Sunday 20th April - Ants!

Sunday the 20th of April
We were allowed to lie in because it is Sunday and church does not start until 10. Even Timothy enjoyed sleeping in till 7:30 instead of the usual 6:00 start. On my way to the shower room I saw some ants moving in a ribbon. They were not marching in a very straight line but they looked pretty organised so I wanted to get him to come and see if they are the dreaded soldier ants. I expected him to tell me I was being silly again and that they were just sugar ants but he confirmed my fears and said they were indeed soldier ants. He stepped over that line and found another… this one was actually leading into my bathroom! He opened the door and there were two massive circular gatherings of the blessed things. Rev made me come and look and bring my camera to take pictures for this blog. I was not happy going over to them and was very careful not to step on any in fear of any entering my towel to bite me. In the middle of the swarm you can see a pink blob. This is the remains of a lizard. Timothy got petrol and poured it all over them to kill them all.

Ants

The rest on smelling petrol decided it was not wise to go back into my shower room but remained stubbornly close because they did not want to loose their killing. I could not handle the thought of showering in that room so soon after witnessing such a frightful scene so I asked Martha if I could shower at hers. She said yes so I followed her over. As soon as we opened the door we were met by another long marching line of soldier ants. Unice the nurse and Martha’s neighbour told me that they had chased a lizard into the gap between her shutter and her blind and had killed it and eaten the whole thing even eating the bones. As their pathway is grassy and mine is better kept I decided I could see the ants better in my own house so would go home to shower. V/Rev Timothy was a bit annoyed that I did not feel safe to use my own shower room after he worked so hard to save me. He then picked up a dustpan and brush to sweep my shower room and washed away all of the remains of the ants and of the petrol and soaped the room. This was very kind, as I do not think I could have done it myself. I am too much of a wimp when it comes to ants. I think it justifiable because when I was 14 I was bitten by an ant and I had a bad reaction and then the swollen bite rubbed in my shoe and got infected so that my ankle swelled up and I was feverish and vomiting for a whole week.

After church Martha and I had set aside the rest of the day to plait extensions into my hair. Diane told me I have to try it and seeing as I was able to pick some up for just over the equivalent of £1.50 I decided I might as well. Unice kept us company and Mr Uwkuwe. I gave Unice my book to do some drawings in for me, I like her drawings they are very sweet and she enjoys doing it. I also gave Mr Uwkuwe my scrapbook to draw some people in because I know how much I loved the faces he drew on the House Parent training day.

Extensions

The finished result!

John Jeremiah asked to see me so I got Kelechi to take me to see John’s house in Okapedi. We met him on the way down, he was carrying a walking stick so I laughed at him. He said it is what you should wear at a traditional marriage but I still felt he looked silly with a stick as he is only 30. It was nice to walk through villages again, usually I am either in Amaudo or in town somewhere. Town is pretty hectic and the traffic is a major form of stress to me. Cars do not follow other cars in neat lines like we do in England. They perpetually race and cut each other up as if being fast will somehow compensate for the physical state that their vehicle is in. You see so many battered cars and wonder how they are even on the road still. Driving in Nigeria is a mixture of a car racing video game and the board game monolopy. Drivers do everything they can to stay in front, some will even purposely drive in the middle of the road to prevent you from passing so that they can show off the power of their motor. Whenever we are on a clear stretch of road we will travel at speeds of 140 km/h. The main problem I have with this is that Rev does not like to use the air conditioning, instead he insists we wind down the ‘glass’ to the bottom and let the cold air rush in. This can lead to one-hell of a stiff neck when we travel far. The reason that driving is like Manolopy is how littered the roads are with police, road safety, government workers, special police that are better trained and wear green trousers….all calling over vehicles to collect bribes as if they do not collect a salary. The police have guns and batons and the government men have sticks. I do not mind them much because although they spend all day collecting bribes they are descent enough to all recognise that Amaudo and respect the services we provide. Amaudo vehicles never have to pay bribes.

John showed me his house but chased me away after 30 minuets because he wanted to make sure I would be home before sunset. John and Kelechi were very worried that if I was not home by sun set then the welfare officer would be very cross. They fear welfare officer a lot! John was even crying to me not to tell welfare officer that I went out to see him so that he would only be cross at Kelechi. He was even telling me he was at risk of looking his job. I found them both very funny because V/Rev Timothy has been so welcoming to me and I do not understand how people can fear him so much. I told him that the welfare officer knows I am a sensible girl so will not be worried if I have gone for 30 minuets and that I had already told him that I was walking out to meet him.

Saturday 19th April - Wedding day

Saturday the 19th of April
This was the day of the Bishop’s son’s traditional wedding. We aimed to leave the house at half 6 so I had to get up at half 5. We had to bring a vehicle and the Helping Hands School bus to be able to transport everyone that the Bishop had asked us to take. We arrived at his house at half 9 so find that nobody was even around. It even took some minuets for the Bishop to even come downstairs to greet us! I suppose I should have realised that everyone would be working on Nigerian timing and its only V/Rev Timothy, Martha and I that get flustered over when the clock tells us we should be somewhere and we may not be able to obey the clock.

I like the Bishop that’s son wedding it was. His name is Bishop Foster Ekeleme, he is the one that lead the 4 hour church service at the end of Synod and promised to get me a husband. He greeted me warmly and called me his daughter and said he has found my husband. His skin is as black as charcoal and I will meet him before the day is through. He is a very funny man.

We spent a disappointingly long time in his house waiting for all the guests to turn up that we have been asked to be in charge of bringing. We came with our centre vehicle and the Helping Hands School bus. I was a bit annoyed to hear that it is Amaudo money that is being spent on the petrol. The Bishop is not going to sort us out with fuel despite Amaudo being a charity and him being the chairman of Amaudo who just the other day we were crying to about our financial crisis. Oh well, I suppose it can be their wedding gift, as Amaudo most certainly cannot afford one of those anymore!

We travelled for one and a half hours to a small village outside of Aba. I have got accustomed to sitting up front in the car to enjoy the view but we were taking 6 people so being the smallest I could not expect to enjoy that luxury today. I was packed in the back next to Martha, then the groom, then another Reverend, my friend……I kept trying to sit on the edge of my seat and get on the floor but I found no comfort in either. I was tempted to sit on someone but it was much too hot and way too far to be practical.

When we arrived lots of people were still preparing this and that. We went into a room and broke Kola. We drank mineral and ate lunch.

Lunch

For the service the bride comes out and you put money on her. She goes away. Comes back, put on more money. She has to find the man she wants to marry and she gives him wine. Brings him to her parents and they all drink wine. The couple dance and we shower them with money. The Wedding is over.

