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For Naija Corpers: Before you pack those bags for camp! #NYSC @naijacorpers

I miss @BankoleTaiwo ;-) Yeah, maybe for all the selfish reasons you can think of... But I most miss him for his friendship...and that rare privilege of "fooling" around with him. I bet by now I'd have been ranting about my camp experience and telling him, "wow! I can't believe I once said I will not serve...this is amazing!"

And him? He'll give the most apt response to all my chit-chat. I've always wondered how he always had the almost perfect/on point responses. Blessing God for his life!

Okay... We, corpers and all, at Magaji Dan Yamusa camp are preparing for the big day- the closing ceremony and heading to the different PPAs and CDS.

Surprisingly, these past couple of weeks at the orientation camp have been a time of learning and unlearning for me.

Meeting, living, learning, unlearning and working with a group of strangers, some of whom have become friends, has been an interesting process of growth for me. I look forward to the next phase with thankfulness and open-mind.

This post is aimed at 'helping' the next crop of graduates who'll be serving our fatherland across Nigeria better prepare (that is, what to expect on camp). Try to prepare well as much as you can for the 3 weeks of camp life:

1. Ask other corpers, ex-corpers about their experience: Before heading to camp, I read a book written by an ex-corper titled "Corper Shun". Trust me, the book did go a long way to help me prepare... I also 'drilled' my older siblings and friends on their NYSC experience. Their diverse responses opened my mind to the uniqueness of the programme. At the end of the day, our experiences might be different but having a fore-knowledge of what to expect will reduce your "camp-shock." Some camps are more stressful and depressing than others. To put it better: some camps are more exciting than others ;-).

2. Come open-minded:
Come to camp open-minded. I know many people will feed your mind with their views and prejudice once you announce your state of service. I'll advise that you take your time to actually allow yourself experience the uniqueness of the place you are posted to and the people you'll meet as well.  Try not to judge everyone and everything at first contact.

3. Make friends:
Camp life is pretty stressful. Being around the right people or having the right people around you will help you stay sane. But don't be too desperate about making friends that you land in the wrong company. Try to have fun... and relax. Don't complain too much. Moaning and depressing murmurings will leave you exhausted. Avoid depressing conversations if possible.

4. Come with money but learn to budget well:
When I read in "Corper Shun," the need to bring some pocket money to camp, I thought the author was joking. But having experienced being broke (you might not get an ATM to withdraw money), I'll say please bring pocket money... But also learn to budget. Don't spend extravagantly... Be very frugal in your spending. Don't buy everything you see... Also don't allow camp photographers take pictures of you randomly- of course unless it is part of your plan. Be kind to others but also ensure you are not careless with your spending.

5. Eat from the kitchen
Some corpers are 'allergic' to eating from camp kitchen so they end up spending a huge part of their pocket-money in 'Mami market.' I'll advise that if you are not ultra-rich (or even if you are), try as much as you can to eat from the kitchen. The government paid loads to ensure you have three square meal per day. Don't miss the opportunity to use your meal ticket. Okay, they don't cook the best meal. But trust me, it is not that bad. You can complement what the kitchen provide with fruits from Mami market.

6. Beware of Mami market:
Mami market is the spot where things are sold on camp. And yes, things are very expensive there. The traders/retailers there blame the inflation in the market on camp officials. They say they were charged mercilessly for their rented space. So corpers bear the burden. To avoid being exploited in this market, try as much as you can to come with as much things as possible- waist-bag, bathing and washing soap, detol, Milk, etc. In our camp, the price of items were almost twice the normal retail cost.

7. Security:
Ensure you come with a safelock for your bags. But more importantly ensure you don't flaunt too much to put you at risk of petty theft. Be very careful with your belongings... For example, don't leave your phone or purse on your bed and turn away for a minute. Don't get me wrong, the camp is pretty safe. But some cases of theft were reported in my hostel as well as others. There are no locks on hostel doors so everyone including non-corpers (e.g. women who hawk goods) have access to these hostels. So, ensure you up your skills in keeping your things safe.

8. The military life is not as mean:
NYSC is described as para-military. So come prepared. Don't come expecting the camp officials to be mushy-mushy. It is not that they are not empathetic but just come prepared to live like a soldier or be treated as one- with harshness et al. The activities are no childs-play.

9. Be prayerful & don't neglect your faith:
It might be hard to have a me-time on camp. Activities are sometimes back-to-back. There are also other activities competing for attention. Not to forget how tiring waking up early for all those activities can be.  But try to maintain a healthy time for devotion. Attend the Nigeria Christian Corpers' Fellowship...(NCCF), Catholic or Muslim fellowship where applicable... Don't neglect your faith. Fellowship with brethren revitalizes.

