This year, members of the Sharing Education and Learning for Life SELL Resource Team organised for herself a 4 day retreat which took place at the Centre for Renewal in Jos, Plateau State Nigeria. Fr. Pat Murphy the West African Regional Team Leader of the Saint Patrick’s Missionary Society came from Lagos to direct the retreat. The retreat held on the 8th – 12th January, 2012. It was to prepare us for our work and help to strengthen our relationship with one another in this New Year. The retreat which was the first of its kind for the team was highly inspirational. Some members of the team said they got food for their spiritual lives through it.

Two members of the SELL Resource Team, Mary and Leo are meeting with the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, CAFOD on Partnership Induction Workshop and funding opportunity for the Youth Formation Centre. Venue for the workshop is Daughters of Divine Love Retreat and Conference Centre, DRACC in Abuja, Nigeria. We wish the duo success in that deliberation. Just to say to that we are open to partnering with organisations that we share similar ethos; you can get to us on our email for such opportunities.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you next week with updates of SELL. From me on the Communications Desk of SELL its bye- bye.

Maria Dagogot

Last week, two members of the SELL Resource Team Jonathan and Leo had a weeklong workshop with the young people of Woji Community in Port Harcourt, Rivers State of Nigeria. Jonathan gave this report on the workshop; “this is the second in the series of workshop for this community. The SELL units that were shared with the young people of the Community were the Spirituality and the Peace Building units of the Programme.

The workshop was hosted by the Holy Family Catholic Church Federal Housing Estate, Woji. 33 Youths participated in the workshop 18 Female and 15 Male. 

Highlights of the workshop were the reflection on our faith story and prayer in honour of our ancestors, in the Spirituality Unit. While in the Peace Building Unit, the participants said in their evaluation that they found the Memories and the Problem Tree sessions very helpful.

To close the workshop on Sunday and since it was hosted by the Parish, a Eucharistic celebration was held with all the participants. The theme for the prayer was for Peace in Nigeria and Peace and Healing for our hearts.

We are grateful to all the participants for attending the programme and to the Parish for hosting us.

We look forward to working with the young people of that community again soon so that they can have the opportunity to experience all the six units of the programme”.

I also want to share with you some of the feedback we got from the workshop Leo and Jonathan delivered the previous week for the Friends of St. Patrick’s in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. One of the participants Rosemary Odum said that After attending the SELL workshop, it has improved her tolerance, she said she no longer want all Boko Haram terrorist to be Killed but to be brought to book in Justice. Eric also a participant at the workshop said he has gotten a life lesson to Think, Review and Choose and this is making him feel better.

After the second SELL training of facilitators which took place in Kumasi, Ghana in December 2012, some of the trainees that came from New Tafo area in Kumasi are preparing in earnest to deliver a workshop to the youths of that area. The date for the workshop is on the 10th – 12th February 2012, from the SELL Resource team in Nigeria we say, have a wonderful workshop. Details of the workshop shall be brought to you in the next edition of the blog.

A SELL workshop that was scheduled to take place in Adamawa state, Nigeria on the 10th – 12 February 2012 has been postponed. This is because of the security challenges experienced in the State and indeed the North East of Nigeria. Also to say to that the following week, there is suppose to be a workshop in Maiduguri Borno State, Nigeria but that too is not going to take place because of the same reason. While speaking with the facilitators from the two areas, they expressed their concern towards having a gathering of Youths amidst the security challenges they are experiencing. More so, most people have travelled out of the two states. It is so sad that the frequent attacks of Boko Haram Sect is posing a security threat especially that we are residing in the North East Nigeria and that is where we do most of our work.

Two weeks ago, we received an invitation from an organization known as Nigerian Graduate Volunteering Programme (NGVP) to work with a group of Teachers they are involved with. The Teachers are drawn from four states in Nigeria, namely; Kano, Kwara, Kaduna and Nassarawa States.

Title of the workshop is ‘Out of the Box’, while the aims are; To activate creative thinking in the context of rural Government schools in Nassarawa, Kwara, Kano and Kaduna with a broad scope on the Personal development of the Nigerian Graduate Volunteers.

The SELL team has agreed to honor the invitation. While it is a four day Programme starting from 13th to 16th February 2012, the SELL team has Wednesday 15th February to give an input.  Good luck to Jonathan and Moses who will be facilitating that.   

On Thursday 9th February 2012, the SELL team had a mini meeting with a Muslim man, Boppa Saleh from Azare a Local Government Area in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Boppa is the Bauchi Contact Person for the Interfaith Mediation Centre Kaduna, Kaduna state Nigeria. Also at the meeting was Sr. Helena the Coordinator of Damietta Peace Initiative in Jos Plateau State Nigeria. The purpose of the meeting was on how to organize a Peace Mediation Programme especially for the Youths of Azare and other neighboring towns, being that at the moment the Area is much tensed as a result of the crisis they experienced during the presidential election in Nigeria and crises reoccurrences. Mr. Boppa informed us that there is already an association of Muslims and Christians Relations in the Area, so we all agreed in the meeting that he goes back and meet with officials of the association and plan on how the SELL Programme and Damietta will deliver a Mediation and Peace Building Workshop for them.

Stay back and enjoy our photos from the SELL training of facilitators that took place in Kumasi, Ghana in December 2012 and of course photo from the workshop in Woji.

Maria Dagogot,

For the SELL Resource team.

Congratulations to you all! We made it to 2012, different people have different expectations for this year. Many have made their New Year resolutions, it is our hope for you that God will grant the desires of your heart, and for good health and long life.

So far, the New Year has being awesome except for the shocker of Fuel Subsidy Removal which has inflated the price of everything that money can be exchanged for.

The YFC office resumed on the 4th January 2012 and all members of the Team came back looking very grand because it’s New Year and the freshness of the festivity is still moving with us, we hope that we will all live in this cheerfulness all through the year.

The SELL Team again hopes to have a Retreat at the Centre for Renewal in Jos the capital of Plateau State, Nigeria next week 9th – 13th January, 2012. The retreat is to prepare us for our work and relationship with one another in this New Year and to brace us all spiritually, the retreat director is Fr. Pat Murphy the Regional Superior of the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society, (SPMS) in West Africa.  

Our programme of activities and workshops for 2012 is attached in the SELL Programme’s website, feel free to attend our workshop any time anywhere. 

See you again subsequently with more update from SELL. Have a wonderful new month and year.

Maria,

For the SELL Team