Friday 18th April - part 2 - Chief Caroline

Friday the 18th of April - part 2
I had written up the Proposal for the House Parent Sponsorship funding and fond some pages of blog that I had written and lost so felt eager to get to email. V/Rev had to go to town to chase money so he drove us into town. We had decided to leave at half 7 but the heavy rain delayed us until almost 10. Martha is trying to get a place sponsored to study her Masters in either England or America so had a lot of things to look at on the computer. I had finished my emails and was getting hungry. When V/Rev came in to check up on us I asked him to take me with him so I could buy some bread and jam to stop my stomach from crying. He was going to meet a man about his induction. I am beginning to realise now the importance of the Very that is placed before the Reverend and am trying to make sure I use his title because it, and the induction party, are very important to him. The man he was seeing is called Benson and he is a management committee member of Amaudo. He is also a lawyer and a judge and is working administratively to organise other judges. I am still not entirely sure what all this means but I just recognise him to be an important man who must lead an extremely busy and hectic life. Anyway Benson welcomed me into his office and sat me down next to V/Rev and started asking the usual polite questions about who I am, where I am from and what I am doing in Amaudo. He seemed pretty impressed that I have spend the last 8 months making money to fund myself and come out to Amaudo at the age of 19. I told him that I enjoyed working hard for the money because I got a lot of different experiences with out even leaving Bristol. The Hotel work was the most challenging but I think I have learned a few valuable lessons from it. My visit rather took over the point of the meeting, Benson asked me to come to his village and the more we spoke the grander my visit to his village became.

First it was to see the 300 destitute people he himself cares for out of his own pocket.

Secondly he asked if I would care to see some traditional dancing and I said yes (of cause! I would actually really LOVE to see it)

Thirdly he offered to give me the title of Chief to celebrate my achievement of coming over to Nigeria as such a small girl. I asked him if it was ok for a woman to be a Chief and if I had to be a LoLo (pronounced lor-la) which means princess or wife to an Eze (king). He told me that Chief would be fine because I must have the heart of a man to be able make this trip.

Being told I would become Chief was very exciting to me. He said he would get his secretaries to take me to the tailor and buy me a shirt and some George to wear, this is an expensive cloth that is worn by Chiefs and important people. He would also get me a crown to wear and an animal skin hand fan. These were all the details that were delighting me and making me to feel very excited about the 11th of May which is the proposed date for my Chief title celebration. The details that made V/Rev Timothy happy were the location that it would be held in the former governor of Abia States home. 13 Eze’s would be invited and it would be a big occasion. Seeing as Amaudo is the reason why I have come to Nigeria and Benson is an Amaudo management member this is an absolute blessing of an event in which to talk about the work of Amaudo and to collect ‘big money’ and try and collect agreements to monthly donations.

I think I am forgiven for scattering* the meeting because of the amazingly fortunate bit of good luck that came out of it. When I got back to the centre I called my mum and told everyone else that I could find. Me being me forgot to mention all the important parts and only spoke about the very exciting parts like the new dress and crown and the fact I will get a new title of Chief. It was only when V/Rev Timothy told people that they really understood my joy to be a good thing and a joy they should be sharing in.

*Scattering is used to describe messing anything up. You can scatter my hair or the story I am telling or my belongings… It is like the word picking. You use scatter to describe any disorganisation, just as picking is anything you take/bring/collect/buy

Friday 18th April - E-mail

Friday the 18th of April
I went for email again. I had lost some blog I had written because I saved it in a funny place and wanted to make sure it got to Amaudo UK quickly. There is already almost a weeklong delay between when the event happens and when I am free to look for a vehicle to join to go into town with the laptop to be able to send it. You would not believe how much of a headache email really is because it is so easy turning on your computer on the other end and getting a high speed broadband connection putting on the kettle and sitting in a comfortable chair. At my end I have to leave the house at half 7 or 8ish to drive for one and a half hours along some pretty frightful roads scattered with pot holes and dangerous drivers. Once in the internet café you realise that there is no need to call it a café as there is nowhere to buy drinks or food. The internet consists of two rooms one quite large one with rows and rows of pc’s and another small cupboard with a fan where people that have laptops are able to plug them in and perch on some precarious looking chairs. There are two complete chairs in that room. They have very small seats and look like they were made for children. I like to sit on them and they are mostly kept free, I assume this is because big men do not trust them to carry their weight. I finished my email pretty fast and was feeling hungry. Martha is trying to sort out getting her Masters organised so needed to spend quite lot of time working. Something had angered the generator so it was complaining rather noisily. When V/Rev Timothy dropped in to check on progress, I asked him to take me with him so I could have a chance to pick some food before coming back to Martha. I wanted to go to Winners Supermarket because I know they sell cherry jam and Pringles. He was on his way to go and meet a manager of Amaudo called Benson to talk about his induction ceremony to celebrate becoming a Very Reverend. This means he has been a Reverend for 10 years. The induction is an official institution and a service of empowerment and is usually conducted by the Bishop to authenticate your appointment as a presbyter. During in the service gifts and financial support is given to the minister to enable him to execute a project. Some will use this money to buy a car and others will try and build their family house… you can tell I have had to be told this quite a few times over because its not something I am use to having to understand.

Anyway the purpose of the visit became obscured because Benson was more interested on how this small girl had got out of England, come to Amaudo, and was now sitting in his office.

Thursday 17th April - A Lazy Day

Thursday the 17th of April
I came back from CPP feeling very tired so decided to not set my alarm clock. I slept in till 8:30 which is a very luxurious lie in because church is from 7 to 7:30 and so to bath before church I have been used to setting my alarm for 6:10. I found out that Helping Hands School was not on so decided to do all my washing. Today I would relax and have a lazy day. I was being so lazy I decided I could not be bothered to carry the water to my house to wash so I carried my washing down to the pump and cleaned all of it.

I wanted to see Ungotchi and my beautiful golden goat and we went to Kelechi to find out what was going on with her. We were having a nice chat so he invited me to spray bedbugs with him. Rev Peter heard my voice and came out to greet me rubbing a black soap on his hair wearing a towel. He likes to play fight with Kelechi and told him that I should rather spend the day in his company. He said Kelechi’s skin is too dark for me. So I pointed out that Kelechi’s skin is very tight and is covering a very muscular body. And that his own skin even though it is light I do not value colour over youth. We have a lot of funny conversations. Nigerians seem to love insulting each other. You can call someone fat and even threaten to beat someone or chop their hands off then he or she will soon laugh and the next minute they will be friends again. I told him that I could not be choosing between his company and spending the day with Kelechi spraying bed bugs because the insecticide would cause harm to my lungs and that he was currently only wearing a towel as he was dying his grey hairs black. And that the only reason I had come was to find out where my lovely goat had got to so I could check up on it!

My lovely goat!

