Coming home as different people
 Even though Heidi and I are back safely, two different people returned. As we process an immersion into the Nigerian culture, one so vastly removed from the U.S., I'm sure the changes in us will be even more profound over time.
We use clichés as we sum up common feelings and experiences because they work. Here's one now: I wonder if the work we did there and continue here did our souls more good than the wondrous and delightful people of Nigeria. Hmmm... that's a tough one. The “Fishy Business” team of Back2Back Ministries (B2B) in collaboration with Self-Sustaining Enterprises (SSE) brings hope to the village of Kisayip, just outside Jos, the capital of Plateau, a central Nigerian state. This people’s hope comes in the form of clean water, sustainable agriculture and income.
Truly, truly Fishy Business is geared for teaching a man, a village, a city, a state, a nation and a world to fish.
Fishy Business developed two models of aquaponics at Cincinnati's H.J. Benken Florist and Greenhouse. Fish are grown in an 8-foot pond. Their droppings are then pumped to a 32-foot tray where the nutrients feed plants hydroponically. Crops can be ready in an amazingly 40 short days. FB chose tilapia for the U.S. model. Catfish were selected for Nigeria, in hopes that a local variety would be robust and have a greater chance of success.
 I watched through my lens as the team built the system and finish ahead of schedule, a testament to the research and hard work that went into the project. Initially, introducing fish into the system was a remote possibility. On day four, we all joined pastor Jeff Greer (founder of B2B Ministries) in prayer as 100 catfish were placed ceremoniously into the pond. As the system requires a careful balance of water pH, dissolved oxygen and nutrients, Nigerians will be trained on the model left in the hands of SSE staff.
Solomon Abari, a man with a wife, one beautiful little girl and another child on the way, maintains the chicken-farming model on the B2B property. His position of 'chicken training' has afforded a success rate of 99.5 percent at this time, a noble effort considering the Nigerian heat. He nursed one sick chicken back to health through his vigilant care and isolating it from the other 200. He says, "I have a skill to start a business. I want to [raise] my own chickens so I can solve my own problems. Why am I doing someone else's? I want to have my own." This is precisely the hope that SSE and B2B affords.
In Nigeria, "Fish or fowl?" takes on a whole new meaning.
--Stacy Doose, March 31, 2011
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