Apply: Activista Nigeria ‘Organising for Change’ Training

Closing date for this application is 9th April 2012.

Click here to download the application form.

The ‘Organising for Change’ Training is an annual training established by ActionAid Activista Nigeria to build a core of young people who are able to inspire, lead and mobilize other young people to take action towards ending poverty in Nigeria and contributing  significantly to the eradication of poverty in the world.
Activista Nigeria recognises the potential in creating change through a combination of the right skills, consciousnesses and creative energy of young people. It seeks to harness this by broadening the skills base for organising, a rights consciousness imbedded in ActionAid’s Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) to work and a practical approach to coalescing pockets of youth engagement into a broad platform for taking action.

Activista Nigeria sees a great potential in training a higher number of young activists from  ActionAid Local Rights constituency and young people from surrounding movements, social struggles and other environments such as universities or other forums with a potential for mobilising young people through training and education.

This is to facilitate a fusion of methods that embraces ActionAid’s methodologies such as REFLECT inspired by the Paolo Freire philosophy, popular traditional organising and emerging trends inspired by the new dynamic social media platform.

The Activista Nigeria training aligns in a context specific perspective to the Global Change educational approaches and overall strategy of ActionAid.

Purpose of the Training
• Strengthen the work for social change already being carried out by the participants  and their organisations, creating experienced, enthusiastic and confident drivers of
change.
• To build up skills in organising, analysing and communicating to carry out large scale and local campaigns for social change.

Methods
• Public Action Learning & co-creation
• Tools based training
• Combination of lectures, reading, peer to peer and work groups

Eligibility:
• Activista is a youth based organising platform, to be eligible for this training you must be between ages of 16-30
• You must be able to communicate effectively in written and spoken English
• You must have a local group where you can apply the skills you will learn or be prepared to organise an Activista group in your locality
• You must have good presentation skills and should be able to communicate in the local language of the location where you are based.
• Only Nigerian based applicants are eligible to apply.

NOTE: The training will take place in Nigeria and ActionAid Nigeria will be responsible for transport, accommodation and feeding of selected applicants throughout the training.

Closing date for this application is 9th April 2012.

Click here to download the application form.

To read more about the program, click here

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Free Creative Writing Workshop for Young Writers

In a bid to fulfill one of our aims and objectives which is stipulated in the Society’s constitution (organizing literary and creative writing workshops and conferences for the development of our members). The Society of Young Nigerian Writers is organizing a free creative writing workshop for upcoming and aspiring Young Nigerian Writers.

The creative writing workshop, which promises to be an avenue for grooming and enhancing the skills and literary techniques of upcoming and aspiring writers in the country will also allow young and talented Nigerian writers between the ages of 7 and 35 to get their works published as some notable independent publishers will be on the ground to access and collect unpublished manuscripts for publication after the agreement between the publishers and the writers.

 

As there are many talented and upcoming writers in the country who are eager to write and waiting to get their works published; some have never written any works due to their inability and lack of technical know-how. An enabling ground should be created for upcoming and aspiring writers to sharpen and hone their literary skills and creativity which is the gap the society is filling.

Expected Guest lecturers at the workshop include: Dr. Remi Adedokun, former H.O.D, Theatre Arts Department, University of Ibadan who will be talking on – Writing an award winning children drama. Mr. Freeman Okosun, the National President of Biographers’ Collectives will be talking on the Fundamentals of book publishing and marketing and the present Vice-Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Oyo State Chapter, Mr. Akeem Ajibade will be talking on 'Writing, a world acclaimed Children Poetry anthology and short stories'.

Registration is for the workshop is free. Participants will have the opportunity of receiving free workshop materials and certificate of participation. Interested participant should text his/her name, age, genre interested in and their location to societyofyoungnigerianwriters@gmail.com or 08072673852.

Venue: Amphi-Theatre, by-main gate, along Ebrohime Road, University of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

Date: Thursday, 29^th March, 2012.

Time: 1.00PM

For more information log on to www.societyforyoungwriters.webs.com.

Wole Adedoyin

National President

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LASSA fever - what really is it?

The past few months have been filled with rumours, coupled with enlightenment about what is called the 'Lassa fever'.

Of recent, some states, Ogun State (Nigeria) inclusive declaimed claims of recording the deadly fever.

Lassa fever is an acute viral infection associated with persistent high fever caused by the Lassa Virus. It was discovered first in Lassa, Borno State, Nigeria in 1969. However, it can be found in other places, especially in West Africa e.g. Liberia, Guinea and Seirra Leone.

HOW IS IT SPREAD?
People become infected by eating infected bush rat or eating food contaminated with the rat excreta/urine deposited on surfaces such as floors, beds, household utensils or in food and water (eg. grains spread out to dry along the roads by farmers). Person to person spread also occurs by direct contact or inhalation of infected body fluids such as blood, urine, saliva, throat secretion etc..

WHO CAN BE INFECTED?
All age groups. Persons at greater risk are those in areas of poor sanitation and health workers managing such cases.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS?
The illness usually starts with fever, general weakness and malaise. Other signs and symptoms are headache, sore throat, pain behind the breast bone, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, abdominal pain and red spots. In severe cases, it may progress to swollen face, bleeding (from mouth, nose, and vagina), gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure.

HOW CAN LASSA FEVER BE PREVENTED?
Avoid contact between rats and human beings;
Keep your house and Environment clean.
Cover all foods and water properly.
Cook all foods thoroughly
Block all rat hideouts
Do not spread food where rats can have access to it.
And as soon as you suspect Lassa fever, or you have persistent fever not responding to the standard treatment for malaria and typhoid, report to the nearest Health facility.

TREATMENT OF SUSPECTED CASES
Early treatment with Oral Ribavirin is recommended. In severe infection, injection of Ribavirin is used. Barrier nursing is highly recommended.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH OTHERS.

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