CELEBRATING NIGERIA'S INDEPENDENCE

"Nigeria has no business with poverty. With our human and material resource, we shall strive to eradicate poverty from our country" - Olusegun Obasanjo.

 Today, Nigeria celebrates 54 years of independence. Today, we are reminded as a country of where we used to be, where we should have been if we had made the right choices, where we are now and where we hope to be. Our dream is to see a Nigeria filled with peace, brotherly love, respect for human life, selflessness and genuine patriotism amongst the citizenry.

We celebrate Nigeria's independence with this lovely poem from our team member (Olamide Oti).

We hope that you enjoy it.

I am She

Olamide 

I was doomed from the beginning.

Before I got a chance to know my family,

I was sold into slavery.

My father was royalty,

but when my new parents came,

He sold me off like a bale of cotton.

So, I became one of them.

Dressed like them,

Talked like them.

Ate, what they ate and quickly, I forgot my roots.

I was perfect at birth they said,

Ten fingers and toes all wonderfully made,

A headful of coarse black hair.

And no identity.

Throughout adolescence,

I was at war within myself.

I had many vices;

The love of money,

Of all things glittery and sweet

Of murder, drunkenness, and pride.

Many have died for me,

“For you”, they said, all for you.

I had an inheritance, but they took it all away, and called it theirs.

They named my streets after their sons while my father looked on unable to stop them.

My lands, my people, my crops…All gone!

My oil was my nemesis

It bubbled from within me

And came forth black, sweet and pleasant.

For a moment, it was my salvation,

Now, it seems it will be the death of me.

It is all I have left,

Until there is nothing left of me.

Today, I am coming of age

I weep for my sons, who have squandered it all,

For my daughters, who are struggling to rebuild me.

There is much to be grateful for,

For peace, however fragile,

For the seasons and for time,

For time, heals all wounds

I am in labour, while the world looks on

Each birth pang piercing through my core.

The world awaits a generation who will rejoice in my heritage,

Who will take back all that I have lost,

Who will reclaim my lost glory,

A generation that would not be ashamed to call me ‘mama’.

I am of many cultures woven loosely together.

Beautiful on the outside

Broken on the inside

Many wars rage on in my heart,

Those caused by beliefs, tribes and tongues that never agree.

The odds are against me, it would seem.

But, I am Nigeria,

I will thrive.

For more of Olamide's posts, kindly visit http://gabriellalove.wordpress.com.

Thank you.

MAGICAL BOOKS AT IFLA CONFERENCE.

“At the moment of vision, the eyes see nothing.”  - William Golding, The Spire.

Magical Books, a Nigerian social enterprise involved in reading advocacy was selected to, and did present an innovative poster at the just concluded 80th edition of the International Federation of Library Associations – World Library International Congress held in Lyon, France from the 16^th -22^nd of August, 2014.

The World Library International Congress organised by IFLA is a yearly event that brings together actors of knowledge from all over the world to discuss, share and disseminate knowledge. This year’s theme was tagged “Libraries, Citizens, and Societies: Confluence for Knowledge”. There were several programmes which included open sessions, workshops, pre and post congress satellite meetings and poster sessions with several interesting sub-themes.

At the poster session, Magical Books had the opportunity of presenting her poster titled “Magical Books: A Reading Advocacy Project” at stand 121 in the midst of about two hundred (200) poster stands. These stands were available to approximately three thousand and Five Hundred (3500) participants for viewing, networking and partnerships.

The poster created by the C.E.O/Program Coordinator, Mrs Seun Aina and presented by Mrs Adetoun Oyelude of the Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan, an active member of the Magical Books Network detailed the organization's active role in promoting healthy reading habits and lifelong learning attitudes amongst children, teenagers and adults in Nigeria. The photographs on the poster highlighted their activities in the area of reading advocacy in the media, schools and organisations.

It also showed other activities which include organising of reading clubs for children, book clubs for adults and seminars and workshops that build life skills in children and adults.