10. Eat well:
Most activities, if not all, require high energy. I mean high energy! Ensure you eat well. Don't skip meals. Come with snacks and water bottle. The latter is to ensure you constantly have water closeby. There is a lot of 'standing under the sun' so you'll need the water to stay hydrated!

11. Actively participate:
There is always the temptation to play truancy while on camp. Especially when camp activities get overwhelming. Try as much as you can to be active on camp... Volunteer to serve in the different groups- Nigeria red cross, OBS, man o' war, etc. When in your platoon, also try as much as you can to participate in the group activities. All the team dynamics is part of the learning process. Active participation is not necessarily to get cheap recognition... Or massage your ego. It is just that there is no need to tiptoe through camp... You won't have the experience twice. Some of the seminars are annoying or a time-waster but try as much as you can not to stay idle...listen up anyway. Maximize all learning avenues. ( I was not ultra-active but I did try to at least participate in some activities).

12. Create your own experience:
No amount of experience-sharing can replace your own unique experience while on camp. So don't box yourself in. Go to orientation camp and rock the phase!! DON'T FORGET TO READ THE HAND-BOOKS YOU'LL BE GIVEN DURING REGISTRATION. As irrelevant as the small booklets might look, reading them will save you alot of headache ;-).

Bonus: Learn from the challenges you'll face. Embrace camp life with a thankful heart. Stay positive even when it seems you have no reason to. May God firmly establish you in your PPA and other phases of NYSC! I pray same for me and all corpers in my set as well. :-).

The NYSC anthem:
Youths obey the clarion call,
Let us lift our Nation high,
Under the sun or in the rain,
With dedication and selflessness,
Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve....

Note»»»» "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7.

Photo credit: culled from pro-NYSC Twitter handle.

Youth-Adult partnership for development

Here is an interesting quote on mentorship for development: "Assisiting our youths require appropriate mentoring. If a youth sees an individual s/he admires, s/he should feel comfortable developing a mentor-mentees relationship with the person. For those of us that have been blessed, we should give back by being mentors. If possible, a formal mentoring programme will be a great tool in Nigeria." -Fadekemi T. Odidina.

Fast tips on Nutrition and Healthy Living For The Busy 9-5vers

The Lagos state government recently provided free medical services to people living in Ayobo-Ipaja community. Thousands of people turned up daily for the one-week exercise.

I left the venue on day two wondering if there is a brimming investment opportunity at the grassroots healthcare system that business people are not exploring. The common believe is that people are poor, thus cannot afford medical services. But I think this is debatable, considering that other businesses are booming here.

If these people who are considered poor can afford mobile phones and recharge their call-credit, then why won't they be happy to access medical services if they are a little cheaper? Or perhaps more efforts should be arched towards orientating the public on the essentials of healthy living?

Meanwhile, I caught up with Mrs Oluwatoyin Adams, chief nutrition officer Lagos state ministry of health, during the programme. She provides the following tips for healthy living:

1. In terms of nutrition, we always say you are what you eat. Eat adequately. Eat adequate food.

2. Fruits and vegetables should be much in our meal.

3. Stay away from red meat as much as possible.

4. Have a good rest.

5. Exercise.

6. Drink a lot of water.

7. For adults, make sure you eat by 8pm. Don't eat beyond 8pm so that the food can digest.

8. Reduce the intake of simple sugars and fast food.

9. The type of vegetable oil we use should be cholesterol-free.

10. Seek medical services in the nearest health centre.

11. Stop self-medication.

12. Try as much as possible to go for regular assessment, at least twice a year.

13. Visit your nutritionist regularly.

Lets stay healthy Nigerians! Health is wealth!! ;-)

To bloggers in Nigeria...

"I really want to encourage a much stronger culture which says: it is better to have no information, than to have information like this, with no sources," Jimmy Wales.

A hunger for access to free medical services #IRP13

This week, I was tested in a different way. Actually, I went nosing around for news relating to the ongoing Eko Free Health Mission Programme in Ayobo area of Lagos. The crowd, massive crowd, I saw in this community sure exceeded what I expected to see. From interacting with a few of the community people and interviewing others, I saw first hand how much people really yearn for medical services. Well, I hope corporate organizations and investors will see this as an opportunity to broaden their CSR outreach. Don't leave everything to the government.

I know, I started this post with being tested. I'll tell you how.

So I was collecting a few pictures to use as a photo essay for a report I was going to submit for GPI. When I got to the nutrition stand, I saw a little boy, the image like ones we see in western media. Those types that will leave you mouth agape... that usually get some of us asking where do all these journalists get these terrifying images from. To learn first-hand that there are real images of malnourished children right here in a land of plenty left me with a depressing feeling. I sighed and took the picture.

