Sunday, September 24, 2006

why have I started a blog?


There is a quote that sticks in my mind: "there are two superpowers in the world today - the United States of America and global public opinion"
The aim of this blog is to change the world, by influencing other people, and giving them the opportunity to influence me. The title of the blog refers to my experience as a VSO volunteer in Abuja, Nigeria. I went out to Nigeria in March 2004 and returned to London in March 2006. It was a fantastic experience; contrary to the image that we get from the popular media in the U.K. Nigeria is a great country, corrupted and exploited by a few selfish and greedy people.
Being part of VSO was, and is, also a fantastic experience. In Nigeria I met VSO volunteers from Holland, The Philipines, Kenya, Uganda, Canada, The U.S.A, New Zealand, Germany, and probably some others that I can't remember.
To get the blog started, here is a link to an article in todays Observer .
my VSO experience was unusual, and interesting, in that I was working for GTZ; the German Agency for Technical Co-operation. The aim was for a partnership between VSO and GTZ in Nigeria; unfortunately this didn't happen. I'll write more about this in future blogs.