Blog posts about uknigeriameeting

Wednesday UK-Nigeria Team Meetings

Submitted by nikki on 3 December 2009 - 11:23pm

This week's online UK-Nigeria Skype meeting went ahead as usual - and left yours truly in a mini-panic. For a change there were no startling revelations about new health programmes to report, no horror tales about children accused of witchcraft, and no news on ground-breaking collaborations with telecom giants . So what, then, could I blog about? The answer didn't take long to arrive. The fact that the meeting took place at all - and how these sessions have evolved and grown immensely in sophistication over the past 18 months is cause for a bulletin in itself! With John Dada...

Dadamac meetings go global!

Submitted by nikki on 26 November 2009 - 11:46pm

Yesterday's weekly UK-Nigeria online meeting was a truly global affair, involving no fewer than three continents and nine people! John Dada was travelling in Asia, Pam and Nikki were in Europe (UK) and, of course, we were joined by our six Fantsuam participants in rural Nigeria, Africa. Despite a minor problem accessing some links, we were able to cover in some depth topics ranging from witchcraft in rural Nigeria to the inclusion in the community of those with disabilities - and the building of links with NITEL to provide local affordable phone and internet connectivity. We also discussed microfinance and...

Phones and Fantsuam

Submitted by nikki on 19 November 2009 - 9:27am

Yesterday's online UK/Nigeria meeting saw several exciting developments. First and foremost was the news that Fantsuam has reached agreement to broadcast its radio signal through the communication towers of Nigerian Telecoms company NITEL. Because these towers are much bigger and higher than those currently used, Fantsuam will now be able to serve a far wider area! In fact ,Fantsuam will be able to mount it's equipment on masts in Kafanchan and Zonkwa which will enable them to reach distances of up to 70kms. Also as a result of the meeting between these organisations, the telecoms company has asked Zittnet to...

A 'Juicy' Story!

Submitted by nikki on 3 November 2009 - 11:40pm

The need to find alternative livelihoods for local Nigerian women has become a recurring theme in recent online/Nigeria meetings. In particular, concerns have been expressed about the issue of those who collect firewood to sell. This practice is unsustainable and is contributing to de-forestation. The women themselves recognise this but cannot afford to stop until they have an alternative source of income. Initially the team believed that the purchase of efficient wood stoves would be benificial. But they are very expensive and it was felt that this would not be feasible until a new stream of income is in place...

Farming at Fantsuam

Submitted by nikki on 26 October 2009 - 1:52pm

THIS week's UK/Nigeria meeting provided another fascinating and informative hour, covering subjects as diverse as the training of local Nigerian instructors, crayfish and sms credit! And all this despite an intermittent problem with time delay, which served as a gentle reminder that connectivity is still a considerable problem for most rural communities. What particularly caught my attention was Fantsuam's ability to identify and respond to their communities' local needs. They are concerned, for instance, that their women farmers - comprising of around 1,500 of their microfinance clients - have difficulty affording fertiliser. This of course affects their productivity and ability...

Foundation, furniture and photos

Submitted by dadamac on 4 September 2009 - 11:46pm

In rural Nigeria when you need new furniture you don't go online or pop round to the nearest Ikea for a flat-pack. You employ a local carpenter to buy some wood and make the furniture that you need. The Knowledge Resource Centre was in need of furniture it could call its own, and this was mentioned at a recent UK-Nigeria team meeting. Although Dadamac Foundation is a tiny charity, which does not have anyone to raise new funds at the moment, it was able to send £100 to help. When the money arrived the local carpenter was able to set...

New Foundations for Hiv/Aids and Rural Connectivity at Fantsuam

Submitted by dadamac on 2 September 2009 - 4:07pm

Thanks to VSO volunteer Cicely for this news from our partner organisation Fantsuam foundation. This week Fantsuam has started work on three new construction projects at its Bayan Loco compound in Kafanchan, Kaduna State. FOOD STORE Fantsuam partner ICAP will be providing food items as part of its nutritional support programme for people living with HIV/AIDS. The new store will ensure that supplies are kept fresh and secure for maximum benefits to recipients. It is also intended that the store will serve as a pilot for grain storage programmes to help agricultural microfinance clients make better use of seasonal fluctuations...

Connect, Communicate, Collaborate.

Submitted by dadamac on 10 July 2009 - 11:04pm

Question: What is the connection between a camera course, Academia-Practitioner collaboration, a site inspection at Ungwa Rimi, a tractor, and a solar powered telephone battery charger? Answer: They are all items of concern to the Dadamac UK-Nigeria team and featured in our online meeting this week. They are all a part of Dadamac's obsession with connecting, communicating and collaborating – and its roots in rural development.

Highlights from July 1st team meeting

Submitted by dadamac on 2 July 2009 - 6:52pm

The meeting The Dadamac weekly team meeting is a Skype meeting (typed chat) that links the team in UK and Nigeria. Its format is simple. An agenda is circulated beforehand. There is a chairman to move the meeting on through the agenda. It is okay for several people to type at the same time. We try to limit the meetings to one hour. Even if people have sent apoplogies they are still invited to the meeting, so they will be able to read the archive. A summary of the meeting is made available afterwards. Although people are scattered around various...

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