Just recently, Magical Books and Global Youth Leadership and Girl Child Foundation (GYLGF) concluded a three week Summer Reading Club  from the 11^th - 30^th  of August, 2014. This year’s edition was coordinated by Dr Adepeju Oti, founder of GYLGF.

The edition included loud session story times, book talks, craft, educative games, excursions among others.

With the support and partnership of thousands of people in their network, Magical Books is getting closer to achieving its vision of seeing a Nigeria where both young and old see reading as a lifelong activity, a tool for personal growth, social change and national development.

To know more about this organisation, visit and like their Facebook page at Magical Books Nigeria and follow on Twitter @magical_books1.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PEACE

 "Happiness, true happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give- pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy." - Dada Vaswani

Peace of mind is a virtue given to man by God. Life will not always be easy on you. The tougher it gets, the tougher it makes you. Through it all, one needs absolute peace.

 To find peace about who you are (understanding that you are beautiful/handsome from within and who you are is not found in anybody's description of you).

To find peace about what you do (that you do what you do because you love it or you do it because its leading you to something greater than yourself and you are contributing to lives positively).

 To find peace about the choices you have made ( understanding that you felt those choices were the best when you made them, that those choices have made you better, stronger and made it easier for you to decide on new choices that will be better and that there is a greater force somewhat involved in using those choices to mould and prepare you for a bigger task).

To find peace about the people in your life ( understanding that you will need to live with some people for the rest of your life and no matter what happens, you will need to live in peace with them as much as it lies with you and that you can also stay away from others who will do anything to destroy your peace of mind). 

Peace is really not found in the world or in humans because it is difficult to be at peace in a tumultuous world. Peace is something we need to work towards everyday. Its something we need to seek God for. He has said my peace I give to you not as the world gives but as he gives.

SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING

"Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship." - Kofi Annan

Learning is a lifetime journey and it is important that children are supported very early in life with their learning. Learning can be formal or informal but the focus of this article is on supporting children age 5 and above with their learning. Therefore, I will be focusing on supporting their learning with subjects such as Mathematics (Numeracy), English (Literacy), Science and other formally taught subjects.

Depending on where you live, the curriculum used to teach your child will be unique to that geographical location/country. However, the following suggestions can be useful in supporting your child with their learning. The list is not exhaustive.

·         Mathematics/Numeracy support – Right from an early age, it is good to play number games with your child. This can be done while taking a walk, when driving with them in the car or on the bus. You can count how many people you can see and so on and so forth. You can also play matching games with your child to teach them about shapes and sizes. Your child can be supported to copy patterns and colour them. Using visual aids can also help your child in learning mathematical vocabulary. Investing in number charts and magnetic shapes is a very good idea. Your child will be able to see the numbers and arrange them on a magnetic board or on the fridge.

·         English/Literacy- This involves listening, speaking and reading. Therefore, every parent should ensure they read to their child at a very early age and encourage the child to listen and respond to stories, songs and rhymes. The art of comprehension should be encouraged. This means after reading to your child, ask them questions and let them respond so you can be sure they have understood what you have read to them. Their response also helps you to support their speaking skills and also extends their vocabulary. Through their speaking they learn the art of interaction. It is very important that children see us read as they pick up on what we do. You should read with your child and pause occasionally to discuss the book and explain to the child who an author is, the plot and the characters in the book etc. Another good idea is to take your child to the library or book store and let the child select a book he/she wants to read.

·         Writing- While I was growing up, my mother used to say to me, ‘reading makes a ready man and writing a perfect man’. As soon as your child can hold a pencil safely, give the child a blank piece of paper and a pencil and let the child attempt to write whatever he/she can on the piece of paper. A lot of patience is needed. Once the child is able to hold the pencil effectively, teach the child to write his/her name. You can progress to giving the child the opportunity to write your shopping list when you need to go shopping or when they get to the age of making many requests of what they need, around age 5 to 7, tell them to write you a list of their needs.

