The Pool and a VIP Guest

Trip to the Pool

          Her Excellency told me we could use her pool anytime.  We just needed to text her first so she could let the guards know we were coming. On the last day of school before the break, I told her twins in my class, I was coming over to swim soon.  The girls told their mom, I was coming over for a sleepover.  Kindergartners are so funny.  I hope the girls were not disappointed when she told them we were just going to play in the pool.  She gave us the phone number of someone else to call while they were out of town. 

Clint enjoying our State Governor's private pool.

We finally got over there this past week.  I wanted to check out the pool before we went with everyone home.  Clint went in and said it was very warm but refreshing.  There were two kinds of coconut trees along the edge of the pool.  Some of them had bright orange coconuts.  I did some research to learn more about coconut trees.

The Orange Dwarf coconut tree grows to about 10-15 metres in height as opposed to conventional Coconut trees which shoot anywhere from 20 to 50 metres in height depending on the soil, climate and type of nutrition provided to the tree. http://konkanifoodie.blogspot.com/2010/11/orange-dwarf-coconut-gendale.html

          I dress pretty conservatively here but that day I had worn a sun dress which ends above my knees.  Several people made comments to Clint but I was several steps behind him so I didn't hear them and he wouldn't elaborate.  I felt really uncomfortable.  I will not wear that dress in public again.  I remember Cyndi saying in Uganda women always kept their legs covered.  I have seen some women with short dresses here so I don’t know what the problem was except maybe they were blinded by my white legs.  I know one of our teachers was asked not to wear a mini skirt to school anymore so there must be something about the virtues of modesty.

VIP Guest at the School

          We were asked to come to school on Monday to help greet a lady from the US who wanted to tour our school.  She was going to visit all of Her Excellency’s projects.  When she arrived we learned she was The United States Consul Diplomacy officer, Rhonda J. Watson from a US Embassy in Nigeria.  She didn’t say she was actually a US citizen but she asked what State we were from and where the other teachers were from at our school.  She seemed very pleased about our facilities.  She was responsible for bringing the celebrities, Venus and Serena Williams to Nigeria a year ago.

Rhonda J. Watson is in the middle of the Camp Rock kids.

          Our campus was being used to house the Miss Carnival Calabar Princesses.  We were able to see them up close as we walked past them.  All I really remember is they were all tall and still wore very high heels.  Also, our campus was being used for Camp Rock, which is part of Her Excellency’s project called A State Fit For A Child (ASFAC).  It is a 10 day leadership camp.  Students were chosen from each region of our Cross River State to attend.  There were three age groups.  We listened to a presentation from each group and then had a time for pictures afterwards.

          After our VIP guest left we were taken to the Post Office in the downtown area of Calabar to mail our second box of gifts to the States.  This is the area we were asked not to go to on our own in so our school Business Manager took us.  I was able to snap a picture of the Watt Market but it didn't capture it very well.  We were told this market had the cheapest prices but it is full of pick-picketers and is very, very crowded.  As we drove by, I noticed the paths through it looked very narrow.  The Marian Market where we shop is much better.  We also drove past the Red Cross office.  It was really interesting getting to see some of the downtown area.

We decided to listen to the advice of others and let the lizards take residence in our flat.  I think they better learn to eat spiders in addition to the insects or they may meet the end of Clint's broom again.  They are just too creepy.

An enormous national flag has gone up over the Millennium Park.  You can just make out the large imitation Christmas tree in front of the satellite signal tower.

                                    On one of our long walks we came across this Santa House so I posed for a picture.                              For a Northern fellow Santa sure is tan.

Refuge Babies Home

          Mrs. Obioma Liyel Imoke, Wife of the Governor of Cross River State is the founder of my school.  She is also well-known for other "pet projects".  One of Her Excellency’s projects is Mothers Against Child Abandonment (MACA) which includes the Refuge Babies Home.  After you read my blog if you are interested in learning more about Her Excellency and her projects, you can click on the link I have provided.

  Her Excellency's Projects
         Woman can leave their baby with this organization rather than abandoning the baby in a dumpster or somewhere similar.  To date they have taken in 65 babies.  The oldest child currently at the home turned three this fall.  He attends our school.  He is a bit developmentally delayed but making progress.  He doesn’t say more than a few words if you can get him to talk.  One of our expat teachers is working on adopting him but I hear this is her last year at our school.  She said the country is not making it easy for her to adopt.  Hopefully, things work out for her.  He is a cute kid who loves to be held and lights up when she is around.

