This is the second installment of introductory blogs written by our wonderful field staff. Today is from our friendly driver from Nigeria!  

My name is Ndah Blessing, a staff of Winrock in Nigeria since November 2011. All things being equal I should graduate with a BSc in Mass Communication by the year 2020 from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Before I joined Winrock, I worked with an international school called Global International College as the Utility and Logistics Manager. My hobbies are listening to some good music, watching football, playing table tennis and traveling. My interest in working with an international organization had always existed, so my employment with Winrock International was an answered prayer. Working and interacting with Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers in different areas of agricultural value chains has given me the opportunity to learn and become an expert of some sort in different skill areas and value chains – for instance, I have used the knowledge I have received in beekeeping to help family, friends, and members of my church to establish and manage beekeeping operations – these I do without any fee. Many times I have leveraged my fluency in the local Hausa language and stepped in to further explain lessons/ provide contexts/ names of materials, etc. during assignments.

The most interesting aspect of the job to me is when working under pressure. For example, in the summer of 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 when we had a lot of volunteers arriving almost at the same time; which meant all but one of us were traveling to support the volunteers – it went smoothly, thanks to the Country Director, Mr. Mike Bassey who prepared us and trusted us and gave us the opportunity to handle this level of responsibility. One of my most memorable moments was when I traveled with a volunteer, Mr. Bill Symons, to Kaduna to teach a group of equipment fabricators on how to fabricate a grains thresher and after the initial introduction to the host community on a Friday where everybody was in high spirit to learn, there was an incident the following Sunday resulting in the government imposing a dusk to dawn curfew and we had to remain in the hotel all through the week. An opportunity came the following weekend when the government relaxed the curfew for four hours a day to allow Muslims go to the mosque on Friday and Christians go to church on Sunday as well as allow families to replenish their supplies, the Country Director arranged for us to get fuel and for a military escort to escort us to Abuja.

For me to pull that through was the proudest and most memorable experience on the job; the reason being that at Winrock International, our volunteers, come first. Winrock International provides a one-stop shop opportunity to work and to learn, grow, make decisions, work with minimal supervision – even under work pressure because as a staff of Winrock International, there are many opportunities for you to showcase your strengths. I remain grateful to God for the opportunity given to me to work with Winrock International.

Thanks.

Today, April 22, we celebrate Earth Day. The 2019 Earth Day campaign centers on the protection of animal species. The Earth Day network notes that “All living things have an intrinsic value, and each plays a unique role in the complex web of life. We must work together to protect endangered and threatened species.”

Among those species are bees.

Bees provide economic opportunity for farmers. Beekeepers can sell the honey and use the beeswax to make value-added products like candles or lotions. Bees are not only important for their honey production, but they are also critical for the environment in their role as pollinators. Farmers benefit from bees’ pollinator role in the ecosystem, as bees pollinate 70% of crop species that feed 90% of the world’s population.[1] Many plants—including food crops—would not survive without bees’ pollination role in the ecosystem[2].  Bees are vital for healthy agricultural systems.

Verifying final honey product

Winrock, via the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program, has fielded over 120 volunteer assignments to support beekeepers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. As Winrock dives into the implementation of the West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer program, below are some recent impacts of beekeeping assignments in the region:

• In Guinea, F2F trained the Beekeepers Federation’s trainers, who replicated the training to 32 groups (827 producers). Techniques widely shared include natural methods to keep ants away, making beeswax products and better hive management. With these technical improvements, in addition to organizational development support, the Federation was able to negotiate a new contract with pre-payment. Sales doubled in just two years.
• In Senegal, the International Center for Practical Training in Mboro-Beekeeping Division replicated training in improved beekeeping among 8,427 beekeeping community members. The training included specific modules on parasite and disease management and harvesting and processing of by-products. The Center’s successful application of improved beekeeping has led to a partnership with Grande Cote Operation-Zircon, whereby the Center will train GCOZ’s staff.
• F2F trained the Honey Producers Microenterprise of Ley Miro, Guinea, in topics related to governance and technical subjects related to the quality of honey and production of byproducts from beeswax. The organization was able to roll out five new or improved products, including soaps and clean honey, to the market. The members were also able to replicate the training to two additional organizations.

Girls testing lotion made during training

All these activities support bee populations and amplify the importance of a bee’s role in our ecosystem.

As a volunteer, what can you do to support bee populations and Mother Earth? Whether you are providing technical assistance to farmers in the field or designing an agricultural curriculum with a university, discourage the use of pesticides. The widespread use of pesticides destroys bee habitats and kills bees. Instead, encourage natural integrated pest management practice and multi-cropping practices that diversify and increase bee habitats.

