Mana Shah - Facilitator

Having no exciting plans for the upcoming long weekend (27 Sept-1 Oct), I agreed to be a resource person at a capacity building workshop on NGO management organized by the Human Rights Information Network (HuRiNET) for its member organizations. The venue was the paramilitary training ground- Sea School Apapa , which was a twenty minute boat ride from Lagos. We left on Friday, with many brave and scared souls who have never stepped foot on a boat before, who were very grateful to the Lord when we safely landed at our destination. I gave two sessions on Organizational Development and Volunteering and generally helped out in the workshop. The 60 + participants were committed and passionate social entreprenuers who were struggling to build their NGOs. In between work, we got the chance to do kayaking and with my prior one-time experience, I was pretty good! As you can see I was lucky enough to get great shots (atleast I think so) of the sunset....I tried getting the night shots of ...

Coming all the way to Akure, I could not resist a short visit to the Ikogosi Warm Springs, which is just an hour's drive away. No-one knows the reason for the warm water. In the photos, you see the origin of the warm water, the meeting point of the warm and cold water; the pipe carrying the warm water into a swimming pool; my feet dipping in the warm water; and the breathtaking scenic drive!

I was ecstatic with my big sister- Rachel told me that as a Princess, she had to visit her town-Owo (close to Akure) on the same dates as my trip to Akure to attend the very special ancient IGOGO festival. The festival pays homage to the Queen of Owo who as the story goes merged with the forest after being chased away by the other jealous wives of the King of Owo. This is an annual festival in Owo which lasts a total of 17 days featuring a number of ceremonies including the blessing and release of new yams. During the period of celebration, drumming is banned in Owo and instead, metal gongs (Agogo) are used. This was where the name 'IGOGO' was coined. The Olowo (King) , who during the festival usually dresses in Coral Beaded Crown, plaits his hair like a woman with Olowo's dressing. The Olowo leads his people including the Chief Priest and the male youths to dance round the whole town. I witnessed a ceremony along with the people of Owo in the Oba (King) Market where th...

I was invited as a resource person at an Induction program for newly recruited volunteers at the Kids & Teens Resource Centre ( www.kidsnteens.org ). K&TRC is doing excellent work with children and youth on reproductive health & HIV/AIDS including sensitization, community mobilization, capacity building, HIV/AIDS counselling & testing. Its ED-Martin Mary is an energetic, agile, fun-to-be-with, committed change maker whose spirit is contagious! They have a well-stocked resource centre for young people and the posters and banners lining up their office walls speak up of the work they are doing. I took three sessions over the two days on the concepts, benefits and challenges of volunteering. It was an exciting experience to work with the The road to Akure is draped with trees and green hills on either side and is a refresher for the eyes after the hustle & bustle of Lagos. I had a comfortable stay with one of the volunteers whose mother prepared for me the specia...

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, was established in Nigeria in the seventies as a one-year compulsory service for all Nigerians under the age of 30 years with an aim to built responsible citizens enabled to contribute to national development. Every year about 300,000 youth enroll NYSC corpers. There is a three-week orientation across all states which includes primarily para-military training and more recently more useful add-ons like leadership, MDGs etc (UNICEF and UNDP partner with NYSC to attract and train peer educators on MDGs). Corpers are placed outside their state of origin typically with schools or government offices often in remote areas. They have one day of the week marked for community development activities. The program has an excellent geographical spread and covers almost every inch of the country. In conversations with the young and the old, I have received mixed responses to the idea, relevance and impact of the NYSC program. Some regard it as i...

I had not heard about the Nigerian Nobel Laureate in Literature-Wole Soyinka untill Daddy gave me his autobiography to read. Though the book is still work in progress for me, I got a chance to see Kongi (as he is lovingly called) live a book discussion at the Goethe Institute recently. Gerd Meuer , a german "Jack of All Trades" published a book called " Journeys Around and With Kongi-Half a Century on the Road with Wole Soyinka." The "BND" inscribed on the spine of the book expanding to " Books Nobody Demands " was funny, Gerd had to publish the book himself after facing two rejections from publishers. Wole's arrival at the event caused quite an unwanted stir, especially since Wole chose to sit among the audience (just 2 rows in front of me), Gerd being the centre of attention at the event. Later with casual mingling over drinks and suya, I wanted to go and talk to Wole, but decided not to coz I couldnt think of anything meaningful to sa...

