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.

Throughout 2017 and over the course of three separate trips, Monica Norley provided extraordinary assistance to the Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program in Senegal. Our F2F staff is continually impressed with her great patience, understanding, and humility.

Monica and the members of COFLEC on her first trip in January 2017

In January 2017, Monica began working with the women of the Coalition of Women Against Illegal Immigration (COFLEC), located in Dakar, Senegal. She provided a training-of-trainers (TOT) on leadership and business management that inspired the formation of sub-group within COFLEC, Diapal Ma Diap, whose goal was to seek out new business opportunities. Though COFLEC was already engaged in making soap, these newly trained women identified the increased income opportunities that were possible from value-added soap production. So, in mid-2017, COFLEC asked for Monica’s help in giving a TOT on processes and techniques to boost the quality of their soap, using locally-sourced agricultural inputs and ingredients. Twenty-four women were trained on the basics of saponification, including composition and contributing qualities of natural plant-based ingredients, quality control, soap making as a viable business, and environmentally-friendly packaging.

F2F Volunteer explains the different agriculture products that can be used in soap making

The participants immediately jumped into action, practicing what Monica was demonstrating, reviewing the importance of the curing process and the use and handling of caustic soda. Monica also worked with the group to outline organizational next steps – including establishing bylaws, rules, regulations, and an internal board, securing a rental agreement for the factory, and maintaining good records, essential for any sustainable business. As an exciting bonus, Monica and F2F staff introduced the group to a businesswoman who could provide the soap makers with essentials oils they could use as a scent in their soap; the woman is also interested in selling the final product in her shop which specializes in natural products.

Participants practice measuring out ingredients for soap production. Safety First!

On her latest trip in late 2017, Monica returned to work with COFLEC, after they had met the goals Monica had established for them on her second trip. This time Monica trained a group of women on the basics of natural soap making, specifically using agricultural products. Monica reviewed the basics of the saponification process with COFLEC and as well as going deeper into the aspects that would move them towards a greater commercial venture, such as unit costs of production, standardization, optimum yields per soap mold and revising formulas. On this same trip, Monica also gave a TOT of basic saponification to another group, Alliance of the Integrated Masses for the Development of Women ‘s Entrepreneurship Network.

Volunteer demonstrates how to uniformly cut soap in order to increase its presentation value

After returning home from her volunteer assignments, Monica continued to demonstrate her commitment by responding to questions, providing ongoing guidance, and shipping essential oils to Senegal in late 2017 to help this organization succeed. Along with her dedication to this single host, Monica continuous to support the F2F program as a whole by reaching out over on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Sylvie Diémé, Leader, COFLEC stated “Before F2F assistance, we thought soap processing is a very complicated activity and during the training, Monica showed us how it is simple and practical to produce soap. This new activity of soap production improved our organizational level, now we organize meetings, keep records of operation, establish workgroups for production, have membership registration fees, rent our own unit of production, and purchase basic necessary equipment. This is an exponential leap in three months.”

Monica with COFLEC’s president (left) and with Diapal Ma Diap’s president

“I have been very lucky to experience Senegal three times this year and now have the chance to also work with this new group of women. Each trip has given me new contacts, increased knowledge of the local culture and language and an extremely personally enriching experience. I feel I have friends in Senegal now and I feel in a good position to be able to disseminate information about the country to anyone I might meet,” Monica notes, “[I] have a very special place in my heart for Senegal…. There has been no other group that I have worked with that has grasped the training as fast and well.”

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Winrock’s Volunteer Spirit Award is given to a volunteer who has made a significant difference through volunteering. This is a person who has gone “above and beyond” the minimum requirements of an assignment. He or she is an ambassador of the American people who fosters sustainable relationships and has large impacts on those we serve. Not only does this person exemplify great technical ability or approach, but they also show a charismatic attitude with our hosts, and with staff both in the field and at headquarters. Winrock International is fortunate to receive support from so many caring individuals that exemplify these qualities.

In 2017, Winrock volunteers dedicated more than 26,000 pro-bono hours to helping poor and disadvantaged populations around the world. That is impressive! 141 of these volunteers, who recently earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award. This includes:

• 116 “bronze” award recipients with 100+ service hours
• 21 “silver” award recipients with 250+ service hours
• 4 “gold” award recipients with 500+ service hours

Congratulations to the service award recipients and a heartfelt thank you to ALL of our volunteers. You are each truly inspirational!

On February 9, 2018, Farmer to Farmer (F2F) volunteer, Teresa Morris, arrived in Abuja, Nigeria on her first visit to the country and her first F2F assignment; to provide a training-the-trainer workshop in Developing Curricula and Training of Trainers in Farm Administration and Management to Nehemiah Foundation International.