Ungotchi and I swept and tidied up the goat house and made it neat and clean for the goat to enjoy when it came back from a hard day of grazing. I am planning on getting another female goat and then a male so Amaudo can start breeding goats. I called my mum and asked her to see if she can get the money. She said she is pretty sure she can get it as it will only cost £30 to buy the goats as we already have a house that only needs a quick tidy and a new door hinge and the goat farm will be up and running again! The income generation prospects for this project are very high. It will cost £30 to get the male and the female, a goat’s pregnancy will last three months and even when a goat is quite small it can fetch 4 thousand at market. A big goat can get from 6 to 8 thousand. The goats will cost very little to feed because they can eat the mango leaf and the grasses that grow around the centre. The other good thing about the goat farm means that it is a source of free meat for the residents so this will keep them very happy, as we do not often get to eat meat in the centre.

I asked John Jeremiah to come round today to bring me a document he had written for me when I was questioning him for stories he had from working at Amaudo. He had missed the point and written me an essay on Cerebral Palsy. It was written quite jumbled with the pages stuck together with tape in a way that made me tease him. The content was actually very good and I enjoyed reading it. As someone that knows very little about the condition I feel very pleased with how hard John is trying in his new job. He has only just taken the job at Project Comfort, when I first came to Amaudo he was the friendly barber that showed me round the workshop and showed me the farm.

Evan from Project Comfort was also around so I asked him to join us. They kept me company for a while and I showed them the scrapbook I have been making and fed them juice and chocolate biscuits. I like their company but they refused to stay long in-case the Welfare Officer (V/Rev Timothy) was to come back and find them in my house. I told them that they were being silly and that I had already told him I had invited John last night and he said it was fine. Everyone here is very scared of Welfare Officer. Kelechi even said it was his fear of the Welfare Officer that stopped him from coming to talk to me until Diane told him that I needed him to fetch me the snake shedding. I sent them both away with books to borrow and paper to return to me when they had drawn me beautiful drawings to keep in my scrapbook.

Wednesday 16th April - Owerri

Wednesday the 16th of April
It is exactly one month today that I will be travelling to Owerri Airport to start my journey back to my house in England. Ironically today I was to drive out to Owerri Airport to see Cecil off because he is going back to the UK for three weeks. Friday was the driver again, same as the three trips made to collect me and my missing luggage last month. It will also be Friday that drops me off on my way home.

I was not just going to Owerri Airport to see Cecil off but because it joined up nicely with the plans of CPP (Community Psychiatric Programme). I got told I would be following Grace to go and sell psychiatric drugs. When we arrived at our destination I followed her. It turned out to be a meeting about educating people in the local community about mental illness and to raise awareness with the elders, Chiefs and Ezes. The whole meeting was conducted in Igbo from start to finish, so I only learned the topic after 4 hours of discussion when the meeting finally came to a close. It was a hot day and I was frustrated not being able to understand anything that was said. One man got up and said “Oh we have an English visitor hello, good day, sorry you have not been able to follow anything. I speak English very well but if I speak in English to my elders and to the Eze then it would be very rude and mean that I have forgotten myself as a Nigerian. I suggest you start learning Igbo or get a translator.” I guess that told me. I felt it was slightly unfair as I am only here for two months but he has got a point that English people are very bad at learning languages. I have decided it’s because we can get away with it because English is understood in so many places that we rarely feel the pain of not being able to communicate.

Once we were moving away from the meeting I began asking Grace questions. She told me that when the village people started standing up and asking questions they were talking about disabled and mentally ill children. One woman even admitted to keeping her daughter in chains because she did not know how else to handle her. One of the men giving speeches was a psychiatric doctor so promised to see her daughter after the meeting and said it was not good to keep her in chains and she should bring her daughter to his clinic and he will help teach her how to manage the child. Hearing things like this really brakes my heart about the lack of funding for the Human Rights section of Amaudo.

Tuesday 15th April - A Day Out In Town

Tuesday the 15th of April
I woke up feeling very sick. I have decided this is probably the cause of my extremely grumpy and anti-social mood swing last night. I dragged myself out of bed without showering and moped into dining. I have not eaten beans for breakfast since I have come here because it feels like a very funny thing to eat for breakfast and I would rather drink tea and dunk bread in it as Diane taught me to do or eat biscuits with it. Success and Kelechi saw I was looking droopy and came to comfort me. This is the first time I have really appreciated talking to Success using him as a psychologist. We usually just make light conversation and chat like normal. He told me I was probably suffering as a result to trying to adjust into this new environment and was feeling some stages of institutionalisation. He said he passed through several stages before he felt fully settled and had been expecting me to have a ‘shock day?’ ‘Brake down?’ ‘Exhaustion period?’…I don’t know what to call it. Anyway he said he was going into town so he would take me on his bike. We could spend as long as I wanted sending emails to my friends and family and we could go to the market to pick up my dresses and go to café’s and do everything I fancied to make me feel better. Kelechi was also being very sweet and although he is not in the same position to help me out I do like going to see him. He makes funny little jokes and has a giggly laugh, sometimes he acts daft in a way that makes me think of my friend Tom Heller. Tom’s mum gave me colouring books to use in Helping Hands & Wonderful school and the children that come to visit, paper and crayons, quite a lot of clothes to wear in Amaudo and to leave for any resident who fancied them. There is one colourful skirt I like a lot, I feel slightly bad that my using it is making it fade but Amaudo is often donated clothing and has a whole store cupboard full of clothing for the residents at the moment. If anyone hearing this was considering bringing clothing and is now feeling put off do not worry! It is always being used, so is good that we have so much because it means we can afford to burn all of a residents clothing if bed bugs enter their house. Also the residents love getting new clothes to wear just like everyone else so new clothing is used for motivation and rewards for good behaviour.

Anyway Success walked me to my house and said he would wait for me to take my bath. He went to the shop to get me an energy drink to raise my blood sugars. Whilst he was gone I went into the bush and threw up several times. It was like eating those beans in reverse, and I really did not enjoy those peppery beans so early in the morning! Throwing up made me feel instantly a lot perkier and I enjoyed going on the bike and getting lots of breeze. I opened up a lot of emails. I have been getting quite a lot from my granny which I have enjoyed opening. She always makes me feel happy when I read it. Sometimes she will tell me something very funny and I will laugh with her and other times I just feel happy because I can imagine her saying or doing what she is describing. Today she told me she had a new film and decided to watch the end before watching the rest of the film to reduce the suspense in the film. This is also how she likes to read books. I laughed out loud in the Internet ‘café’ but Success did not really appreciate what was funny.

I went to collect my clothing from the market. I am getting use to it now and decided I would be able to find my tailor by myself. I get called ‘Onyeocha’ a lot and O-ee-bo and Misses White, Success has not been outside of Amaudo with me before so found it funny how much hassle I got from being white. ‘Mrs USA come buy bed sheet?’…. ‘Misses White do you want shoe?’ After walking around in circles for at least 40 minuets I admitted defeat and we called Martha for help. I made a promise to myself to try and learn where things are in future.

Kelechi gave me a Chop Chop to try. Trying all these new fruits is quite entertaining. Chop Chop has the taste of milkshake sour apple flavour. This feels very weird getting such tastes from a natural fruit.