On my way home, I witnessed a violent, vicious and destructive law enforcement by government officials. Officials of the special task force were breaking down the tables, stools, chairs used by the street traders. They confiscated all their wares and dumped them into their trucks. My colleague who was with me said with an unflinching face that all that "boot" would be nicely distributed within themselves. I felt so disgusted. In my six months here, I have not seen or read about any task force to take down the "area boys" (criminals who extort money at any occasion), the omnipresent armed robbers, or NEPA for not providing electricity. These are thousands of people who are just trying to make ends meet by their street trade, which by the visible volume clearly is matched by demand. This is all part of the governor's "well-intentioned" agenda to beautify Lagos and make it a mega city. I am fine with putting potted plants on the pedestrian bridge or ...

I complete six months in Nigeria today, half of my time here! This is the longest I have lived outside Delhi. At the moment I have mixed feelings. A part of me is very proud and excited about my ability to live of my own, "living" another culture, creating a whole new social life, the appreciation of my work, the unimaginable experiences I have had here. A part of me is missing home, family and friends terribly. Today I was listening to a song which I usually played while driving...vow I miss driving in Delhi:) I miss just landing up at Mom and Dad's or at Parul's. I miss just hanging out with Parth and my gal friends! I miss seeing my nieces and nephew grow. I am not even going to start on food. Living away from home has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I love and appreciate everyone at home...who have patiently supported me during this and I can't wait to come home:)

One question I am asked repeatedly is " Which church do you go to ?" In India, my response to that would have been,"I believe in something larger than me, but I don't believe in one God. I believe in myself and the people that I love." That is not the answer I can give in Nigeria if I want to save myself from a long unrelenting sermon! It is easier to just say, I am a Hindu! I got first hand experience when I was living with my host family for a month when I first came to Lagos. Pastor Samson used to hold the services in their backyard! With over 200 tribes, Nigeria has a rich history of traditional religious beliefs and practices which are visible today in museums, " juju " (black magic) stalls in the markets, currently prevalent practices of ancient masquerades (living connecting with the dead) and few "well-preserved" sacred places across the country. The Yoruba religion, for instance, mirrors Hinduism with the multiple functiona...

We were lucky to catch another performance by the Crown Troupe in an exclusive location called "Studio 868"-home to salsa classes, high life parties and art exhibitions. As with the previous play, the central theme of this play was the polarised yet captivating contrast between tradition and modernity. Titled "The Divorce of Lawino and Ochol" , the play captures the anguish and disbelief of the conservative "village wife"-Lawino when her educated "city bred" husband-Ochol wants to divorce her for a "modern" white city-lady! The playwright cast a new perspective on the seemingly obvious debate between tradition and modernity. The soulful music of the drums, flute, harmonica with the intermingling of English and Yoruba was a matching metaphor to the play's theme.

Our previous brief interview on air led Nike and I to be invited to a one-hour call-in show called "Matters Arising" . The presenter -having dedicated the show to "volunteering"- pushed us to persuade him along with the young university listeners of the show on why and how they should volunteer! Nike was absolutely brilliant sharing her own experiences with volunteering. We received three congratulatory phone calls on air!

You can imagine how difficult this 7th anniversary was for Parth and me but it was the best "separate" anni celebration ever! Parth had already given a heads up to my office. Mayowa is great at planning surprise celebrations with a lovely heart-shaped cake and a customized card for the "SHAHs" signed by everyone! We cut the cake with all the GIVE and HOPE staff. We got many many wishes for many more happy years and TWINS!

Mana and I have many firsts and so, many anniversaries. August 21 is special since it's the day we went to Delhi magistrate's office to register ourselves legally as a couple. It is the first time in seven years that we are on two different continents on this day. The folklore talks about a seven-year itch--well, then this is ours. And that is all there will be! Never again we shall be separated like this. That is my promise on this seventh anniversary, dalu! Love you! You can't imagine how much I miss you!

August 2000...I was sitting quietly pretending to listen to my accounts professor...two women hurriedly entered our class (mistaking it for the pol science section) and very unconvincingly told us about this residential seminar in about 10 days...and the application deadline was in 2 days! Well my ears were struck by the word "residential" and for the fun of it I took the form. I put all my sincerity in completing the application and promptly submitted it to CCS! I was ecstatic to receive a call informing me of my selection and a day before I received a packet of readings...With my bags packed, anxious Mom came to drop me off to the venue (Jamia Hamdard)...3-6 September 2000...the first time I saw Parth was when he made his entry into the hall once all of us had been registered and settled....Those four days changed my life... CCS is my family...the seven roller-coaster years I spent there groomed me, angered me, annoyed me, excited me, and energised me! CCS has grown in th...