Dr. Morris is a soil scientist who works with the Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS), USDA as an Organic Farming Area Specialist. She also works as an Adjunct Professor at the Saint Louis University; teaching beginning soils to graduate and undergraduate students for the Earth and Atmospheric Science Department. Dr. Morris was kind enough to write the below about her experience: 

I was thrilled when I received an email inviting me to join the volunteer team of Winrock International. My credentials matched me with a volunteer position in Kaduna, Nigeria working with small acreage farmers interested in sustainable farm management. The Host for this project was Mr. Emmanuel Nehemiah of the Nehemiah Foundation.

As I learned more of Mr. Nehemiah’s vision for local farmers to support Kaduna’s community I became excited about the development of the training. The focus of the training was agriculture that incorporated ecological principles with the development and building of organic matter related to on-farm money. I refer to this method as “farming as a banking system” and soil organic matter is the currency. I began the training by showing the farmers the actual nutrients and money associated with 1% organic matter. This idea caught their attention and from there the training was off and running.

During the four day training, we visited local farms and discussed methods of farming that would retrain and build soil organic matter. The farms were beautiful as were the farmers. I was honored to learn from them and share what I have learned from my career as an agriculturalist and as an educator in soil health and ecological farming. The challenges these farmers faced was tough. Lack of tools, weather, seed, and working with pastoral grazing were just some of the everyday tasks on their list and yet they produced a crop every year.

Back in the classroom, I showed slides of soil science technology and ecological farming methods. As the day progressed, we as a group discussed the science as well as the methods to assure everyone understood how farming using soil ecology was cost effective and would save them money as well as restoring their natural resources. Each day of the training was filled with lively discussions regarding how Kaduna could adopt ecological farming and work together to provide produce to the local community. It was wonderful.

The whole experience was life-changing. I truly enjoyed working with the farmers and the Nehemiah Foundation to formulate a practical manual for guidance on ecological farming. I also enjoyed showing the farmers how the production of soil organic matter would save them money.

Upon leaving, my new friends of Kaduna welcomed me back in the future, which I would enjoy!

Very Best,

Teresa Morris, PhD

In the summer of 2017, Awakening Nigeria for Agricultural and Agro-Allied International (ANAAI) participated in training held by Winrock volunteer Anna Snider, working with Farmer to Farmer’s Agricultural Education and Training Program (AET).  The training focused on homestead vegetable gardening using sacks and containers to help farmers, and others currently not engaged in farming, to embrace vegetable farming.

Volunteer Anna Snider with Members of ANAAI

ANAAI works with mostly female farmers in the Kaduna State of Nigeria and is dedicated to helping rural and urban poor boost their agricultural strengths which in turn enables them to better feed their families. In most parts of the state, lack of available land and socio-religious beliefs, some women aren’t allowed to come out in public thereby depriving such women of the opportunity to participate in food production, to receive useful and current information, and educational opportunities and technological innovations that could be of help to them and their families. This lack of opportunity put many mothers and children at risk of malnutrition.

Sack gardening allows for space maximization, water conservation, and ease of practice while keeping financial requirements low, and improving nutrition, food security, and income. Many of the at-risk women have enough space within their fenced premises to grow food to support their families as well as earn some income by sacks/container farming. This helps empower women to take an active role in feeding their family while also interrupting the cycle of malnutrition, which especially hurts children and women who are pregnant.

ANAAI took to sack gardens with great enthusiasm, establishing their own and spreading what they had learned:

“This training has opened up our mind, now some of our women who don’t have land to farm can grow their own vegetables; above all we now know the importance of eating right and eating vegetables. We shall give this training to other women. We are glad we had this training.” Yahaya Hamman, farmer.

Fast forward to January 2018, when Nigeria based Winrock International staff visited Kaduna on a routine impact survey. During the survey process, ANAAI informs the program staff that one of their member organizations, Thinkers Children Foundation (TCF), who had participated in the training on vegetable sack gardening went on to introduce and train school students and their families.

Thinkers Children Foundation (TCF) was founded in 2015, with a vision to give free primary education to children from internally displaced families, orphans, and the underprivileged. As part of TCF’s corporate contribution to national growth and development, it educates children and spreads awareness on the dangers of illiteracy. From 3 pupils in 2015, TCF has expanded to 80 pupils actively attending classes.

TCF students on the floor of their school

On that chilly morning in January, F2F staff arrived at TCF, where nearly 80 pupils were present, seated on the cold concrete floor in their makeshift school. They greeted the visitors with smiles and a chorus of ‘good morning’s. Inspired by the pupils and their enthusiasm, F2F staff pulled together their personal resources and donated 25 school desks to the foundation, complemented by 12 dozen notebooks.