          I emailed Her Excellency earlier this week and asked for permission to visit the Refuge Babies Home.  Today we were picked up and taken there.  It is only about three quarters of a mile from where we live.  There was no sign on the compound gate or on the building so nobody walking by would know what this place was.  We had to sign-in at the gate.  There was no outside play equipment.  Inside there was a waiting area and a large room with only a little furniture.  The curtains were all closed and it was oddly quiet.  We sat down and waited.

          Before long a lady brought the oldest boy down who attends our school.  He recognized us right away.  He wanted up on Clint’s lap.  We talked to him and asked him where his friends were.  The man who brought us realized we had come to see all the children.  We told him we were there to play with them.  He took us upstairs where there was a locked gate at the top of the stairs.  There were two large rooms of cribs, one was painted blue for the boys and one was painted pink for the girls.  Our little friend walked up with us but as soon as Clint sat down he was on his lap again.

          Little by little the babies started to wake up.  I think they had all been down for a mid-morning nap.  Clint and I took turns holding our little friend or a baby.  At one point, Clint had a baby in each arm.  I asked if I could take a picture but the care givers said no.  We didn’t think to count the babies but we both believe there were about seven boys and two girls.  Most of the babies were around six months of age.  Two were nearly newborns.  Our little friend was clearly a lot older than the rest.  I asked if he would be moved soon to another type of center and the ladies agreed but did not elaborate.

          One by one their diapers were changed and most all of them were set on the ceramic tile floor.  The smallest one awake was placed in a reclining infant seat.  The caregivers made bowls of infant cereal and each one was fed.  Even the three year old was fed the same way. The first one fed fell asleep in Clint's arms.  Only one of the babies cried and it was because he was hungry.  One baby wasn’t hungry and the caregiver started slapping his legs and forcing him to open his mouth.  It was so heartbreaking.  I am sure she needed to make sure they all ate at the same time for efficiency but it was still hard to watch.

          Only one of the girls was awake and sitting on the floor with us.  She had severe eczema all over and patchy hair which reminded us of Alopecia Areata.  Her skin felt like it was dosed with a salve of some kind.  Maybe it was a prescription.  She was very somber and did not smile.  Of all of them she was the one who touched my heart and left a lasting impression on me.

          We stayed about an hour holding the babies and talking to them.  There were not very many toys and no rug for them to play on.  I got the feeling they spend much of their day and night in the cribs.  I do think they are well cared for and the facility was clean and had good equipment but they lacked stimulation from an adult talking to them and playing with them.  The two ladies had to constantly be going from one to another without a lot of personal attention with any of them.  We asked if we could return and if there was a better time and we were told anytime was fine.  I would love to go each week just to hold the babies and talk to them.  We will see what we can do.

        Later in the day we decided to walk to our school.  It is about 3-4 miles away.  We wanted to find out if our box coming from the US had arrived and see who was picking us up for the Miss Calabar Pageant tomorrow night.  It was a really long walk in the heat.  Thankfully, we got a ride home.  Sadly, we still don't have our box but we know for sure we have a ride but no tickets for the event.  The bookkeeper said we will get in because we work for Her Excellency.  I said, "Will they know us because we are white?"  He laughed and agreed.  She is marketing her school just by our presence.

Shipping Nightmare

We were told not to go to the Post Office without an escort and since nobody is around now we decided to walk to the one UPS store we had seen.  It was located across the street from the Marian Market, the open air market.  The box weighed just under 10 lbs and was full of gifts for our loved ones back home.  Nothing was wrapped inside because we haven’t seen gift wrap for sale.  We had sealed the box but the clerk said we had to open it.  I had to take every single thing out of the box to show her.  She kept apologizing but I told her it was fine I had nothing to hide. 

Our one UPS shipping store

The clerk said we had to receive permission first, from the Minister of Culture and Tourism in Nigeria, before we could send many of the items we had purchased as gifts.  I would love to have received that information before I walked all the way there.  Well I thought, some of my loved ones will get their gifts on Christmas and some will have to wait. I kissed the box and cried the whole way home.

I was VERY FRUSTRATED. I bet he will require a hefty bribe which will make it impossible for me to ship a second box anytime soon.  This half empty box cost me almost $200 to ship to Oregon.  I did get a tracking number and she promised the box would arrive within a week but it didn’t make me feel a whole lot better.  The cost wasn’t the problem.  I had suspected as much and had set money aside for it.  What hurt was the fact I could not send all my gifts.  