But a man walked up to me and said not to use the picture for any news report. That is not the kind of story you should be telling, he said. I sighed. The mother of the child smiled. Actually, the man told the woman to lay a curse on me if I ever use the video footage or images. :-) Scaring things you hear when covering news. But anyway, my conscience took the better of me. I asked the mother if she mind me telling her story. She said no. But said I should not use her video or pictures of her child, even though it was just a back-view of the child. Yes, yes, ethic of the profession expect us not to use such anyway.

So here are some of the images I took, to tell you the story of a community that benefitted from a recent outreach aimed at bringing medical services to the grassroots. The people asked for more of such programmes. The organizers say the purpose is to point the grassroots to the existence of Primary Healthcare centres in their communities. It cannot be an everyday affair. Or can it not?

Enough of my stories. Let the pictures speak!

At the entrance to the stadium called "Ipaja Mini Stadium" but the community people say they know it as "Stadium Fela"

Some residents of Ayobo-Ipaja community waiting for their turn to enter the stadium

Medical team at the drug collection stand

Pregnant women waiting at the antenatal care department

Drug collection center

The nutrition stand

Blindness prevention programme

Dental clinic was also very active at the programme

Mothers being trained on nutrition and healthy living

Residents take turns to see the doctors, depending on what medical service they seek

Mrs Adebayo at the medication unit to collect her drugs after the doctor prescribed them

Mr Moses brought his daughter for check-up

Waiting for their turn

Dr Amire attending to some patients at the Outpatient unit

For more information on day 2 coverage, click here: 

WATCH THE VIDEO

Note: This report was gathered on the second day of the exercise. It does not represent the full details of the programme.

Eko Free Health Mission Programme to Promote Primary Health Care System in Lagos State #IRP13

A neighbour told Mrs Omotayo Lola, who is in her fifties, that there was a free medical test and treatment being offered to people in Ayobo, a community in Lagos, where she resides. The following morning, she woke up early in order to seek treatment for her eye-sight.

“I have been here since about seven,” she says in Yoruba, the second official language in the State.

She says she was given a priority attention due to her elderly status. However, upon arriving at the medical unit, instead of just checking her eyes, her blood pressure was measured. The doctors discovered that she had high blood pressure.

“I came for eye check-up but they said my Blood Pressure is high,” she says in Yoruba. “The doctors gave me drugs. They attended to me very well. I am very happy.” 

Mrs Omotayo advocates for more frequent free medical services. ”If they can do this every three months, it would be good,” she says. Adding, “There are many people who die as a result of not having money to access medical treatment.”  She says she would not have known she had a high blood pressure if she had not come to take advantage of the blindness prevention programme offered in the community.

With a growing population of over seven million and an unemployment rate of about 28 per cent as at 2010, according to National Bureau of statistics, Lagos state, Nigeria’s commercial capital, remains a melting pot for many people seeking greener pasture in the country.

“Over the years, the challenge for government has been to continuously find ways of improving the health status of the ever increasing population based on the popular maxim that the wealth of a nation lies in the health and well being of the people,” says Honorable Yusus Sakiru Adisa, the chairman of Ayobo-Ipaja local council development area, during a press briefing at the Ipaja Mini stadium where the free health mission took place.

“The programme is symbolic as it represents the essence of government in meeting the needs of the governed thus celebrating the notions of accessibility, equity, quality and affordability in health care services,” says Honorable Adisa.

The Eko free health mission kicked of February 25 to March 1, 2013 at Ayobo-Ipaja local council development area, Lagos.

“We give immunization to children between 0 and 5 years old. We do dental procedures- polishing, extractions. We give medications too,” says Olajumoke Adeoye, a team member of Lagos state ministry of health.

She says there is also a surgery department, where a team of professionals perform simple surgical procedure such as appendices and removal of lumps.

In addition, the free health mission team provide blindness prevention programme where they give glasses to those with eye ailment.

“For those that need special order, we ask them to come back the next day,” she says.

Adeoye says many people in the community are benefitting from the free medical mission programme which kicks of 8am daily and ends about 5pm. “We make sure everyone that comes there we attend to them. We usually attend to 3,000 and above,” she says.

It is expected that over 20,000 people from the local council development area would have benefitted from the different medical services provided at the end of the programme.

“Even if we give out 3,000 cards we still have some mothers with 2 children, three children who come in. It is one card that admit mother and children.” Adeoye says.

“Our procedure is that when they come they take their numbers,” she says describing how the medical team manages the crowd.

“It makes it easier for us to sort them out,” she says.

Everyone who comes is given a number, irrespective of what medical condition they are there for.

“When we bring them in a queue, we sort them to their various department. We don’t allow pregnant women to queue. They are always the first we attend to,” she says.

Adeoye says one of the reasons for the free medical mission is to create awareness about the primary Healthcare Centres in Lagos state.

“A lot of people don’t like using the primary healthcare centre,” she says. “But when we visit a locality we create awareness about the primary healthcare centres. And we let the people know they can access Medicare in their primary healthcare centre.”

