We are all seedlings, growing together
 Bonjour everyone!
I'm Eric, the guy from Paris, France, participating in this week's initiatives in Jos, Nigeria. Many years ago I worked as a marketer at P&G in Cincinnati, and ever since I've stayed in touch with Chuck, one of our group's leaders. Last autumn Chuck invited me to join the Back2Back /SSE program in Nigeria and I'm sure glad I did.
Today we continued our efforts on multiple fronts. The day's largest activity was a training session for 32 youth, ranging in age from 16 to their mid-20s (see photo). Our objective was to provide them with the core information and basic tools to start their own micro-businesses. Their business ideas were wide-ranging, including chicken farming, sandal manufacturing, a soccer match TV viewing room, property development and opening a beauty salon, to name just a few.
Our approach was to encourage the participants to step back and think along six parameters: their core business proposition, target customers, competition, pricing, costs and sources of funding, and goals for the coming six months. While most students understood English, our Nigerian man-of-all-talents, Daniel, translated our words into Howsa in all the plenary sessions. And what was the result? The students thought the moderators were demanding, which was probably a good thing. A few of the participants showed an amazing entrepreneurial spark, and our entire group spent an hour tonight debriefing and discussing how we can work with them to realize their dreams.
 On the big aquaponics project I've been recruited for non-mission-critical tasks such as operating a pick axe on concrete -- and even that was a struggle!! Today appeared to be more of a "fine-tuning" day, as the project leaders adjusted the water flow and positioned the seedlings along the long bed of pebbles. I see aquaponics as an excellent metaphor for what our week in Nigeria is all about, so please permit me to digress... yes, we are introducing a ground-breaking technique for raising vegetables and fish in a self-contained ecosystem. But today's training was also every bit about raising new entrepreneurial seedlings, with the love of God flowing around them just as the water flows around the small plants in the aquaponics trough.
I also think our visiting delegation could ourselves be characterized as seedlings, because I feel myself growing from this amazing experience. The linkages have become so strong that the line between who's helping who at times appears almost blurred. The entrepreneurial spark among some of the young Nigerians is so energizing that it's a wonderful source of personal motivation.
I'll break from my metaphor to close with a description of tonight's activity-- our team celebration. All of the visiting delegation, our committed, on-site permanent team of Nigerian and American staff, plus a number of key local stakeholders all gathered at a restaurant for a buffet dinner and entertainment by a group of African dancers. They performed acrobatics and local dance routines, and even coaxed everyone onto the dance floor a few times.
Thanks for your interest in our project. I feel that we're truly making a positive impact in the lives of many Nigerians.
--Eric Stevenson, March 23
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