Bimbo sits with Tori, discussing shoes. Everyone needs shoes. For fashion, for fun for practicality. Bimbo loves shoes. So does Tori. Shoes provide temporary happiness….short term use. Bimbo is always full of emotions.
Tori is always full of common sense. Two friends sitting with shoes and friendship. Bimbo looks up to see Dami.
Dami works hard. Very sensible. Role model with the best sense of humor. Complete penny pincher. Perfect with the money. Guards it all with her life. Never heard her speak about shoes. But she wears them, I’m sure. But money she knows. Money brings happiness too. Economic development. But terrible as aid. The three of them sit discussing a charity ball.
They do love a party. The sort of party where there’s lots of dancing and screams of joy. Three friends sitting with shoes, parties, money and friendship.
Londe taps Dami on the back. Taller than most, cute as a button but with the inner strength of three. She orders some food. Everyone loves food. Actually everyone needs food. For growth and development But they can’t always choose what sort of food they need. For survival. Food for fun. Food for parties. Food after money counting. Food with shoes one. Food with friends.
Winnie pops in-light and bright. Call her mellow yellow. A whine about Mr. handsome. No sit down is ever complete without boys. BOYS! Sometimes a girl just needs one. Or perhaps just to throw rocks at. Or for the labor force. For economic development. She steals a slice of pizza. Ogles shoes and checks Dame’s account books.
Seun comes in just then. A bag full of books. Straight from school. Whining about her teachers. How terrible they can be. Everyone nods in agreement. But all silently recognize education as everlasting. Lasting past shoes, parties, food, money and boys… education the golden bullet to economic and human capital development? Everyone needs education. It’s a basic human right.
Seun might have a choice about where she has hers. As londe has a choice of what food to eat and Winnie has a choice with what boy to throw rocks at as Dami has a choice of who to count money for and bimbo has a choice about what shoes to wear and Tori has a choice about what sort of party to have.
But not everyone has a choice about these things. Not everyone has a choice about ending their ignorance and expanding their choices and capabilities. Not everyone does. Everyone should.
So friends: Dami, Bimbo, Tori, Londe, Seun and Winnie sit down. With Love From Friends. Discussing the WLFF CHARITY BALL IN OCTOBER!
Food: anything with cheese! Money: all donations! Education:
With Love From Friends for education in Nigeria!
Because choices matter. Because knowledge matters. Because knowledge brings choice.
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Do you read me?
When I read a book, I really get into it.
I might not be able to pass a quiz on the minute details once im done, but its not unusual for me to subject a friend to a personal reading of a few 'beautiful lines I stumbled across' and take the moment very seriously.
The other day after reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun a second time , I thought back to when I really got interested in books.
I must have been about 9 years when I was caught in a reading frenzy fuelled by an obsession with Mallory Towers, The twins at St Claire and drum roll, Sweet Valley Middle School (only the most exciting book series ever). I don’t know what it is like now, in the age of the Ipod, Nintendo wii, Playstation, Sky plus and DSTV, but at that age reading was considered by us to be quite cool. I had a mini library in my class and I read every single book that came into it. I could not wait to get home to finish whatever book it was I was reading at the time.
Now,..what I didn’t know at the time was that reading was actually doing me some good. I was improving my vocabulary, my spelling was ranked top 3 in my class, and I was learning about how people lived in different countries, developing my sense of imagination, etc. without much effort.
My basic education had been met before I discovered and fell in love with English Literature. It had to have been! Thats the catch. I needed to be able to read with ease to enjoy the books.
Also the books had to have been within my reach.
I shall return to this...
Some home truths..
Living in Lagos you become aware that there are many cracks in the education system.
On my way to school I passed dilapidated state schools, flooded school surroundings and very basic building structures.
The State Government is rebuilding some schools and working on some changes for the better to fix some of these problems.
But..
Everyday in schools that do not receive the attention and resources they desperately need, another child leaves the education system forever, or perhaps more frustratingly, is in it but not getting the quality of education they need for all the hard earned money spent and hours toiling, to be able to make better of themselves.
For our first project WLFF wants to touch the lives of students who attend the private schools that take in students who do not go to the state schools, but cannot afford attend the big expensive private schools either - the poor private schools. We were inspired by a report by Professor James Tooley.
And these schools are littered around Lagos. They are the small colourfully painted homes cum ‘Aunty Funmi’ school type buildings and the even smaller ones in rudimentary structures.
Back to reading..
Maslow’s hierarchy has been drilled into me over the years at secondary school and uni, and it does relate to a lot of things. You 5 different categories of need and you can only meet need number two if you have satisfied number one and number 3 if number 4 has been covered etc.