“For example, in the antenatal department we have here, it is discovered that a lot of women have not been to the primary healthcare. They don’t register when they are pregnant. They prefer to go to traditional birth attendants. But when they come here we counsel them,”

Adeoye says the pregnant women are counselled to utilize their primary healthcare centres for safe delivery.

“I heard about this programme through a friend,” says Mrs Oluwatoyin Adelusi, a resident of the community who also benefitted from the programme.

She says the community people are praying for the State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, to keep ameliorating the health condition in their community.

“We really enjoy it and we are praying for Fashola, that he should keep it up,” Adelusi says.

“My advice to the organizers is that they should try and be bring this sort of thing probably once in a year or twice in a year,” she says.

Like Adelusi, Moses Adegbola says the programme impresses him.

“I’m pretty surprise getting here and seeing everything put in place. Virtually all the aspects of health are being taken care of,” says Adegbola, who brought his daughter for nutrition check-up.

“I give kudos to the government for doing this. I believe they should do more of this. This is a very good step in the right direction. I believe the government should do more of this in all the other areas,“ Adegbola says.

Mrs Oluwatoyin Adams, chief nutrition officer Lagos state ministry of health, says the purpose of the exercise is to take medical services to the grassroots.

“It is a grassroots exercise. We take medical services to the grassroots,” she says.

“The turnout and the acceptance by the people is very good.”

The nutrition stand was one of the highly visited stands within the mini stadium where Lagosians in the community trooped out in thousands to access the free medical services.

Mrs Adams says they provide nutrition counselling to mothers who come with their infants as well as adults. “We counsel them on breastfeeding,” she says.

The mothers with infants are counselled on adequate complimentary feeding. “That is, graduating from exclusive breastfeeding to family food,” says Adams.

According to her, during the Malnutrition assessment, the medical team discovered many children that are malnourished. “We have ready to use therapeutic food that we use in managing these children,” she says. Adding, ”After that we refer them to the nearest health centre where they are residing for continuity. They will be managed for about four weeks,”

“We encourage people to seek medical services in the nearest health centres to them,” says, Mrs Adams.

She says the medical services at the primary healthcare are free.

“The people are there to serve them. They should stop self-medication,” she advised, adding that people should try as much as possible to go for regular assessment at least twice a year.

“Seek for medical assessment and also visit your nutritionist regularly,” Adams says.

Mrs Peace Ugorji, a beneficiary of the programme says she has been longing for an opportunity to access medical treatment for her one-year old malnourished son.

“I have been longing for this,” says Mrs Ugorji.

She says her son, Samuel, first became ill at about 3 months of age.

“I have been going for immunization. They will look at him and ask what food are you giving him,” Ugorji says. Then the nurse at the health centre advised her to take Samuel to the General Hospital.

“I took him to general hospital Ikeja, we spent 2 weeks there,” she says.

Although the medical services at the general hospital was free, Ugorji says that she could not afford the drugs the doctors prescribed for her son.

“After two weeks I had to leave there because I was running out of money,” she says.

Moses Adegbola brought his daughter for nutrition check-up. 

Ugorji heard about the free medical mission and decided to bring her son there. He was diagnosed with server malnutrition. “They say the baby needs to be admitted,” she says, while waiting for an Ambulance that would take them to the general hospital. 

The Eko Free health mission programme is the first in Ayobo community. The last medical mission, which took place in October 2012, was done collaboration with Eko club international, a US based organisation of Lagosians living in diaspora.

Adeoye says Lagosians who live outside the shores of Lagos came together to raise funds, and approached the Lagos state government for partnership to carryout the grassroots outreach in different communities in Lagos. Unlike the outreach in Ayobo, which was solely funded by the government, theirs was spread across different communities within the State in one week.

“People have been responding. And they’ve been coming out to get healthcare for themselves and their children,” says Doctor Amire Adetutu, one of the medical professionals at the programme.

She says people in the state often do not seek medical services as a result of the high rate of poverty in Nigeria.

“People are poor in the country,” she says.

“They don’t see healthcare as a necessity. But programmes like this are awareness programmes that help them by bring healthcare to their doorstep. It is not a luxury, it is something everyone should have access to.” She says.

Doctor Amire says health awareness programmes are very important because it helps people understand the importance of healthcare.

“The structure of the healthcare system is such that there is a tertiary healthcare system, then it comes to secondary and it comes to primary healthcare system,” she says.

Tertiary healthcare system refers to the teaching hospitals, while the secondary healthcare refers to the general hospitals. However, the primary healthcare system is the ones at different grassroots communities in the country.

Doctor Amire advises those who are unable to attend the free medical mission to visit their primary healthcare centres for medical services. “There are good health professionals there that can take care of them and the populace at large,” she says.

Note: This report was gathered on the second day of the exercise. It does not represent the full details of the programme.