Hello dear reader of the SELL blog, we want to appreciate you for always reading our update. I am glad to inform you that the SELL Website is in its third year of operation. We sincerely appreciate you for being with us all this while especially on our blog, because of this, we are poised to serve you better, therefore enjoy our update for this week;

On the 17th and 18th February 2012, the SELL team from Kabba in Kogi State Nigeria comprising of Taiye and James, facilitated a leadership programme of SELL for a group of youths in Okene town of Kogi State.  According to James, they had 20 participants present 8 of whom are female. Reading through the evaluation from the workshop, most of the participants said that the SELL Programme is very enriching and they will love to have it frequently.

In Kumasi, Ghana, four members of the SELL team from Adokurum Leticia, Augustine, Bernice, and John evans had a SELL workshop with the students of SMA Senior High School Kumasi, the Unit of the SELL Programme that was delivered there was the Peace Building unit, number of participants at the SELL Programme were 25. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

• I informed you that a SELL Programme is going to take place in Kwa town of Qua’an Pan Local Government of Plateau State. The forum will be facilitated by 2 members of the SELL Team in Shendam (Dajan and Fidelis) on the weekend of 24th – 25th February 2012 the unit that will be delivered is the Social Justice unit of the SELL Programme. Moses a member of the SELL Resource team will be there to mentor and support them.

• Mary a member of the SELL Resource Team and the Coordinator for the Youth Formation Centre is going to have a meeting and planning with some selected young Adults from Bauchi State on their availability for the next facilitators training coming up in April 2012 in Bauchi. This meeting is coming up on the 25th February 2012.

• On Tuesday 21st February 2012, the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Paddy Fay went to Yola town the capital of Adamawa State Nigeria, to give a lecture at the ABTI American University of Nigeria, Yola. The lecture was on the Comparative Analysis of the Northern Ireland crisis and the conflict scenarios in Nigeria. Leo of the SELL Resource team attended the lecture and also gave his experience of the situations since he is from the North Ireland and now lives in Northern Nigeria.

A SELL programme was suppose to hold in Jos, Plateau state Nigeria on the 24th – 25th  February 2012 but due to some logistics in planning it has being rescheduled to a weekend in March. 

Have a wonderful time until next week.

Maria DAGOGOT

Communication Desk, SELL

SOCIAL JUSTICE UNIT OF THE SHARING EDUCATION AND LEARNING FOR LIFE, (SELL) PROGRAMME EXPLORED IN KWA COMMUNITY

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.

I was eagerly waiting for this week to come so that I will give you update about the Sharing Education and Learning for Life (SELL) programme. Actually there is nothing much to say but the little I will talk about is so enthusing. Let me start with the workshop Leo and Jonathan members of the SELL Resource team gave in Uyo, Akwa - Ibom State South – South Nigeria. Leo and Jonathan said the workshop was successful and participants were numbered up to 45. The focus of the workshop was Community Building and the group was the Friends of St. Patricks. The workshop started on Friday 27th and ran through to Sunday 29th January 2012, of course you know that there were breaks and nights were exceptions.

 If you read the SELL blog last week, I reported that Leo and Jonathan will be working with the Friends of St. Patrick’s in Calabar, Cross River State, it is actually in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, I sincerely apologize for misinforming you. 

While the workshop in Uyo was on, another SELL workshop was being run in New Lugbe in Abuja, Nigeria. As I said last week, the facilitators were Lucy and JohnMaria members of the SELL team in Abuja. The unit of the SELL Programme at the Abuja workshop was the Leadership unit.  Approximately, 33 young adults took part in the workshop. JohnMaria one of the facilitators said the youths are asking for more SELL workshops. Now the exciting thing is that just in one weekend, the SELL programme was able to reach out to nearly 80 people. It is our desire that young adults continue to experience a life shaping and peace building programme like SELL to better the World of Violence we are living in.

At the moment, Leo and Jonathan are delivering a SELL workshop to a group of youths in Woji, Port Harcourt in Rivers state, Nigeria. After the workshop at Uyo on Sunday, the duo proceeded to Woji and the workshop started on Tuesday 31st January to end on Sunday 5th February 2012, update of the workshop will be brought to you next week.  


Maria Dagogot,

For the SELL Programme