Science and other subjects – It is a very good idea to introduce your child to reading non-fiction books at a very early age. This will give the child the opportunity to learn more about the world we live in and introduce them to subjects like Geography, Science, Art and Design, Music and Physical Education etc.

The best legacy you can leave your child is the gift of good education all round. Expose your child to learning. Be interested in their education, support them and if you are the busy parent due to the nature of your work, engage the service of a good professional who can support them. Be wary of those who just collect your money but do not help your children to improve in their learning.

About the writer

Felicia Yetunde Onilogbo is an educationist who loves teaching children and training adults. She has a passion for developing children and women and supporting them to realise their potentials. She is happily married with three lovely children.She has written a book titled 'You Are A Person of Influence' 

GIVING YOUR CHILD AN EARLY START TO SUCCESS II - READ THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TEMILOLUWA ONILOGBO

In this interview, Temiloluwa talks about his passion and interests. He is a teenager who is passionate about drawing, designing and the sciences. Read this interview to find out more about him, his interests and his advice to other teenagers yet to find out their passion. Enjoy!

Please can we get to know you?

My name is Temiloluwa Onilogbo, I’m 15 years old and I’m in my fifth year of high school.

Temiloluwa's work

What is your major in school (Sciences or Arts)?

I don’t really know what a major is – haha – but my favourite subjects in school are maths, the sciences (especially Chemistry) and art.

Why science?

Sciences are basically Maths applied to real life, especially in Physics, and I really enjoy Maths and the interesting experiments in subjects like Chemistry. I’m quite good at Maths (I got a Gold Award in this year’s UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge) which is why I’m going to take it along with Physics, Chemistry, French and Psychology for my A-Levels after GCSEs in pursuit of an engineering course at University.

     

Why Engineering?

I will probably go for Chemical Engineering because I really like science and it’s something that I would want to do. Also, it pays well – haha.

What do you love doing during your free time?

Generally, I like to play sports like basketball and tennis with my friends; I really like drawing and painting and do it a lot. I sing in a rock band as well as play the bass guitar and keyboard.

 How do you put your skills to use?

I’ve been playing the bass guitar for two years now and I play it in my church’s praise band.

You mentioned something about really loving to draw and design? Can you tell us more about this interest? When did you start drawing and designing?

I’ve been drawing more seriously since I was 11 years old and I draw influenced mainly by the Japanese manga/anime style like in shows such as Naruto. I do a lot of random designs but I am also in the process of writing a manga of my own. I even have a Facebook page: T3MILOL’s Drawings and Stuff at https://www.facebook.com/t3milol .

Temiloluwa's work

 Where did you learn it?

For the most part, I learnt how to draw things from taking photographs as well as from my Art teachers in school. In terms of the manga style, I get that mostly from TV and manga I read.

Did you get enough sufficient knowledge from school or you went for some more training?

In my school, they don’t teach the style that I use the most so I learn by myself using books and watching YouTube videos. My favourite artists on there include Mark Crilley, Whyt Manga and Sophie-chan.

What tools/software do you use in drawing and designing?

To make the drawings and paintings, I use a range of media, including traditional watercolour paints for example as well as digital programs such as Photoshop and Manga Studio.

Do you do creative work for people?

I have done some design work for people – designing logos for T-shirts; leaflets and flyers – but I haven’t actually worked for pay before.

Who encourages you to do the things you love? You say you are preparing for your GCSEs, how do you get the time to do things you love in the midst of school work?

My parents and people in my church who know about my artwork support me to carry on. In terms of how I find time, I just make sure I crack on with my work so I have spare time.

What is your advice for other young people who are yet to realize what they are good at or are passionate about?

I would just say that even if you don’t know now, when you find that there’s something that you’re good at, you find yourself doing a lot or something you really like, then you should work at it and then see how far you go.

Thanks for your time.