It is just so depressing. I cannot go home for Christmas so I wanted to send some of this amazing culture home to share with my loved ones. Now I wonder, if I had bribed the clerk at UPS, if I could have put those things back in the box. I just don't think in those terms. It never crossed my mind. They weren't even anything big just some small wooden carvings and something made with a cow's tail that my son would have thought was really awesome. Whatever, I just feel like pond scum. I help people out by buying their crafts so they can put food on their table and then the greedy, corrupt government here gets to rob me. Why? I am here to love their country's children not take advantage of anything. I guess I am still really sad about this.  On Monday, I will try to find this Minister of Culture.  I left messages with people at the school which should know how to do this but I haven’t heard a word back yet.  It seems even the National staff have left for Christmas.

 God is so good.  I waited to post this blog having faith this issue could be resolved and God took care of it.  Last night our school business manager came to our flat.  He wanted to take us to the school Monday morning because someone from the US consulate wanted to tour our school.  We said sure if you help us obtain the permission we need to mail the rest of our gifts.  He had already heard about our problem and said he would help us.  

Inside the Culture and Tourism Office

So this morning after we helped at the school he took us to the Minister of Culture and Tourism for the letter of permission.  It was a really nice letter.  I wish we could have made a copy of it.  Next, he took us to the Post Office where we were able to mail the second box, which included all the cultural stuff we had purchased.  We decided to take advantage of the letter and not have a problem bringing the other stuff home later.  I know our luggage will get searched.  In the back of the Post Office was the EMS Speedpost office.  The box will take a week  so our son should get the box this next Monday.  The great thing was I had just the right amount of money to send it.  Literally the right amount, it was a God thing. This time it was only 13,000 Naira (just under $100) and the box was even heavier than the last one.  I am so thankful all our gifts are now on their way home to the USA.  I will not try to mail Nigerian art next year.  I will use Amazon.com or something like it. 

More on the Slavery Museum

I was asked to say more about the Slavery Museum.  They would not let us take pictures inside. The first room was a life-size replica of the holding conditions in which the slaves were stored in, on the ships crossing the Atlantic. They were feet first, head first, feet first laying in wooden cages so they could not sit-up, bring their hands to their face or easily talk to each other. They were on ships between 3-6 months. The food was thrown on them and they had to eat what they could reach with their mouth. Then they were washed with sea water. We saw some of the chains, shackles, and face masks that had actually been used. The face masks were used on slaves working with food so they could not eat what they were working with. This included working in the crops.

Usually at museums you talk about the exhibits with others you are with and walk through on your own so you can study what you are seeing.  The atmosphere in this museum was very different.  We hardly spoke a word and didn’t stay long at each exhibit.  It was not a good feeling thinking about how we were Caucasians, from the US, hearing and seeing what our forefathers had been a part of. The electricity went out several times in the building and our guide had to leave us to restart the generator. We stood in total darkness each time. The images and displays felt like we were in a carnival house of horror. Many of the displays were life-size replicas with recorded voices and sounds.  The screams from people being tortured echoed throughout the museum. 

We exited the building with a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs.  Although, we both knew a fair amount about the slavery trade it didn’t feel personal to us until now.  After seeing some of the actual artifacts and realizing we live in a region where everyone we see is probably related to the men and women who lived during this time period, it just gives you an unsettling feeling.  Our friends and neighbors are the descendents of the lucky few who were not rounded up like cattle.  We even saw some of the branding irons which were used to identify the people who were captured for the slave trade.

          This went on through many generations of people before this practice was stopped.  But the nightmare of the people who were already enslaved continued for many more generations.  At the end of our tour, we were shown pictures of the men who helped end the slave trade.  Clint paid for our admission to the museum so I paid the tour guide for his time and we left but the images are still in my memory.

          These horrific events will forever be a part of who these people are now, here in Calabar. The museum stands on the location where the ships sailed from with their loved ones aboard.  It reminds me a little of Alaska.  The people in the village of Barrow were also forever changed by the Caucasians who forced their way into their lives and ultimately changed their lives forever too.  They also watched their loved ones taken away, as children were rounded up and shipped off to boarding schools far away.  These children were forced to feel shame for being Inupiaq and made to dress, speak and act like a race of people they grew to hate.  I know it isn't the same but it isn't a lot better either.  

          I am amazed by the fact that I was even welcomed to teach in either Barrow or Calabar.  Our God is a forgiving God who loves all of us and His love and forgiveness has reached many people's hearts for good.  All I can do is show my genuine love for these children God has given me to work with and pray it makes a positive impact on them to continue the healing of these communities.