If you have not met your basic education needs, there will be a number things that you will not be able to achieve; but once those basic needs are met, you are open to bigger and better things.
This is our dream for our education projects. The children are now getting a good basic education at the poor private schools, now are thinking is, what else would open a new chapter in their lives?
Perhaps reading for pleasure will inspire and encourage them. Good too if it subconsciously improves their spelling and grammar.
If we can stock up a library, get even just one student reading and becoming passionate about English literature, that child could go on to become the second Nobel prize for literature winner from Nigeria, or he/she could continue through the ranks of education and fulfil their aspirations whether in the field of English or not.
Reading is not the only way. It is not all of the answer. But it is a start.
WDYT..(what do you think)
I was reading the paper in Lagos over Christmas and there was an article about the literary scene in Nigeria on the back of Aditchies Orange prize win. The article drew attention to the fact that not many adult Nigerians actively read and the lack of existence of bestsellers lists, book store chains, etc.
I dont know the extent to which the above is true but beyond the authors that transcend the nigerian barriers... Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri and some of the newbies, which other nigerian authors do you kow that are celebrated in Nigeria!?
With Love..x.
I might not be able to pass a quiz on the minute details once im done, but its not unusual for me to subject a friend to a personal reading of a few 'beautiful lines I stumbled across' and take the moment very seriously.
The other day after reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun a second time , I thought back to when I really got interested in books.
I must have been about 9 years when I was caught in a reading frenzy fuelled by an obsession with Mallory Towers, The twins at St Claire and drum roll, Sweet Valley Middle School (only the most exciting book series ever). I don’t know what it is like now, in the age of the Ipod, Nintendo wii, Playstation, Sky plus and DSTV, but at that age reading was considered by us to be quite cool. I had a mini library in my class and I read every single book that came into it. I could not wait to get home to finish whatever book it was I was reading at the time.
Now,..what I didn’t know at the time was that reading was actually doing me some good. I was improving my vocabulary, my spelling was ranked top 3 in my class, and I was learning about how people lived in different countries, developing my sense of imagination, etc. without much effort.
My basic education had been met before I discovered and fell in love with English Literature. It had to have been! Thats the catch. I needed to be able to read with ease to enjoy the books.
Also the books had to have been within my reach.
I shall return to this...
Some home truths..
Living in Lagos you become aware that there are many cracks in the education system.
On my way to school I passed dilapidated state schools, flooded school surroundings and very basic building structures.
The State Government is rebuilding some schools and working on some changes for the better to fix some of these problems.
But..
Everyday in schools that do not receive the attention and resources they desperately need, another child leaves the education system forever, or perhaps more frustratingly, is in it but not getting the quality of education they need for all the hard earned money spent and hours toiling, to be able to make better of themselves.
For our first project WLFF wants to touch the lives of students who attend the private schools that take in students who do not go to the state schools, but cannot afford attend the big expensive private schools either - the poor private schools. We were inspired by a report by Professor James Tooley.
And these schools are littered around Lagos. They are the small colourfully painted homes cum ‘Aunty Funmi’ school type buildings and the even smaller ones in rudimentary structures.
Back to reading..
Maslow’s hierarchy has been drilled into me over the years at secondary school and uni, and it does relate to a lot of things. You 5 different categories of need and you can only meet need number two if you have satisfied number one and number 3 if number 4 has been covered etc.
If you have not met your basic education needs, there will be a number things that you will not be able to achieve; but once those basic needs are met, you are open to bigger and better things.
This is our dream for our education projects. The children are now getting a good basic education at the poor private schools, now are thinking is, what else would open a new chapter in their lives?
Perhaps reading for pleasure will inspire and encourage them. Good too if it subconsciously improves their spelling and grammar.
If we can stock up a library, get even just one student reading and becoming passionate about English literature, that child could go on to become the second Nobel prize for literature winner from Nigeria, or he/she could continue through the ranks of education and fulfil their aspirations whether in the field of English or not.
Reading is not the only way. It is not all of the answer. But it is a start.
WDYT..(what do you think)
I was reading the paper in Lagos over Christmas and there was an article about the literary scene in Nigeria on the back of Aditchies Orange prize win. The article drew attention to the fact that not many adult Nigerians actively read and the lack of existence of bestsellers lists, book store chains, etc.
I dont know the extent to which the above is true but beyond the authors that transcend the nigerian barriers... Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri and some of the newbies, which other nigerian authors do you kow that are celebrated in Nigeria!?
With Love..x.
How many did you say?
How many people will it take to change Nigeria?
A friend on the cusp of ‘moving back’ to Nigeria asked me this question the other week.
He had a specific round number in mind.
My first thought was, is it a rhetorical question but the competitor in me went in for three tries.
What do you think…?
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