Making Soap with Honey

[1] http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140502-what-if-bees-went-extinct

[2] National Resources Defense Council. “Bee Facts.” 2011.

L-R: Jen Snow, Associate Director; Ibro Diallo, Guinea Country Director; Mike Bassey, Nigeria Country Director

Mike Bassey joined Winrock International in April 2011. Mike is a Certified Accountant and has a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Roehampton, London. Before his work with F2F, Mike managed the Drucker Center for Entrepreneurship Development (DCED) of the Kaduna Business School before joining the World Bank/Government of Nigeria Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) project. Working with Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteers has in many ways strengthened Mike’s motivation to do his own volunteering. In his free time Mike heads a Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God as a volunteer Pastor and enjoys fixing simple plumbing and carpentry.

I started out just like most young Nigerians: not wanting to study or have anything to do with farming or agriculture; I wanted to become a certified accountant. After achieving that goal and working in a for-profit, efficiency-driven environment, I felt professionally unfulfilled. However, when I began managing a World Bank/Government of Nigeria agricultural and tourism value chains development program focusing on opportunities for smallholder farmers to increase productivity, income and overall improve their livelihoods, it opened my eyes to the how rewarding the agriculture sector could be.

Working with smallholder farmers was  wonderful but working with F2F volunteers who each come with different skills offered me the opportunity to learn a lot and I now know what it takes to be a beekeeper, fish farmer, and trainer; increasing my skills in organizational development, institutional assessments, partnership development, recordkeeping, leadership, campaigning for safe pesticide use For instance, with:

Leslie Harris Cosgrove – I learned about business and project development for grant funding. I learned about the components and the documents (strategic plan, revenue-raising plan, and platform statement) required for successful grant proposal writing as well as the art of winning grant proposal writing. Two of the most resounding experience working with a) Leslie was seeing the faculty of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Osun State rise from a practically zero Ph.D. research grants to 26 Ph.D.D research grants in three years following the 2015 training to the leaders and faculty of the institution; and b) the formation of the Net which she co-facilitated with Professor Chris Igodan of the Ohio State University.

A group leader delivers the groups project to the volunteer

Mathew Baker, a professor from the Texas Tech University –Dr. Baker and I had several great discussions  on leadership development and managing people. It was a huge surprise when, upon returning to the US, Dr. Baker asked me to do a one-page write-up on ‘community extension service’ – one of the topics we discussed during his visit. This resulted in a paper that was jointly presented by Baker and me at a conference at the Ohio State University.

Volunteer with Mike (center) and host members

Jolene Warnke-Roszel – I learned about the dangers inherent in abuse and pesticides misuse; to the applicators, farmers and their families, livestock, communities as well as consumers through air pollution, contamination of source of drinking water and farm products. I also learned about ways to minimize the hazards associated with these chemicals.

Jennifer Kushner – I learned lessons about general monitoring and evaluation and specifically learned how to develop a program logic model. I worked with the volunteer and the Nigeria F2F team to develop a logic model for the Network for Agricultural Technical Education’s Making Agriculture Glamorous and Attractive to Nigerian Youth Initiative.

Volunteer (center) with host members and Mike (right)

Teresa Morris – I learned so much about sustainable agricultural practices – best practices in natural resource (soil and water) maximization and management, composting, etc.

Volunteer discusses with the village leader

I have always considered myself fortunate to interact with these highly skilled professionals and benefit from these relationships. Especially since they provide me with a huge resource base for me to continue to leverage. The new program presents me with yet another excellent opportunity to continue to deepen my learning experience.

At the request of Samaru College of Agriculture, Nigeria Jolene spent 17 days in Zaria Kaduna State assisting the college developing training and training materials for integrated pest management and pesticide safety. She also helped them develop a curriculum for a certification class that the host will offer its students. 

My second Winrock assignment to Zaria, Nigeria to work with the Samaru College of Agriculture in pesticide safety and integrated pest management was as eventful as my first with the bonus of working with the same wonderful staff as before. I felt like I made friends during my first visit and it was nice to catch up, update each other on the past few months, discuss families and home life, and of course how the projects were going. My second assignment built upon my first and I used it as a chance to evaluate the progress that was made and provide some valuable feedback. I am impressed by their willingness to learn from us, volunteers. While it can be challenging to adapt certain first-world practices to their environment, the participants are always seeking better solutions and are willing to adjust practices. Sadly, some of the efforts are stalled by lack of infrastructure, goods, and resources, and manpower. Nonetheless, the participants view new knowledge as an opportunity to set new standards and find solutions. Pest management and pesticide use, which are worldwide problems, is an ongoing discussion. I have found that while there can be some unique environments, they face the same challenges as other countries and they are just as concerned about human and livestock health, environmental impacts, and sustainable farming practices. I was impressed with the amount of information they retained from my last visit and we were able to continue some of the large conversations we had last time. I feel their increased knowledge is being put to good use and they will continue to grow. My time with them has also given me a new perspective on pesticide education in my own community as well an introspective evaluation of my own life. Having worked with farmers that have so little, I can better understand how to work with limited resources in my own community, how to find solutions in strained situations, and how to guide people to protect themselves with limited support. I feel an increase in energy, creativeness, ingenuity, and determination to solve challenging issues that benefit my family and community. For that, I am very thankful. 

