Thank you!

It a strange feeling; leaving Kwara, leaving my friends and work, leaving my home away from home. I am really leaving with mixed feeling. I am excited to go to Cameroon, look forward to the new job and can’t wait to learn more about my new organisation.

But, Nigeria has brought me so much. This has really been a life changing experience. In many respects, professionally I gained a lot, socially I had a great time. So, what did it bring me?

A lot of pleasure in working with Moshood, we were a great team and I will always remember it. Great results of our volunteers; principals report they are performing well and exam scores improve. A lot of flexibility, to change training schedules when we have to leave the room two hours early, to change plans for the day if we are without light again, to change times as no-one is in time, to change ideas because they don’t work out in Nigerian context, to change from a PowerPoint presentation to flipchart sheets if there is no light.

Taxi drivers stopping for me asking where my bicycle is and knowing exactly where I am going to. Random people asking about my bicycle, people at the border asking if I am that white woman with a bicycle when I travelled to Cotonou, colleagues asking about my bicycle, people staring at me while riding my bicycle, people I newly meet saying; ‘I know you, you live in Basin and you have a bicycle’.

Very nice friends, VSO volunteers, Nigerians and other expats in Abuja. Lots of nice barbecue fish with my friend John and barbecue parties with Miranda, Stefan, Stacey and Tamara. Many hugs from children in the neighbourhood. Fun when the kids of my beans ladies shout Oyibo! Esly! Oyibo! Esly! every day they see me.

A great road trip over the Christmas holidays, seeing a bit of Nigeria. The marriage of our Dutch friend with his Nigerian wife, especially the explanation of her uncle. A neighbour cutting my hair with a lot of little girls standing around me to collect the hair. Admiration for Nigerians who can repair anything with everything.

But also, many days without light, writing reports by hand, making me buy only the food I need that day as you can’t store anything fresh. My first-ever malaria, (what was not as bad as it could be). A lot of crazy rides, in almost collapsing vehicles, with crazy drivers and horrible roads. Corruption on the border, corruption in the Ministry, people giving us cars full of plantain to make us support their schools, blank receipts at filling stations, corruption everywhere. Schools with no teachers, no books, no nothing. Lots of unwanted attention from men. People trying to rob me of because I am white.

This has been an experience I will never forget. And I want to thank everyone who contributed to this, especially the ones who contributed to the positive aspects. I hope to see you in Cameroon!