Ishahayi

On Monday I visited a small Yoruba school with a group of American women. It was my first trip to the school, but I hope to go back again soon. The school was on holiday while we were there, so there were only a few kids hanging around. However, the main point of the trip was to check progress on the construction of the new building being funded by the Ishahayi Beach School Foundation (IBSF).

Currently, the school houses it's 160 students in one small building; I have no idea how they all fit. IBSF is raising funds to expand the school to accomodate more students, as well as provide them with a better learning experience (such as electricity to power fans for the hot, dry season, and lights for when it storms) and school supplies. The school itself is located in a fishing village outside of Lagos. It takes about 40 minutes, by boat, to get to the school from Ikoyi.

It's the only school for miles.

Inside the new school building. The roof was just built!

Half of one of the old classrooms.

The other half of an old classroom. So small!

Old school buildings.

The library and the drum set.

The computers are used for typing practice and for the teachers to create worksheets. Internet is set up, but currently not working.

View of the old school with the new school right behind it.

Classroom for older kids.

Papaya tree, locally known as "pawpaw".

Shade.

Our group, plus security, meeting with the headmistress.

View of the village, it's very spread out so this is only a part of it.

 

The beach. 

Almost paradise!

Our lovely beach lunch spot.

Cassava plants, a starchy potato-like root that's very popular to eat here. I just learned that tapioca is made from cassava.  Nigeria is the World's largest producer of cassava (thanks Wikipedia)!

The dock with  Badagry Creek in the background. 

We had an interesting trip out to the school. I've mentioned before that everything takes about 3x longer  to get done here than it would in the states. Our trip to the school was no exception. It took 3 boats to get us out there because our charter boats kept breaking down! We had to make 2 boat-to-boat transfers without the stability of a dock. Normally, this would just be exciting, but because we're in Lagos, there's the threat of severe illness should you fall into the water to go along with the adventure. There was some debate that falling into the water may actually bring super powers, or, maybe if you're lucky,  immunity from all diseases, rather than imminent death. But I'm hoping not to find out.

Interesting wiring situation. Surprisingly, this was inside the working boat. 

This was the best picture I could get of these guys. There were lots of crews out on boats like this. Some men were clothed, some were not. But they were all diving off the boats with buckets, scooping up sand at the bottom of the river, and dumping it into the boat. When the boat starts sitting low in the water, they head back to shore and the sand is turned into concrete bricks for construction. Talk about manual labor!

If you'd like to learn more about the Ishahayi Beach School Foundation, please visit their site: www.ibsfnigeria.org.
To make a donation to the Ishahayi Beach School Foundation, please visit their page on GlobalGiving.org here.