Eating chop chop

Kate from Amaudo UK also phoned me today in-between coming back from town and the eating of Chop Chop. She told me that the money had been sent and that she is doing so much work back in the UK and is chasing up lots of sponsors but it just takes so much time to finalise these things. I felt relieved that they are working very hard. It is not that I did not think they were working but I just felt glad to hear how hard they are working. I told them about my House Parent Sponsorship idea and they said it sounds very good and they will need it explained fully in writing before they can do anything but that it is a very smart idea. I was feeling so happy Martha and V/Rev came back to find me skipping about Amaudo. Chop Chop was like a celebration reward.

Monday 14th April - House Parent Sponsorship

Monday the 14th of April
Today was an Internal Management meeting. My task of the meeting was to make notes on the financial crisis and to write a document to be presented to the board and to Amaudo UK. I will not go into detail but I came away from the meeting with a very heavy heart.

When I got back to my house I was determined to work out my idea of House Parent Sponsorship. I want it to act as a means of getting funds that will be secured to pay for everything the residents need such as maintenance to their rooms, all their soap, toilet tissue, bags for holding clothing and other such things. (For details please see Tuesday 8th April blog entry on House Parent training day). This way work will never be delayed if a leek appears or if bed bugs appear because they know that there is regular money coming in. This means it is safe to do the work and you will never end up choosing between fixing a leek and buying rice for dinner or fuel for the vehicles. Another good thing about the fund will be that it will free up the donations that were previously used for the soap and sanitary equipment and let them be moved to other places such as money for the farm or money to go towards other income generation proposals.

I spent the afternoon writing up the document about the worst case scenario budgeting strategy. It is grim stuff with impress being cut in half or more than half. Unless monthly money can be secured fast then Amaudo is in for rough times facing drastic impairment of their vital work. I am feeling very angry that the government has not kept their promise of fixing the Itumbauzo road that leads up to Amaudo. Every time I rock and roll down my way down the road, driving sometimes at a 47 degree angle, I feel cross that the promise has not yet been fulfilled. Now the rainy season is coming there is more sand and more damage to the road. Soon we will be getting stuck in the mud.

I felt very heavy this evening and wanted to disappear. I am getting fed up of being noticed so much for being white. I do not even like my skin colour it is too pale and all kinds of insects come to cover it in bites of different shapes and sizes. I tried to go for a walk in the dark up to the junction and back just so I could use my leg muscles but security stopped me and took me back to the centre. They said I had to have the permission of Cecil to be allowed out!? Talking to Cecil did actually do me a lot more good than stomping about in the dark would have done so I guess I am grateful.

Sundat 13th April - financial difficulties

Sunday the 13th of April
Church today was quite worrying. Rev Kenneth’s prayers were the things that worried me the most. He was praying for the survival of Amaudo and that god will not let work that has been done be stopped by financial difficulty and prayed for the work to continue. Everyone kept saying that not in my lifetime I could not see Amaudo fall apart with my own eyes - it must not be allowed. So I began to feel pretty scared about what financial troubles lie ahead. I know that for the past three years Amaudo has been paying staff salary with a monthly donation of £2,000 (two thousand pounds) from three kind individuals of Saint Luke’s Hospital Group their names being; Dr Chuma Igbokwe, Dr Jackie Tweedie and Dr Obi Mbamalih. The donation was first proposed to be going for one year but they extended it until March this year. When the current exchange rate gives you 233 Naira to the pound then you can see how much that money translated into and how hard it is going to be to gather money to fill the hole each month.

This week’s doctor loves Amaudo and although I haven’t written about him yet he is very intelligent and said in ward round he suggested the jerky walking of Pa Pa Isaac and another resident may be an indication of catatonic schizophrenia. Digressing from the point, the doctor came to church and listened to the preaching and the praying and felt moved to pledge N10,000 (ten thousand naira) a month. This translates to £46 a month and is a very generous but manageable donation. We also heard that house parent Steve lost his wife last night. Everyone moved over to his house after church to pray for him and sing a couple of hymns. Rev Peter read a bible passage and Steve seemed to be comforted by having everyone come to him to say their apologies.

I called up home worried about Amaudo and got Dad to transfer £500 from the Amaudo savings account across to us in Nigeria to help out for this month.

Saturday 12th April - My Golden Goat

Saturday the 12th of April
Plan for the day
1) Meet the Archbishop Uko
2) Go to the art gallery V/Rev Timothy has been going on about

We decided to see the Bishop first but he was not around so we moved onto visiting the art gallery. Perhaps gallery was the wrong word to use as what I found was a series of shops where men were working to produce lots of carvings and those kinds of African arts you find on mantle pieces of people that have been to Africa. There was also some tourist tack. I was slightly sad there was no gallery with paintings in so decided we should take a lunch brake.

We went to Mr Bigs, which is another fast food joint. I had bought a doughnut in Crunches last week and there was so little jam I vowed never to buy another doughnut from that place. I asked the girl if they had much jam and she said no. I decided to only take a drink whilst Martha and Rev had meat pies. I began to feel hungry and remembered that Diane had told me they do good burgers.

Hi can I have a beef burger please? –No sorry
Can I have a chicken burger please? - No sorry

I looked for chips on the menu and they did not even seem to feature. I asked for an ice cream but the machine was not working. I said “gosh this place has no right to be a fast food place if there is no burger, no chicken nugget, no ice cream…” the man said “sorry, sorry, the place will be fine when you come again.” I told him “I would be very sad if I do not get to try a burger from Mr Bigs before I go because I have heard their burgers to be highly praised.” In the end I gave up and had a Spanish omelette that was hiding under a different name.

I bought myself a carving of an African boys head and got Martha a necklace and earrings for her birthday on the 24th of April. I think she is 29 now so will be turning 30. We then went off to see the Archbishop.

When we went to Arch Bishop Uko’s house V/Rev told him about Amaudo and I went to sit by him and show him photographs. He said we should phone him after the 27th and he would arrange a time he could come and visit Amaudo. When we left he gave us 5 massive yams and even untied one of his golden goats and gave it to us. I was very pleased to be given a goat. I have always enjoyed animals and use to love going to the farm to pet the goats and baby sheep so I am looking forward to feeding and looking after my beautiful golden goat.

Me and my golden goat!

Friday 11th April - Rev David's Son

Friday the 11th of April
Today we planned to go to another Synod to look for more money for Amaudo. However we were stopped as we received the news that Rev David the Project Comfort Coordinator had lost his youngest son to a fever in the night. Everyone from Amaudo 1 all jumped into a vehicle and drove over to help out the family. Rev David was actually away from home so it took some time before was even able to hear the news. I did not think it my place to go so I stayed in and worked on the computer. I spent most of the day in hiding on the computer trying to give everyone space and not get in the way. The body had to be put in the ground that day because he was too small to put in the mortuary and spend big money on carrying the body back to the family village and giving him a proper burial. Instead Amaudo 1 and Project Comfort workers all came to support the family and have a small service. I decided to come and see the child off. He was a very beautiful little boy. When I came they had just finished washing the body. Then they wrapped it in a cloth and we sang hymns and prayed. Then the body was placed in a large cardboard boy and buried 6 foot under ground in the corner of the farmland.

