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The second half of this week’s UK-Nigeria weekly online meeting took a slight departure from the norm as we invited Ray who, in his own words, explained that he has “ a 20 year commitment to supporting violence reduction work and agriculture/climate change work/famine prevention in West Africa”. This experience is of significant to John Dada and his team who are looking to develop an integrated plan that addresses the roots of the conflicts in Kafanchan and Jos. John is also currently seeking supports/funds for his latest intervention which is aimed at “Preparing for the Hunger Months in Kafanchan: aftermath...

Two pieces of good news provided the highlight of this week’s UK-Nigeria meeting. The first was that the peer educators projec t was starting that very day. The second was that officials from the French Embassy - who were visiting Fantsuam Foundation (FF) at the time of last week’s meeting - had agreed to resume funding for the Attachab project. John Dada told us that in principle the project has been approved and Fantsuam are now mobilising workers to the site. He further informed us that the French Embassy had reduced the previously-discussed budget by 20% (this was all put...

Here we are, then. The two of us, as if in a hut, taking out those things we have brought with us, laying them out before us on the floor, which experience affords. What will be needed on our journey? What may be left behind? It is strange, this journey. Because although it lies ahead of us, we begin with those things that lie behind. I have never been a reluctant time-traveller, and nor, I think, have you. Anyone working with children, is future-directed. The rate of change that is life to a seven year old, or a fourteen year...

John Dada in his typically understated manner told us during our usual Wednesday online meeting that: “Not much going on around here today except ......... “The ongoing ESSPIN and PATH2 projects Today we start the HIV Peer educators project, and HelpAge International would like us to collect [the] "voice" of my grandmothers (Kakas) as an input into the UN Review of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and its Political Declaration, MIPAA . We are also expecting a team from the American Embassy: the Humanitarian Assistance Team they want to become familiarized with the Fantsuam Foundation and the...

I write this as an outsider. I'm not part of the formal higher education system. I'm repeatedly amazed and delighted at the opportunities I get to mingle with the HE community in London. FOTE 11 is one such example. These are my quick impressions. Most of the delegates were from universities, as you would expect, but there were a few outsiders. Hmm, “delegate” - interesting choice of word. Wikipedia says: A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...