Volunteering experiences in Nigeria
Volunteer in Nigeria and you’ll find a country that defies expectations. Whether it’s trying local dishes like bush meat or overcoming their long-held fears, volunteers are learning to appreciate their new and exciting lives in Africa’s most populous nation.
Tammie Brooks, a CUSO-VSO volunteer from Kelowna, B.C., pushed her personal boundaries the first time she tried ‘bush meat’ – a term used in Nigeria for wild game or road kill. While digging through the stew, “in an effort to be open-minded and try it,” she pulled out what she thought looked like a cat’s leg. She was still a bit hesitant when told it was not cat but antelope – but she tasted it anyway.
From tasting ‘bush meat’ to dealing with frequent power outages, life for CUSO-VSO volunteers in Nigeria brings a range of intense new experiences. The country’s huge population, many languages, diverse ethnic groups and multiple social problems make Nigeria both exciting and challenging. But despite those challenges, in 2009 about 55 overseas volunteers were on placements in various parts of Nigeria, working with local partners to respond to their needs.
VSO Nigeria staff meet new arrivals, help them get oriented and support them throughout their time in the country. From years of experience, they know what to expect. Food is a big issue, says Kayode Akintola, a VSO Program Manager in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. A quick scan online confirms this: The volunteer blogs from Nigeria are full of food-related stories.
Tammie says there’s always plenty to eat: Coffee or tea and fruit for breakfast, and then noontime and evening meals that often include yam – “chopped, boiled, then pounded into what is similar to a mashed potato” – and beef stew.
“I can usually get some good pieces of beef, and escape the liver, heart, intestines and occasionally skin – all of which are considered the favoured pieces,” she writes, adding that the food can be quite spicy.
Kayode says new arrivals soon discover which Nigerian dishes they like – and which they don’t. He says plantain (a type of banana) is generally popular, and okro soup, usually made with fish, okra pods and palm oil, is not. (“Slimy!” is Tammie’s description of okra.)
Kayode says people just arriving also ask about their work, their living quarters and the support they can expect to receive. And he says they are also often concerned about security. With over 150 million people, Nigeria is by far Africa’s most populous nation. About half of Nigerians live on less than one dollar a day.
The country’s economy is fuelled by petroleum exports, but the petro boom has also led to massive migration to cities and put a terrific strain on the country’s infrastructure and social services. A reputation for lawlessness feeds security concerns among people travelling to Nigeria for the first time.
“Though I did my best to assure myself that I would not be robbed or kidnapped the moment I stepped off the plane, there remained a part of me that was prepared for the worst,” writes Glenn Dodge, a CUSO-VSO volunteer, in his blog. “With the year now complete, I’m happy to say that all of those fears were unfounded.”
Glenn says his year in the country changed him, as he discovered that Nigerians and Canadians are not that different. There are those who try to cheat or rob, and those who are honest. And underneath the cultural differences, “the people here have the same hopes and fears that we all experience.
“Treating the people here as something different does them a tremendous disservice and gets in the way of working with them effectively,” he says.
“I’ve been driven to insanity by the infrastructure limitations that exist here. But I’ve also experienced the high that comes with finally connecting with my counterparts and seeing them develop new skills.”