Thursday 10th April - Wonderful School

Thursday the 10th of April
James the driver woke me up today knocking on my door. He was pleased because he had found a snake shedding and remembered that Diane had told him to look out for one to replace the one I lost when Godwin came and tided up the house for her when I was out. It is a lovely skin and I am going to draw it and stick it in my sketchbook. As it is only the shedding I hope customs allow it or do not notice it because it will be scrambled with a lot of other cuttings and rubbish when my sketchbook goes through the scanner. I went to the Wonderful School again and we joked around a lot. It is the last time it appears on my programme so I felt slightly sad. I wish to find the time to come back and visit. Happiness is doing such a great job. She told me when she came if you gave a child a pen and paper then they just scribbled round and round in circles. Now she has two of them that can write the whole alphabet and the rest are trying hard to work on individual letters and the beginnings of the alphabet and one, two, three, four. I had bought a football in the market so that we could have a good kick around. Isaac was especially happy as he told me his favourite thing about school is getting to play ball. Everyone was in such good spirits. I was using a local Okada boy because all of the Amaudo bikes are currently spoiled and are off to the garage. He turned up promptly at 1, I think he is scared I am a harsh lady because I said I would not pay him for dropping me off at Amaudo 2 until I was safe back at Amaudo 1 and he had completed his job.

Wonderful School Pupils

I still felt pretty lively when I got back. I went for a walk with Catherine. She told me all the mangos would be ripe on Wednesday, all the cashews would be ripe on Wednesday and that she would be going back to her family on Wednesday. Whilst we were walking I spotted a ripe cashew and let her eat the fruit. Rev Peter decided he wanted my company so offered to take me to his village and show me his family house. He is from just down the road by Helping Hands School. He has a cocoa farm and I took photos of the tree and the seed and when the seeds had been left the dry. I did not like the taste of the fresh seed it reminded me of eating chop chop which tastes like weird milkshake so not something you expect from fruit. The dried seed tasted more like chocolate but very bitter and quite nice.

Cocoa seeds drying

Tasting fruit

Picking fruit

Wednesday 9th April - Stuck in Amaudo

Wednesday the 9th of April
I was up early ready to go to CPP (Community Psychiatric Programme). I was expecting Friday to pick me up at half past seven. Unfortunately he was tied up looking after a Bishop so would not be coming to collect me. Even if I got into town he was the driver put in charge of the movement of vehicles that day so all work was off. I was quite annoyed as I have not been out of Amaudo since Saturday and haven’t gone for email for quite a long time now. I decided to walk around and found Kelechi working, preparing an area of farm to plant melon. He had about 15 male residents all working with him cutting at the weeds and clearing the land. I spent the rest of the day working on the Annual Report. I worked hard so my day was not wasted.

Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th April - House Parent Training Day

Monday the 8th of April
Kelechi told me he lost a brother today and had gone to see him in the morgue. Martha said brother does not always mean biological and that this brother was actually a cousin and not too close. I still felt for Kelechi because going to a morgue could never be easy.

I spent the day relaxing and doing washing. I swept the house and did some work to my scrapbook, it is looking fine. I have stuck in everything from my visa application form to my fist pure water bag.

Catherine asked me to marry her and take her to England. She said she has 100 Naira to marry me with. I told her woman could not marry woman so I am sorry I can not be her wife. She laughed at me. She enjoys joking about marrying people. She also asked Very Rev Timothy to marry her. He said she must be dressing fine and bathing fine and changing her clothes before he could even think of marrying her.

Tuesday the 8th of April
Cecil ran a House Parent training day. I decided I would become closer to Amaudo if I attended the training so I can have a better understanding of the work done.

The job of a house parent is that of a parent. They have to make sure their resident’s bath, tidy their rooms, take their medicine, eat their meals, attend church and work hard in their workshop. They have to get to know their residents and make them feel comfortable living in Amaudo and create a caring relationship with each of their residents so that if they have any problems they will go to the house parent.
We started the day by drawing pictures of our jobs. Two of the pictures I liked very much. One had the house parent surrounded by his residents and they were drawn in a very stylised way. The second was a fancy picture of a proud farther, which was in another stylised manner with a wig and trousers like King Henry VIII.

We split the training into House Keeping and House Parenting and talked about the problems.

Problems faced by House Keeping
- A lot of residents will not wash clothes unless they are told to. Some do not have adequate storage for their clothes once they are clean. E.g. wall hanger with coat hangers on, any shelving or big bags to store them in.
- Residents need to sweep their houses regularly.
- The houses are getting old and some have cracks. All would benefit by being repainted. It has been suggested that spending the extra money to use gloss paint is important as you can wash it and it lasts longer.
- New residents may excrete and urinate inside of the house because they no longer understand the concepts of home and toilet after living on the street for so long and because they are mentally sick.
- The foams residents sleep on are getting old and have been attracting bed bugs. The pillows are old, as are pillowcases and the bed sheets.
- Females have problems with their menstrual cycle because they do not always use pads. This can be because their house parent may not have pads to give, the resident may not have pants to use to keep the pad in place, or the residents sometimes are not in a fit mental state to use them.
- Underwear in general is a problem, as it is not often donated.

The Standard of House we will fight to keep.
1. Gloss painted walls
2. No bed bugs
3. Several buckets for fetching water
4. Storage for clothes e.g. wall hangers and bags
5. Brooms for sweeping and each house parent should have a long broom for sweeping away cobwebs.
6. All residents need light so each house should have a lantern for if we do not have power or the electrics have a problem in their home. We should try and fix all electrics.
7. Clean shower room and toilet
8. Soap dishes to keep their soap in and razor blades for shaving and cutting nails.
9. Slippers (flip-flops) must be kept in the rooms and towels/ wrappers.
10. Shutters and blinds must be kept well so they open and do not have any holes in.

How we plan to solve our problems.
We wish to buy…
· Maintenance work for all of the buildings to repair cracks and leeks
· Gloss paint
· Buckets
· New beds, new bed sheets, new pillows and new pillowcases for all houses.
· Things for keeping clean; soap & soap dishes, sponges, razor blades, towels, moisturiser (this is VERY IMPORTANT in dry season!), toilet tissue, toothbrushes & toothpaste and more slippers (flip flops)
· Things to keep things tidy; wall hangers, clothing bags and brooms*
· Detol for bathing and cleaning cuts and grazes. And insecticide to kill insects and bed bugs.
· Lanterns for all rooms
· Underwear for males and females.