Jolene in discussion with faculty of Samaru College of Agriculture

Jolene was nominated by the Nigeria Farmer to Farmer team because she demonstrated a commitment to the success of her assignments and never tired of the frenzied hours of hard work – developing training materials, training the host in necessary skills and capabilities. Country Director, Mike Bassey, said “Outside of Jolene’s scope of work, she accepted a request by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) to travel to a NAERLS-adopted farming community to hold an interactive session with farmers in pesticides safe use. This collaboration helped pave the way for the implementation of a follow-on assignment.” Further, Jolene continued to work with F2F country staff after she returned to the US! 

We asked  Jolene to reflect on her volunteer experience and the trip to Nigeria. Read on to see what she had to say! 

Volunteer with NAERLS group

Why did you want to volunteer?

I’ve always volunteered in my community, which is very important, but the idea of being able to expand beyond my local borders and reach people who live completely differently than I do is exciting. I love challenges and I felt that this opportunity would challenge me on a personal and professional level and really stretch the depth of what I can do and who I can reach.

What was the highlight of your most recent volunteer assignment abroad?

The most recent assignment in March provided an opportunity for me to meet a few village leaders and provide some pesticide safety training to farmers directly. That was my first experience using an interpreter to translate from English to the native language of Housa and although it was a new experience it was received well and appreciated by the farmers.

How does your experience affect your worldview?

Even with extensive media outreach in today’s world, nothing impacts a person more than an actual experience. The differences in cultures, lifestyles, values, environment can’t be truly realized through video and pictures in the same way as being there. Meeting real people in real time creates a bond and you always find that you have something in common with each person you meet even with large disparities in where and how you live. It also gives you so much to reflect on, how so much of the world struggles with basic needs yet people live happily without material things.

Volunteer observes Hausa traditional rights during a courtesy visit to a local chief

What advice would you give a new volunteer?

Use your opportunity to meet and have real conversations with as many people as you can. Don’t be afraid to accept their invitations to culture and new experiences. We grow the most when we move outside of our comfort zone and they will want you to share everything possible about yourself and your life. Don’t be afraid to do so.

How have your assignments made a difference in your own life? /Has your assignment caused you to do anything differently once you returned?

Absolutely! I always thought material things were a low priority for me but now even more so. I purged so much stuff when I came back from my first assignment! I regained my love for art and culture and looked for more ways to share my talents. I thank God every day for clean water and air, security and my family’s wellbeing and for even having the opportunity to venture and see the world.

How do you feel about the support from Winrock, whether before, during or after your assignments?

Winrock is the most amazing organization. They provide incredible opportunities and really support their volunteers. I always feel I can reach anyone with questions, get advice, or details from my assignments. Being able to talk to previous volunteers is a bonus as well.

What do you do when you’re not volunteering?

Professionally, I have always been in science and education or a combination of the two. I’m also a mom and artist, who loves all things outdoors such as camping, hiking, biking, scuba diving, and beekeeping.

Does anyone in your life play a role in supporting your involvement? In providing inspiration?

I feel that the most successful volunteers have support from their families. My daughter is my inspiration; I want to be a role model for her, to show her how to serve others, to be selfless and adventurous and to share her talents with others who can benefit from them.

What keeps you going back to volunteer?

Winrock is such a solid organization and I believe in their mission. The professional atmosphere, the host organizations they work with, the value received from the inputs, and the experience as a whole provides amazing opportunities for all those involved.

Volunteer explains the tasks of new curriculum development

What, if anything, has surprised you on your assignments?

I am amazed at how engaged everyone is during the assignment. Even in cultures where time schedules are flexible and fluid and learning environments are not standardized, everyone is engaged and willing to learn. They show a real desire to soak up as much information as you can provide. They are inquisitive and anxious to use the information you provide. I was really surprised that as much as the internet and media can reach now, there are still huge disparities in the type and quality of information that reach people.