African Journal #15: Winds Of Change

May 30, 2008
It’s the second week of the harmattan season, each day brings humidity, fierce winds and occasional thunder. Rain has come three times already, yet it does not wash away the dirt but makes it worse. Despite the heat, I have to close my windows, the dust comes in and covers everything. I find [...]

UPDATE: Future Travels, Fundraising and Mailing Address

Hello friends and family:
 
Thank you so much for your outpouring of support after my latest journal expressing my hardships of life in Nigeria. I feel the love all the way over here and feel so blessed to have all of you rooting for me.
 
I have some current updates for you – didn’t make any sense [...]

African Journal #14: The Truth Stings

May 15, 2008
 
African Journal #14: The Truth?              
 
Ow. The fire-eater ants are making themselves at home in my air conditioned bedroom, zigzagging from the bed, under the desk, into the closet and making themselves comfortable in my bathroom. They’re less gross than the huge, shiny, black cockroaches that infested the house when I got here [...]

411: Canadian Airlines To Allow SSP’s Ride for Free!

Many thanks to Deaf Blind Canada, a group on Facebook for announcing the wonderful news. In sum, the Federal Appeals Court has turned down an appeal by Air Canada and WestJet – two major airlines in Canada – to argue the Transportation Board’s decision to allow passengers with severe disabilities bring assistance (intervenors, support service [...]

African Journal #13: The Sands Of Time

May 11, 2008
 
Baring The Essentials

        It was time to bid Abuja adieu, its luxury traded for the rugged inferno of the desert I called home. My organization had agreed to have one of their drivers drive me home, amid concerns that as a Deaf Blind white woman I would not fare so well traveling alone [...]

African Journal #12: Malaria Malady

May 3, 2008
My First African Hospital Visit
As I laid down to bed on the eve of April 30, I dreamed about my upcoming trip to home sweet home: Birnin-Kebbi. All of a sudden, five minutes after I dozed off, my heartbeat started pounding rather fast and I could not close my eyes. Mosquitoes were biting [...]

African Journal #11: Connecti Maximius

May 1, 2008
Connect-The-Dots
Reeling from the week I had in Jos, it was a weekend to look forward to when I hit the road to Abuja, 3 hours away, with Julia and Sebastian for a fun-filled weekend on Saturday. Hungry, we drove by the roadside market on the way and bought some grilled corn-on-the cob. [...]

African Journal #10: Jos With The Most

April 27, 2008
Coming Together For Greater Reasons
So much has happened the past week, it would be so hard to sum this up in a short and sweet entry. Let’s put this simply: it was a bittersweet time I had spent in the Plateau State city of Jos.
I bid Jane and Akwanga adieu and hopped into [...]