In the close to 28 years of my life, I have never attended the independence or republic day celebrations live, watching on TV from the comfort of home, was always the more attractive option! So you can sense my excitement at attending the celebrations here at the Indian High Commission in Lagos! I must be very patriotic--I left home at 7:30 am and two bikes and a BRT bus ride later I managed to reach 15 minutes late. The Indians are apparently very punctual in Nigeria! There were about 200-300 Indians, a few non-Indians, short speeches, some patriotic songs ( "swades, yeh des he mera" from Swades brought me close to tears...), FOOD (chole bhature, samosas, idli, vada, sambhar, gulab jamun....). I did a lot of networking for GIVE and got a lot of cards from corporate honchos and social workers. But there was some reservation which I expected, they were not so forthcoming! Well anyways, I gave my best pitch and the rest I leave to their conscience!

As with other "days", UN has declared 12 August as the International Youth Day! Many NGOs and youth across the world do events for youth on this day and Lagosians are of course never behind! My organisation supported a group of youth volunteers in putting together a awareness and action program on the theme of climate change, which is the chosen theme for this year's IYD. We had a full house: 170 people ranging from 11-35 year olds. The program was quite eclectic, starting with the national anthem (the talking drum giving the beat), a documentary screening, a short play accompanied by the infamous Yoruba drums, and a panel discussion! We were supposed to organise a tree planting but could not get the necessary permissions from local government! Working with you can be exhausting and exhilarating at the same time, as was this event!

Nike (my colleague and dear friend) convinced one of her dear friends- Ayo -to drive us to Alpha Beach in Lagos. We stocked up on light food and drinks and after a three-hour traffic-struck drive, we reached the Beach. Ah, the sight of water made the drive completely worth it. We ate freshly made suya (barbecued meat), had a short (and uncomfortable) horse back ride , played ball with an orange and dabbled our feet in the water. The torrential rain the day before made the weather perfect for a day at the beach. What was interesting about the beach was the complete private "management" and seemingly invisible presence of the local government! A few private guys took a entrance fee of 200 Naira per person and then we paid for use of the shack and the chairs. They were again very eagerly waiting us to pay on our exit but we just drove. The horses also were privately owned (purchased at Naira 150,000). The riders would charge Naira 200 for a small ride and also an additi...

Thanks to Nike's contacts, she and I got invited as guests on a radio show on UNILAG FM (the radio station run and managed by students of University of Lagos, the first university radio in Nigeria). We were asked about the upcoming International Youth Day on 12 August and youth and volunteering! The producer must have liked us as they promised us free air time and invited us for a longer call-in show on 15 August!

Many of have pointed out to me that I have not been writing about my work. I am working as an Organizational Development Advisor with GIVE (Greater Involvement in Volunteering Efforts) Network : a network of volunteer-involving organizations in Nigeria. It was established in 2005 with an aim to promote volunteering for development and to build capacity of NGOs in managing volunteers. We have about 20 member organizations across Nigeria. I work at the Network Secretariat where besides me, there is one staff member (Nike-Program Officer). My oga (boss) is Mayowa Joel, who is the coordinator of the Network Steering Committee (a select leadership group representing the network members which manages the network). My main job here is to develop the necessary systems and policies for effective functioning of the network for example, the membership policy, the roles and responsibilities of the various groups, fundraising etc. I am also helping some member organizations in organizational d...

Moni is the undoubtedly " the CHEF " of the Shah family, not to leave out the " maths wiz ", the " moodiest person you don't want to anger ", " the critical sister".... and of course the " BOOKWORM "... I remember when I was young, Moni started a library in the back of the house with all her piles and piles of books (though I dont know what happened to all those books)! She would voluntarily take on the roll of my maths tutor and I was absolutely petrified of her questioning when I returned home from my exams...the first thing she would say would be, "how many silly mistakes did you make?" The food...hmm...I can never forget that one night, Pinky, Moni and I were trying hard to sleep in one bed (back them we were small enough to fit in one bed!), and we all were hungry but no one wanted to say anything...when one of us finally confessed to the hunger, Moni of course was delegated the task of fixing a mid night snack...left...