*Brooms we may be able to get made in our rehabilitation workshop.

BRING BACK COMMUNITY WORK
We need to discuss and organise bringing back community work. This is where residents are organised to clean under the supervision of their house parent. Different residents are given different tasks. So one will clean the shower rooms and toilets for all the residents in their block. One will wash all the bed sheets for all the residents in their block. One will sweep a scrub the rooms. This needs to happen every month if not twice a month. Residents should be encouraged and reminded to sweep their rooms daily. We must organise and keep a rota to make sure this works.

House Parenting Issues
Problems faced by House Parents when dealing with residents
Ø Abuse of staff. Verbal abuse and insults, physical violence. On rare occasions stealing.
Ø Refusing to take drugs
Ø Refusing to bath and keep clean. This includes refusing to wash and change clothes and bed sheets.
Ø Urinating and excreting in the house
Ø Laziness & stubbornness
Ø Residents may try to escape (mostly new ones)

Problems faced by House Parents in every day work
Ø Need a torch for checking up on the residents in the night
Ø They need a residential driver in case of an absconder or in an emergency
Ø Co-operation of security and management to make sure that all residents are brought to dining, workshop, chapel, community work and their weekend movie viewing.
Ø Staffs need some time off because at the moment they are on duty 24 hours a day and working 7 days a week. There needs to be planned off and on times so when a member of staff is on duty he or she is fresher for working. It would be best to try and arrange both a male and a female house parent sharing duty times.
Ø Co-operation between house parents so if one is away then others will care for their residents. The on duty house parent must be readily available when a resident has any need on his or her shift

Things we should buy or try and get funding for.
· Good torches to be used by House Parents to check up on Residents in the night time
· A residential driver
· A new vehicle to be used for home visits that are an important step in being ready to go home
· Money to support further House Parents training days (costs of printing booklets, refreshments, paper and pens)

After the training I got chatting to Kelechi and Unice and asked them to come round to my house for tea and to chat about the day. It felt nice having them come to my house and eat and drink with me, I felt like we were now proper friends. Unice drew me some pictures of animals to watch out for like the giant millipede and the poisonous centipede. Martha told me a story that a centipede sat in the kettle in someone’s house and the mum made tea and everyone in the family drank the tea and then everyone died. She also told me about soldier ants. They are ants that move in an organised line and they are arranged with killing ants that go out and organise themselves to kill food to feed all the ants in the colony so something like a lizard. If you accidentally stand on their line then they creep up your leg and into your clothes then they suddenly start to bite you. Sometimes a whole swarm will enter a house and you can find them eating a whole stew if they come across one. When you see them you have to put kerosene to block their line or cover them in petrol to kill them. I really do not want to see soldier ants at all! I asked Bro Philip and he said I will meet them, and Very Rev Timothy and he also said I would meet them but he will be there to protect me.

Sunday 6th April - Nigerian Humour!?

Sunday the 6th of April
Today was the last day of Synod so we went to Bende for the church service and for the Bishop to bless the Helping Hands School Bus. All the women were very well turned out in bright wrappers and big shinny headscarves so I felt a bit scruffy. I had wanted to wear my new dress but as it was not ready I did not have time to plan a good outfit. Pat the nurse was at the service and Dr Hans, so with Cecil and I, there were a total of four white people. The Bishop thought he was very lucky and prayed for the whites in several of his prayers. Sermons were given in English and then in Igbo, so as you can imagine it took quite a lot of time. The total length of the service was 5 hours and 7 minuets.

I was smart and had brought a bottle of juice with me. I cannot remember if I have written this but whenever there is an offering people dance to the offering box and snake around the church in a manner I have only ever done in communion. The dancing was lovely to see and gave the church a vibrant atmosphere. It made the people happy whilst they were giving. Being expected to join in was not so lovely. People mostly dance with a kind of marching shuffle and a wiggle in their hips and like bend over to point to the floor or point in different directions. They also hold their arms in an open ring and alternate lifting each arm from the shoulder. At one point the bishop stood at the front to teach the congregation a dance where everyone had to almost sit on the floor they danced so low. We had two offerings. I was getting quite hot so was tempted to try and slip out of the door so I could hide in the long grass outside and sleep in the fresh air. I decided that my white skin would probably get me noticed so I would just have to put up with the heat. There was a man at the end of our pew that owned a camera and wanted everyone to know that. He got up every time a new man came to the lectern and kept a note of the whole service in his exercise book. He pushed past me umpteen times before I decided that I would give him a new seat on my other side and not let him back. Next thing I knew the Bishop started chatting about the whites again and invited Cecil to the front, the German doctor Doctor Hans and his wife and called up Pat. He then asked me up. He asked Pat if she was married and she said she was and he said ahhh what God have bonded no man can put asunder. He asked if I was married yet and I said no, he was very happy and told me I was young and tender and he promised to find me a Nigerian husband! I was quite embarrassed for him to announce it to the whole massive church but I am getting use to being told to marry a Nigerian. I have to finish university and marry a real Nigerian and have a bouncing baby boy. I have to learn to farm and to cook garri. Whenever I make any excuse they tell me that if it happened with other volunteers then it can happen with me too.

When we got home to Amaudo we had a photography session for Reverend Timothy because he is actually a Very Reverend. This means he has been a reverend for 10 years and he is gong to have his induction service on the 18th of May, which means I am going to miss it. Anyway we had to take photographs for his invitation cards and maybe calendars. Martha had taken some he approved but when he printed them he said he did not look very happy or friendly. I agreed that they were bad photographs and we needed to make him laugh. The story that always puts a smile on his face was quite funny so I will tell you it now.

One day there was a bus going along the road and the driver accidentally knocked a man down. In that small part of Nigeria they believe in a life for a life so the crowd that saw the driver who had hit the man, dragged him out of the vehicle and beat him to death. After they had finished killing the driver the man that had been knocked down regained consciousness and stood up. One man shouted “Oh so you wish to live now? …. After we have killed this man for you? No, this cannot happen!” And the men were so cross they had killed the driver for nothing that they killed the man!

Rev Timothy Ogbonnaya

Saturday 5th April - Free time

Saturday the 5th of April
Saturdays are free time so we went to the email and to the market. Martha is trying to get sponsorship to study in England or the USA so spent a long time on the internet. I felt hungry and sad my own computer had broken so decided to be brave and go to Crunchies on my own and try and buy something to eat. Cecil had told me you can get wraps from a little section outside so I was keen to try one. It was a bit like Magic Roll where I like to eat in Bristol but the choice of filling was very limited to salad, chicken or beef. I took chicken. The boy making my sandwich told me he wanted to marry a white woman and asked for my number, I told him I was too young and about to go to university so he told me to give out numbers of any of my friends in England that were single. I laughed at him. I tired to go inside and buy a doughnut and a drink but the air-conditioning felt so strong I came out in goose bumps and as I was not getting anywhere in the haphazard queuing system I decided to leave.

