Trip to Nigeria was a complete success!!

Hi Everyone,
I want to start by saying that we all made a tremendous impact on the village of Azia, Nigeria as well as many of the surrounding villages.  The trip was everything I dreamed it would be and more.  The kids were amazing and inspiring and we really showed how acts of love and compassion transcend language.  I want to thank everyone again for donations and time to help me create and fulfil on this dream.  I was proud to represent us and know that we made a lasting impression on thousands of strangers who are now friends.  As well, Gerry has informed me that the both the State and Municipal goverments sent us a thank you letter for our efforts with the schools.  I haven't seen them yet but will share them once they arrive.

The trip occured at the end of May and it was quite the adventure getting our materials out of the storage location and down to the village of Azia, which was 6 states away.  I started my journey in the captial city, Lagos, Nigeria on May, 19th.  Gerry met me at the airport and I learned quickly about the chaos and buslting activity that is Africa.  The city of Lagos has a population of 20 Million so let's just say that Toronto traffic is nothing compared to Nigeria!   We spent the first few days heading to the various beaches and getting the car repaired.  Once we hit the roads I learned that it's every man for himself and you do not want to get stuck on the side of the road, especially on the highways.   Guards and gates protect people's property and I was pleased to wake up the first morning and see a Canadian Flag waving to greet me from my hotel window.  Talk about good karma!

The drive to Azia was wild to say the least.  The roads are full of potholes so you are constantly swerving to avoid them.  Motorcycles, cars, pedestrians and vendors selling goods flank both sides of your car and are traveling in all directions.  I was in good hands with Gerry at the wheel and he was enjoying using all of his race car driving techniques to maneuver through the chaos.   It was on the roads that I realized how much order we have in our society and how our trust in our public systems makes such a difference.  The good news is that I saw signs of progress under the government run by Goodluck Jonothan.  In some states, roads were being repaired and shools, hospital and other infrastructure projects were being built.  There is alot riding on this success of these projects - the citizens are watching and expecting progress.   

As you well can imagine, the highlight of the trip were the expressioins of joy and gratitude from the students, teachers and neighbours for our generous donations.  We met first with the Headmasters of each of the 5 primary schools to split up some of the materials for the rescource centers such as paper, pens, chalk, reading books, office supplies and soccer balls.   We kept the remaining supplies to hand out directly to the students the next day.  

The day of the roll-out was a bit of a blur.  The truck arrived by 7:30am and we loaded up the truck and set out for our first destination which was 2 schools - Azia Central and  Community School Azia .  The kids were energized and singing when we arrived and the goal for the day was to make sure every child recieved at least 2 notebooks, a writing utensil and a toy or piece of clothing.  The larger kids received backpacks or a soccer jersey and the little kids recieved a toy or a stuffed animal.  The sporting equipment was split evenly with each school and I can tell you that the imprint of Canada is all around the village, especially with the soccer jerseys and equipment donated by Stratford Seconday School and Niki Duncan.  The kids and adults were over the moon with our generosity and I know they will be treasured!  I'm sad to say that I didn't get many pictures of the soccer goods being passed out because we were getting some pressure from other villagers wanting to get some of the goods too.

The second stop was at Obam  Community School and this is the largest of the 5 schools which has 380 students.  Each class has about 12 ft of space in the open-concept school rooms and they memorize their material from their one chalkboard.  Below are some pictures of a typical village school - such a contrast to our buildings. 
I also learned during the trip that there were another 20 private schools in the town too so the public schools are greatly neglected.  I'm proud to say we truly helped the students who need it the most.  We also rolled out supplies to the Azia Primary School on the second stop and our last stop was at Azia Town School. 

  

The end of the day.  Celebrating with the drivers!!  



Random shots with the kids in the village.  Looks the shock and awe on the little boy's face below!  Too funny.



Shown below - the team that helped to pull it all together: Inno, Gerry and myself.  But in truth, it took all of us to make this trip happen.  Once again, thank you all for your support and I look forward to finding our next project!! 

Timing of trip delayed due to container issues and political unrest

Hi everyone,
If I've learned one thing about this project, it's that the only consistent thing is change.   The timing of the trip has been delayed due to the container being held up in Spain for a month after I wrote the last post.  As you may have seen on the news recently, there are additional issues with escalating bombing violence in the North and the government's removal of the fuel subsidies causing the cost of gas to double overnight across the country.  Many trade unions are signalling their intention to strike next week so it's not the best time for me to head overseas.  I will be pushing off the trip to deliver the school supplies until things settle down a bit over there.

The good news is Gerry is over there right now (he is safe) and waiting for the container to get through customs so he can safely store the materials until we rebook out trip.  My schedule opens up again in March so we'll be looking at that timeframe to go over and roll-out the supplies.  Sorry for the delay,  but I know each of you want us to be safe when we go over to finish this project.  We are committed to completing this project so just need to find a time that that works for both my safety and my schedule.
I wish all of you a safe and happy 2012 and if you have any questions, remember you can always comment on the blog or email me at backpacksandbeyond@gmail.com .

