention to the upcoming Climate Change meeting scheduled for early December in Denmark. This is serious, and to see it first hand in its full magnitude, really makes you question the stance of our world leaders, and the countries we live in!
Anyways, enough for now. Hope to see some of you over the holidays!
Take care, Andrea
mardi 3 novembre 2009
Almost there...
NB: This post was actually written about 3 weeks ago, but did not have time or access to upload it!! I will give an update this week...
The good news…we have not have a new case of polio in over 10 days here in Nigeria!!! Sounds like something so minor, but for a country that usually has 2-4 cases a day at this point of the year, this is very good news indeed! It is not so say that there really has not been a case of polio, but we have yet to find one recently! So, all the work and money is slowing starting to pya off….however, the big question is really, “How do we sustain this momentum?”, but really we ask ourselves “Is it even possible to sustain?”…our last meeting with all of the who’s who in Nigeria, WHO, international NGOs, and other countries (USA, UK, Europe, etc.), sat around the meeting table and basically shamed the leaders of Nigeria, saying that countries that are in the middle of war (Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan) are actually eradicating, while Nigeria (which is considered relatively peaceful), cannot come close to getting their act together and eradicate one simple disease that is basically eradicated everywhere else in the world!! And, shaming has proved to have some effect, as Nigerians, and especially the religious and political leaders do not like to be shamed!! So, there has been some impact of this, and some good results, but we are a far way off. However, the next year will be tough. 2011 is a presidential election year, with campaigning for president and state governors start early in 2010. Many of our high risk states are areas of risk due to political issues, therefore once campaigning starts we will not be allowed into those areas. Nigeria, and basically Africa as a whole, is never a good place to be during political campaigns…there is no such thing as democracy! So, only time will tell, but at least it is getting interesting and actually there is some hope for us!
I have spent the last 9 days in the field…specifically in northern Nigeria and southwestern Chad….the sights were incredible, but not necessarily in a good way, but in a way that really opened my eyes (yet again), to the challenges of life in sub Saharan Africa. Every year at home, you may read the bottom right corner of a newspaper with a 20-40 word statement or see a very brief clip on the news about the floods and eventual famine, in west Africa. Well, I saw it first hand, and it was beyond anything I could even imagine. These are the worst floods in over 40 years…By floods, they don’t just mean a couple of centimeters of water in the fields…we are talking 6-10 feet of floods in the fields…houses are buried, complete crops lost, animals and people killed in the thousands…and then of course, the outbreaks of disease that follow…cholera, meningitis, measles, and malaria especially, so anyone left, then ultimately suffers even more. I have seen a lot in my 16 months in Africa, but this was one of the most overwhelming times. Here we were trying to immunize kids on polio, but there were many more pressing issues to these families. It was exhausting work, but it is also incredible to see how families come together and support one another, even if they have very little to give, they may still have something to give that could help someone that has nothing.
Rainy season, however, is almost over…for us here in Abuja, it means that the hot, horrible Hamattan season is just around the corner. But, hard to feel sorry for myself…it is what it is!!!! But, good thing and bad thing, is that I will be traveling so much out of Nigeria for work, so I will miss most of the heat…it is that time of year with lots of meetings, so I will be visiting more African countries, as well as again going to Geneva and Malaysia, but then it will be Christmas holidays…and this year, Christmas will be spent in Canada! I will be home for Christmas and possibly longer. Still no set plans for what I will do after Christmas, but I intend to just take some time and figure it out! But looking forward to time with friends and family, and hopefully some good cross country skiing or snowshoeing!!
I will write when I can, but things will be hectic and not very exciting…as UN meetings are the worst!!
A bientot,
Andrea
The good news…we have not have a new case of polio in over 10 days here in Nigeria!!! Sounds like something so minor, but for a country that usually has 2-4 cases a day at this point of the year, this is very good news indeed! It is not so say that there really has not been a case of polio, but we have yet to find one recently! So, all the work and money is slowing starting to pya off….however, the big question is really, “How do we sustain this momentum?”, but really we ask ourselves “Is it even possible to sustain?”…our last meeting with all of the who’s who in Nigeria, WHO, international NGOs, and other countries (USA, UK, Europe, etc.), sat around the meeting table and basically shamed the leaders of Nigeria, saying that countries that are in the middle of war (Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan) are actually eradicating, while Nigeria (which is considered relatively peaceful), cannot come close to getting their act together and eradicate one simple disease that is basically eradicated everywhere else in the world!! And, shaming has proved to have some effect, as Nigerians, and especially the religious and political leaders do not like to be shamed!! So, there has been some impact of this, and some good results, but we are a far way off. However, the next year will be tough. 2011 is a presidential election year, with campaigning for president and state governors start early in 2010. Many of our high risk states are areas of risk due to political issues, therefore once campaigning starts we will not be allowed into those areas. Nigeria, and basically Africa as a whole, is never a good place to be during political campaigns…there is no such thing as democracy! So, only time will tell, but at least it is getting interesting and actually there is some hope for us!
I have spent the last 9 days in the field…specifically in northern Nigeria and southwestern Chad….the sights were incredible, but not necessarily in a good way, but in a way that really opened my eyes (yet again), to the challenges of life in sub Saharan Africa. Every year at home, you may read the bottom right corner of a newspaper with a 20-40 word statement or see a very brief clip on the news about the floods and eventual famine, in west Africa. Well, I saw it first hand, and it was beyond anything I could even imagine. These are the worst floods in over 40 years…By floods, they don’t just mean a couple of centimeters of water in the fields…we are talking 6-10 feet of floods in the fields…houses are buried, complete crops lost, animals and people killed in the thousands…and then of course, the outbreaks of disease that follow…cholera, meningitis, measles, and malaria especially, so anyone left, then ultimately suffers even more. I have seen a lot in my 16 months in Africa, but this was one of the most overwhelming times. Here we were trying to immunize kids on polio, but there were many more pressing issues to these families. It was exhausting work, but it is also incredible to see how families come together and support one another, even if they have very little to give, they may still have something to give that could help someone that has nothing.
Rainy season, however, is almost over…for us here in Abuja, it means that the hot, horrible Hamattan season is just around the corner. But, hard to feel sorry for myself…it is what it is!!!! But, good thing and bad thing, is that I will be traveling so much out of Nigeria for work, so I will miss most of the heat…it is that time of year with lots of meetings, so I will be visiting more African countries, as well as again going to Geneva and Malaysia, but then it will be Christmas holidays…and this year, Christmas will be spent in Canada! I will be home for Christmas and possibly longer. Still no set plans for what I will do after Christmas, but I intend to just take some time and figure it out! But looking forward to time with friends and family, and hopefully some good cross country skiing or snowshoeing!!
I will write when I can, but things will be hectic and not very exciting…as UN meetings are the worst!!
A bientot,
Andrea
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