The tailor had not finished my dress and was at a wedding. I was a bit annoyed.

Friday 4th April - Synod

Friday the 4th of April
Today I attended a Synod to try and raise funds for Amaudo. The journey again was very long over broken roads and I was feeling fragile. Every bump hurt my neck and I wished we were driving slower. All I can say about synod is that it is a long meeting to discuss every matter of the church over four days ending with a Sunday service. It is run by the Bishop of the Diocese and is held once a year.

My temperature was up and down so many times in the church and I was very glad I had brought my drink of juice with me. We were given booklets to follow and they called out the page we were on every so often. After four hours we got to the part where Rev Timothy was able to speak about Amaudo. He introduced bro Philip who rose his hand and said ‘Praise the Lord!’, when he called my name I too rose and said ‘Praise the lord!’ and raised my hand. It felt very weird and everyone was looking at me a lot. My voice was weak I was wondering if everyone could tell I was feeling a bit out of place.

After speaking about Amaudo the Bishop decided that there would be one Sunday where all the offerings from the 50 something churches in his diocese would all be given to Amaudo. And that people would warn the congregation about when this would be all week so that they give as much as they can and know where it will be spent. This was a good outcome so made it a good trip.

I was then taken into a special house and offered a very good lunch. I decided to take moi moi because Catherine the resident always tells me her favourite food is one moi moi and one okara and that my own is one banana. Moi moi is kind of like sausage without a skin or haggis. It is quite good but I only wanted to take one. They also served us with garri and a different kind of special garri that I forget the name of but cannot myself note any difference.

Garri and soup

Thursday 3rd April - 'Call me.. I love you!'

Thursday the 3rd of April
Today I was back at Wonderful School. Happiness was in a very playful mood and we had a very positive day. We did ABC and 123 and we sang some new songs. It was not too sunny so we went outside to run around and play in the grass. We took with us small cuddly toys or babies as they call them and threw them around playing catch. We also mended the puncture in the beach ball so Isaac was very happy. I decided to make two children balance my beanie babies lion and chicken on their heads and to run and jump with out loosing them. I chased them round and round the chapel and Happiness joined in. I tired to get some aerobics’ going but it was getting a bit too hot. We cooled down in school and did some singing. I then sang ring-a-ring-of-roses with some girls who still had enough energy. They enjoyed it a lot and thought it was good fun falling over on the grass. I think that next week I would like to have a sports day.

I think I must have taken too much sun because I began to feel very funny. I was not able to eat my garri because the soup tasted too salty. I had trouble keeping my eyes open on the bike on the way home. When I got back I did not even make it into my house, I just sat down on the concrete sofa outside and it felt so cool and comforting to my weak body I went to sleep. I woke up and realised what I had done some hours later and took myself into my house and drank tea and ate food. Martha then came back and I ended up sleeping outside of Rev Timothy’s house until he returned and wondered what I was up to. It felt weird to be running a temperature and I was shivering in my shower. I went to bed early fully wrapped up in long pj bottoms wrapped in my silk sleeping bag and a sheet. I later woke up boiling and had to change and cool off outside. I saw one of the nurses was sitting outside making phone calls so he too was having disturbed sleep. I am not sure why but it made me feel better because he was sharing my pain. I half wanted to go over to him and chat to him but I noticed he was making phone calls. If you are on the MNT network then you can make free night calls from 12 midnight until 5 in the morning. You can also send certain texts for free like ‘call me it’s urgent’ and ‘call me I love you’. Cecil told me this and it made me laugh… he said he kept getting texts saying ‘call me I love you’ and wondering who was sending them and why people were sending him ‘I love you’ texts. I will be a very happy girl if my MNT sim card continues to work in England.

Wednesday 2nd April - Project Comfort

Wednesday the 2nd of April
Today I went out with Project Comfort again. I was feeling sorry for myself for getting burnt yesterday so I covered up very well with a shirt and scarf. I applied plenty of sun cream and kept reapplying, everyone thought I was a bit strange. So I had to explain sun burn to them so; this skin is red, touch it and it is hot, I feel pain, soon it will fall off, if I use this cream then the sun will not harm my skin and will keep it to be white. I went with Ozuoma to go to parents meeting where they get parents of the children in an area together and have a group meeting. Ozuoma drove like a man, very fast but with complete control. It made me realise how much effort people must have been taking to try and make sure I was not scared on the bikes. We drove to another local government area and it took quite a long time. The forest around us was very beautiful and there was little traffic for most of the ride. We got a flat tire when we came into the village…I can only say we were lucky where it happened! We left the bike in a garage and walked to the meeting. We were 45 minuets late but we were the only people present. The Eze came to welcome us and then the secretary then came to join us and break Kola. He asked me to pray for the Kola but I told him that I had heard that the Kola only spoke in Igbo so I would not be able to pray for the Kola very well! The Eze gave me a box of photographs to look over as entertainment and gave me the gift of an avocado pear. This is a fruit that resembles butter and can be taken with bread or rice. I took it to Rev Timothy and asked him if it was like my own avocado and he said it was not, he had tasted my own and his own was better. When I later came to eat the avocado pear I noticed no difference. The meeting was supposed to start at 10 so we waited till 12 before giving up. It was a shame that no one turned up but with rainy season coming it is a vital time for farming so when people depend on what they grow for what they eat farming can take priority.

I had travelled far on the bike, the longest distance so far so my legs were feeling as though they needed to do some walking. I found Catherine and decided to walk with her. She said she was feeling fine, she had taken her drugs, taken her bath and was pleased I had come back to see her. We sat by her house, the nurses were doing their usual singing and she told me she likes it very much. She even started singing in a very clear and loud voice and got up to clap and dance. I thought this was lovely because she usually uses a soft voice and when I first met her she only would whisper to me. To hear her sing and see her dancing made me feel very happy. I think that music can be very useful motivating people and raising their spirits. Diane told me they use to have dance nights on the weekends. They had one the other day but I did not know it was going on. I think it would be fun to organise a party before I go. I would have to buy ‘mineral’ which is what Nigerians use as a general word for fizzy drinks, kill chickens, put on music and blow up balloons. I will start investigating the costs.

Tuesday 1st April - Fieldwork

Tuesday the 1st of April
Today was fieldwork. I was going out with Ozuoma and John Jeremiah. We did not have a bike to use so we had to walk or ‘trek’ as they call it. The people that I’m with over here are not use to walking very much. I did not mind trekking as it gave me space to walk about and really enjoy seeing the village in which we were walking. First we visited a young girl who they were teaching home skills to. Since being with Project Comfort she has learned to bath, feed and dress herself well with no help. We were welcomed into the house by taking chalk and then bitter Kola and garden egg (another very bitter tasting plan often used as Kola). It was a traditional mud house with a thatched roof. It was neat and comfortable inside but I did have to bow my head to enter which I found strange because I am only 5”2 so rarely have to bend my head. Today we were teaching sweeping exercises to strengthen her wrists and teach her to sweep the house to help out her family. She is progressing well so that shows that her parents are supporting her and encouraging her to practise and helping her. We can deduce this from the fact she is getting stronger and improving from the last visit. Sometimes the parents forget about the exercise that they are told to repeat with their child which then causes the progress to become very slow.

