TRAVELS w/P: Tales of Adventure Here & There

06-03-2013 Wednesday March 6 back at the Palace

Did I mention it’s hot? Tingling skin hot. Droplets dribbling from the neck down the spine hot? Sweaty waste band hot. “And the dry heat here in Abuja,” says Christine, “is nothing compared to the humid tropical heat of Calabar.”  Contrarily others say Calabar is cooler. I’m beginning to sense this dichotomy of views is a Nigerian thing; one of many cultural nuances that will present over time and with experience.  Take the stories about my accommodations as a for instance.

 According to Christine it is, in fact, a self-contained apartment separate from the office building but within Concern Universal’s compound. Yes there’s access to drivers through the week during business hours. Evenings and weekends are to be negotiated. So far so good. When discussing these arrangements together with Opeyemi Ipinnaiye, a VSO Program Support Officer, queries surface about the safety of living alone. Could the guard dogs be a threat?   “We have a security guard on site. And the dogs are trained to become familiar and friendly with those who are an everyday part of the compound. Further, it’s safe to come and go at night. We’ve never had a problem – touch wood.”

Christine shares that the facility is also equipped with a small generator for when power outages occur after business hours. Fuel costs fall to me.  “Is that not something Concern Universal could consider paying?” Opeyemi asks. “After all, other partners cover rent, utility, water and security expenses for houses or apartments. What CU is providing is already part of the organization’s general operating cost.” Instantly this polished Nigerian woman turns business barracuda. “We made it clear and it was understood by VSO from the outset that Concern Universal would not incur any additional expenses associated with this volunteer program. That was a condition of our arrangement.” After paraphrasing and countering objections, dancing between partner and volunteer best-interests eventually “yes” Opeyemi concedes, “a generator is a luxury.”  A window, however, still remains open on the matter. As I’m quickly learning, here, pretty much everything is open to negotiation.

                                       

Earlier in the day, at a workshop for VSO partners involved with farming, the Agri-Bank micro-financing session smacks me up the side of the head. The presenter is a suit from the bank’s corporate communication’s office; the audience, a collection of barely surviving NGOs, national (domestic) volunteers and farmers. The suit speaks about collateral requirements – including the purchase of a phone (?!), pay-down options and interest rates ranging from 12% for a loan of 250,000 N or less (the equivalent of $1666.00) to 20% + for loans in excess of this sum. The audience sits quietly, graciously. But when the floor opens to questions it's obvious they don’t get it. And the suit doesn’t get them. While the audience wants to know simple things - like how much they'd have to pay each month to borrow 100,000N - the suit insists on talking about amortization and compounding interest. Frustration is palpable: rising voices, repetitive questioning, shout-outs to be heard over others, heads shaking in confusion or disagreement. Hah. Here I was thinking I was going to hear about micro-financing in the context of supporting one another as I saw at the women’s co-operative in Uttar Pradesh, India. Wrong. Not only is there disparity in knowledge levels, the issue of trust or rather, lack of, impedes farming development. And we’re not just talking rural vs urban or educated vs illiterate. We’re talking farmer to farmer, neighbour to neighbour lack of trust. 

So what have I taken away from this fly-on-the-wall experience? First and foremost there’s the need to tailor communications. To know the audience and its knowledge level To use lots of analogies when reaching out to a rural populace. And to recognize successes here are measurable one person at a time.