Warmest Regards,
Sue

The container will be arriving in Nigeria on December 7th!

Hi everyone!
I must apologize for my poor blogging skills over the last few months.  We were busy collecting the last of the donations and I'm so excited to share that the Grade 8 class at Stratford Secondary School came in with a fantastic donation of over 1000 soccer items such as: jerseys, shorts, soccer balls and much more!! We are a bit behind our initial timeline of September but it was well worth waiting since we filled a 20ft container right to the top with school supplies and sporting goods.  As well, we raised just short of $7000 and I'm so excited to see what improvements we can make with this money once we get over to Azia, Nigeria.

Gerry will be heading over to Nigeria next week to meet the container at the shipping depot and start making arrangements to get the materials down to Azia.  I will be heading over to Nigeria on January 2nd for 3 weeks to roll out the supplies to the school children so I promise to keep updating the blog while I'm in Nigeria so you can keep track of our progress. 

I want to thank each and every one of you who donated to this amazing cause.  We FAR exceeded my initial project goal of 200 backpacks filled with school supplies and I am truly grateful for everyone's generosity and support - this was an amazing experience for me and I am committed to keep going and helping less fortunate children all over the world!!  In fact, our next fundraising project is a charity golf tournament in May with the proceeds going to help build a school for orphaned children in Haiti. 

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season and please take a moment to ackowledge yourselves for your contribution to the 1500 children we are working with on this project!  This is a great initiative and we should all be very proud of ourselves.

Much Love,
Sue

Thank you to REfficient Inc for donating a pallet full of safety supplies and tools

Thank you to Stephanie, Liz and the gang at REfficient Inc for donating a skid full of safety supplies and tools.  We will put them to good use around the schools as well as with the tradespeople that will help us with the building upgrades.
"REfficient provides innovative solutions that responsibly manage used and obsolete inventory as an asset. Maximize your assets in a way that makes the most sense for both business and the environment."  Donating materials is part of their corporate strategy and I am honoured that they are supporting me in my adventure to Africa.   

Below is a picture of Liz C of REfficient and me in front of the materials.  I was doing my best to channel Vanna White at the time.

REGGAEFEST Fundraiser at Lee's Palace - Saturday, August 6th

Blazing Fire Band will be headlining "ReggaeFest" to fundraise for our Backpacks and Beyond Initiative.  Other featured artists include: King Uja, King Selah and DJ Friendlyness.  MC King David from CHRY 105.5 will be hosting the evening. 

Tickets are $20 at the door.  Gates open at 9:30pm on Saturday, August 6th.
Lee's Palace is located at 529 Bloor St West in Toronto.

Hope to see everyone there.  It will be a great night of Reggae music for a great cause!!

The Interact Club at Englehart High School comes through with a Uhaul trailer full of supplies!!

I'm just thrilled with the leadership and generosity shown by Dania Johanson and the Interact Club from  Englehart High School.  We had to rent a Uhaul trailer to transport all of the school supplies they collected so thank you very much for your contribution!! As well, they raised $200 which will go towards purchasing pencil sharpeners for each of the school children in Nigeria.   I'd also like to acknowledge Susi Johanson and Heather Pollock from Englehart High School for their support of this initiative.  As the saying goes, "It takes a village" and those words are really resonating with me these days. 

Thanks to this group of hard working students , we've surpassed our goal of collecting 10,000 items to ship to Nigeria and are well on our way to filling a 20 ft container with donations.  This is a huge jump from my initial goal of  200 backpacks filled with school supplies - we are definitley living in the "Beyond" phase of Backpacks and Beyond project thanks to everyone's support!

This donation has special meaning for me since I wanted to get schools involved in helping with this project.  Once Dania heard what I was up to, she jumped all over it and she and her fellow students far surpassed my expectations.   It was a pleasure working with this school and I look forward to showing everyone the impact of this donation. 

Shown in the picture from left to right is :  Dennis Schinkel, Kelsey Froelick , Dania Johanson and  Morgan Johanson

Thanks to ecojot for the incredible contribution!

Hi Eveyone,
The contributions for the upcoming trip to Nigeria continue to roll in.  ecojot, an eco-friendly stationery brand donated 1500 workbooks to our cause which means that each and every child will get a workbook!  Ecojot is based in Scarborough, Ontario and specialize in a variety of journals, sketchbooks, children's sketchbooks, wrap, calendars and notecards. The paper content used is 100% post-consumer recycled and all products are designed and printed in Canada.

ecojot regulary donates to worthy social causes through their "Give" Campaign. To date they have donated 77,000 notebooks to countries all over the world including, Haiti, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Poland, and Zimbabwe. 

I'm proud that they have decided to partner with us and can't wait to see the look on the children's faces!

Check them out at http://www.ecojot.com/