We then went to visit a small girl who suffered fits when she was young and has restricted movement of her left hand and reduced movement of the left-hand side of her body. We were given groundnut and bitter Kola as we entered the house and were given floral smelling talc to put on our skin because of the heat which was causing us to sweat quite a bit so I enjoyed the talc. I have two very nice talcs at home I bought in Lush one is ginger and the other is sweet orange & patuili. I am quite annoyed at myself for not bringing them now I realise how freshening talc can be! Ozuoma looked at her hand and did stretches with the girl to make her recover better use of her left side of her body. The girl is doing fine and was glad for us to visit. She got dressed-up making a special effort when she found we had arrived in her house.

We then met a boy who was having trouble writing clearly in school. His mother and grandmother were there and a lot of children gathered outside the porch where we were working to see the white person. The mother and grandmother had not been practising the techniques used to improve writing so Ozuoma wanted to get though to them and try to get them to help the boy.

Uzuoma and Project Comfort child

Next we saw a girl who had a disability that means her hips are not correct and she has trouble walking. She was a bright and co-operative child. I found her situation quite hard because her disability looked so painful. She said it does hurt her but she is moving about fine and enjoying making friends with all the other children in her village. (in the picture she is wearing the black dress)

Lastly we saw a small child. The child was very young and its legs were very thin and weak looking. At first I thought the child’s problem was that its legs were too thin but then I realised there were several big wounds on the child. They have put her on antibiotics but when one wound goes another will come. Project Comforts only choice is to take the girl to the hospital and do tests on her blood and the wounds.

I enjoyed today very much it was good to see the villages and to walk through the forests and see where people lived. We were welcomed into every home with talc and/ or Kola, which is very giving when they have so little money.

It was very sunny today which is the first time I have really taken sun. It came as a surprise to me because usually it is very cloudy but warm. I got caught out and got a little sun burnt. Everyone found it very interesting what my skin did and felt great concern. Before I came to dining I covered myself with sun cream because my skin was feeling sore and dry and everyone was saying wow you are so shiny you are sweating so much! Why are you red? Why are you oily? Chi (chi is said when they hear something that is sad, it means sorry) When I told them what had happened I got a lot of ‘chi’ and ‘sorry-o’

Monday 31st March - Project Comfort

Monday the 31st of March
Today I went to Project Comfort. It gave me a taste of Nigerian disorganisation and time keeping. We went to see a nurse in her own office but she said she was at our own. When we got to our own she said she was at her own. Now being told all that when you thought you were going to a place called Hoffers not Hoffier is all a bit confusing. Hoffers is a fast food joint with air conditioning, television and is a good place to eat. As it was lunchtime I thought our visit to Hoffers must have been a treat organised to welcome to me Project Comfort not a wild goose chase for a woman who did not seem to want to be found. I was expecting a meeting about the children we would be meeting in the week and to discuss their progress. Instead I had come on the day of the tri-monthly staff meeting so nothing talked about made a whole lot of relevance to any children in detail.

Despite the confusion, it was good to meet the team. There is Rev David who is the co-ordinator, Ozuoma who I see as taking the role of ‘top dog’. She has been with the project for a long time and is very smart. She organises the boys who are Evan, Obinna and the newest member John Jeremiah who was the barber at the Workshop in Amaudo 1 that showed me around. It was very hot in the office and I felt quite tired. John saw I was looking bad and bought me some biscuits to eat. He is a good friend but I felt a little embarrassed to be the only one to eat something when it was so hot so I went and fetched 8 pure waters so everyone could have a drink. Pure water is good drinking water that is sold in plastic bags, you bite open a corner to drink. It looks like how goldfish were packaged when you win them at fairs and you can often find children walking about with big baskets of them on their heads. Pure water used to be 5N a bag but has now gone up to 10N so from about one penny to two point five pennies! You can buy 10 pure waters for about 40 pence. A bottle of cold coke in glass costs 50N so about 20 pence….this makes me feel bad about working in a restaurant where I sell a smaller bottle of coke for £2.90 and we do not even reuse the glass!

Some nurses have come to stay at Amaudo as part of their training. There are 40 in total so it is taking over quite a lot. The ones by my house are all males and enjoy singing. Luckily for me they sing very well in a barbershop style that I have been secretly enjoying from behind closed doors.

Sunday 30th March - Eze

Sunday the 30th of March
The weather has been too hot. I have felt pretty crap. I did not sleep in as long as I had enjoyed last Sunday. To tell the truth it is the worst night’s sleep I have had since coming to Amaudo. I had many weird dreams. When I first came I was dreaming of England and waking up confused to be in Nigeria. Last night I dreamed I was on an army training camp with Catherine and some other residents sleeping in a small house sharing bunk beds and spending all day doing assault courses. I think this must mean I have fully accepted Amaudo into my heart as my home even at a subconscious level.

Diane told me about the Eze of the village of Okopedi in which Amaudo has made its home. An Eze is like a local King, they sort out problems with in the village and people go to them for advice. This Eze is the one that allowed Ros to get the land. There is a lot of stigmatism and fear of mental health here in Nigeria so it took a lot of time and trust in the Eze for the villagers to give the land over and allow the building of such an institution so close to their homes. Unfortunately the Eze had a dispute with the government about boarders and land. The government took his salary away as a punishment and now he has lost his official status and he has lost the respect of his community.

Diane and Ros valued Eze even after he lost his title. So we decided to go and make a visit to him. It was the first time for me to break Kola and do it properly. I have eaten Kola nut before so I know I do not enjoy it. We first prayed for the Kola and then took chalk. The women put the chalk on their necks to represent surviving the war that is childbirth. Childbirth is likened to a war because it is a hard struggle and it claims the lives of many women. Once a woman gives birth she marks her neck with chalk to show her neck has been saved. Men put the chalk on their wrists but I have not been able to get much of an answer to the significance of this. Only that for both men and women when you see the chalk marking their skin it identifies them as a friend of someone in the village. If there is no chalk marked on a stranger then they will be seen as an enemy and driven away. The white chalk does not show up on my white skin! We then took Kola and bush meat that included liver, kidney, and chunks of skin and delightful things. I did not fancy eating it so I only ate one piece of kidney to show everyone I was accepting the food and gave the rest to Martha in secret so as not to offend him and we drank Guinness with lemonade. Methodist Reverends are not allowed to drink here so Rev Timothy and Rev Peter left their Guinness but I enjoyed mine. Drinking here is not considered to be Christian and women especially are not supposed to drink.