Desk Delivery!

The F2F team was told that many of the pupils were practicing sack gardening at home.

TCF pupils hold up the victory sign and show off their container gardens

Of the many pupils practicing sack gardening at home, one such practitioner was 8-year old Abdulhakim and his 5 years old sibling (Abubakar), who took the message home and taught their mother. In an interview with F2F staff, Abdulhakim’s mother told the team that she is not only practicing sack culture but that she has trained three other women who are also actively practicing sack culture. She noted that adopting the sack and container culture has resulted in improved nutrition and savings in the cost of food for her and her family. She also reported that more and more women are making inquiries about how they too can grow vegetables in sacks and containers.

“I used to think that it is only when you are in the village and have land that you can farm. Sack farming is so easy to practice, requires minimal space and water, does not require rainfall; the benefits are just unthinkable. I no longer buy vegetables for my family and as a matter of fact, I give some of our daily harvest to our neighbors and will begin selling soon. This is exciting and pleases my husband so much.’ Maimuna Ibrahim, mother to Abdulhakim and Abubakar Ibrahim.

To see a video on how to make a sack garden, check out the Winrock Volunteer’s Facebook Page! 

On August 21, 2017, the team from the Thunderbird School of Global Management Emerging Markets Laboratory (TEM-Lab), Craig Pearson, Fungai Mandaza and Rachel A, arrived in Nigeria to work with the Center for Entrepreneurship Development and Vocational Studies (CEDVS), Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti. The trio went to support CEDVS’ quest to establish and manage a business incubator center.

Team Ubuntu’s first day tour of the CEDVS

Incubation centers offer business creation and income generating opportunities to young and aspiring people and provide them with facilities and services that most business start-ups have difficulty in procuring – spaces, electricity, communication, start-up (inception kits), advisory support, training, information and access to external resources (finance and markets).

Soon, the team realized that nearly all the CEDVS faculty misunderstood what a business incubator is.  Many faculty members when asked, gave answers describing business accelerators, workshops to practice classwork and practical skills, libraries, or lounges.  Faculty could name some characteristics of an incubator but only a few truly had grasped the entire concept. Both the trio and the hosts remained flexible as the original scope of the project changed to address this issue.  Everyone realized a business incubator would not be successful if the people running didn’t understand what it was.

After recognizing this crucial knowledge gap, the team came up with some creative activities to inform, as well as change mindsets. Demonstrating great professionalism, team spirit and cultural sensitivity the team formatted a group discussion style training session. The students were asked questions about entrepreneurial challenges they have faced, then taught how an incubator may ease these challenges.  The initial discussion was very abstract and theoretical, so the team performed a role-playing exercise to better demonstrate what it would be like to be an incubatee in an incubator at the CEDVS.

The incubator role-playing exercise did a very effective job of conveying to the students what an incubator would be to them and how they may use it as a resource.  In an exit survey of the 62 participants, 100% of the students said that they had a better understanding of what a business incubator is now that they did at the start. 100% of the students that responded also said that they would be interested in becoming an incubatee in an incubator at the CEDVS.

Volunteers survey students who attended the training session on business incubators.

The team also took the faculty on a study visit to an existing incubator. The faculty was able to speak with the leadership of these facilities at length and tour the incubation space.  They developed a much deeper understanding of what business incubation is. This experience spawned many new ideas on how to apply such a concept at CEDVS.

Team Ubuntu learning about the Design and Textile class at CEDVS

The assignment left a lasting personal impression on the team.

“It was a fulfilling experience to see the understanding blossom across the faces of the CEDVS staff members we worked with. Once the initial barrier of unfamiliarity with the concept was breached, confusion gave way to enthusiasm for the new idea that holds much promise for the institution. It was both fun and educational to learn about the Nigerian culture spanning weddings, dancing, and gender, in addition to what we gained out of the work.”

Follow the links to read more about the teams’ experiences with Nigerian culture!

The Farmer to Farmer team in Nigeria nominated this team of volunteers because of their professionalism, excellent team spirit and cultural sensitivity to the many diverse facets of the Nigerian people. Also commendable was their ability to combine the project tasks provided by the F2F Program with their group reporting as well as individual assignments submitted to their home institution faculty – they coordinated these so well that the F2F assignment did not suffer in any way and all deadlines were met to the satisfaction of everyone involved.

Winrock F2F Nigeria Director Mike Bassey, CEDVS coordinator of Textiles Oyebode, and Team Ubuntu’s Craig Pearson