CHILDREN ARE WHAT THEY LIVE WITH

Nneoma Chuku (@duchess153)

As parents and adults who take care of children, we often might not realise how far our actions or inactions affect these little ones and even who they become in future. I hope you find this piece enlightening.

If a child lives with criticism,
He learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility,
He learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule,
He learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame,
He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance,
He learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement,
He learns to have confidence.

If a child lives with praise,
He learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness,
He learns justice

If a child lives with security,
He learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval,
He learns to like himself

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find love in the world.

You can follow the contributor on twitter - @duchess153

14th May!

Whenever I look at the Calender and see May, my heart always skip a bit. Whenever I see 14th May, my heart skips twice and I become excited. When I come to think about this, I remember that this is a day that stands out among other days in my life. I like this day so much that I look forward for it to come around. It only comes around once in every Twelve months.

This day holds many things in my life; It brings to my mind to a day, my mum went to the hospital around mid-day and gave birth to me and my twin brother. That day, when I came out, I cried(I'm sure I did) may be I did, it was not my fault, if it was now, I would have known how to control my self; I hope you got what i meant? After the crying, other things followed.

Another thing significant with this day is that whenever it comes around, I will be older than I was before. Can't you see, this was the day that told my parents that I'm old enough to start going to school, if not for God, this day wouldn't have been there and if not for this day I wouldn't have been in school(I'm I sure?). it is also this particular day I'm talking about that will tell me when I will graduate from being a teenager to an adult.

Buddie, 14th May has never disappointed me in life, it always come around for me once every year. There is never a year it doesn't come around because it is not 28th February which only comes around once in four years! It was on this day that I came into this world; You know without God, 14th May would not have been in existence and it wouldn't come around for me each passing year, that's the reason I say may all glory and hounour be to God in Jesus name Amen.

It is 14th May that will tell me when I should get married. By the grace of God, I will be alive to see this day come again in my life, the day is fast approaching like the seasons. This day is a day that makes much impact im my life, it is a day i will never forget.

Written in May 2002
@Elexharry

FROM THE ARCHIVES FOR THE PRESENT DAY

Nneoma Chuku ( @duchess153 )

Few weeks ago, I came across this write up in my archives. It was written on one of the frames we had at home growing up which I really can’t tell where it is at the moment. Anyway, I loved it so much as I child that I wrote it down in my book of poetry. Reading through the piece brought back such pleasant memories and nostalgia, that I thought to share it.

In a society, fast loosing so many values, either because they are not being taught or being ignored. This might serve as a reminder to us of values once cherished.

As a parent or older sibling, you might find this as interesting as I did. I hope u enjoy this piece.

LETTER FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO HIS SON’S TEACHER

He will have to learn, I know; that all men are not just, all men are not true, but

Teach him that for every scoundrel, there’s a hero; that for every politician, there’s a dedicated leader

Teach him that for every enemy, there’s a friend

Teach him that a dollar earned is of far more value than five dollars found

Teach him to learn to lose and also enjoy winning; steer him away from envy if you can

Teach him the secret of quiet laughter

Teach him to enjoy the quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, flowers on a green hillside

In school, teach him that it is far honourable to fail than to cheat.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him that they are wrong

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people, tough with tough people

Try to give him the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is getting on the band wagon

Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through

Teach him how to laugh when he is sad

Teach him that there is no shame in tears

Teach him to close his ears to howling mob; and to stand nd fight if he thinks he is right

Teach him gently but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel

Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patience to be brave

Teach him to always have faith in his creator and and faith in himself too because then he will always have faith in mankind

This is a big order, but please see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son

Abraham Lincoln

ARE YOU A ROMAN IN ROME?

Have you heard the name ‘Beltshazzar’ before? What do you know him for? Here’s a little about this man.

Ask me of a man firm and disciplined to the marrow, I will direct you to Belteshazzar. If you are really interested to know about someone who was faithful and impeccable, you sure need to know more about Daniel.

He was so disciplined that he thrashed the dictum “when you go to Rome, behave like Romans” by behaving like a Jew in faraway Babylon.

During his early years in Babylon, he purposed in his heart not to eat the appetizing-salivating meals served at the king’s palace; if some of us were in his shoes, what would we have done? Enjoy ourselves and yell out “God understands”?

He wasn’t egocentric; after interpreting the king’s dream, he requested his friends be elevated to a higher position in the province but he remained at the king’s gate. Think about that!

All through the provinces, he was known to love and adore His God to the extent that his fellow Governors that wanted to indict him sought out ways to nail him but could only say “We shall not find any charge against Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God” they knew the only “wrong” they could find in him must be his quintessential love for God.

In places we find ourselves, what are we known for? What kind of life do we live? What do we represent? If those Governors were to be with us, what fault will they find in us? Is it possible for us to be convicted for doing the right thing in the sight of God as was the case of Daniel?

He prayed to God three times every day as a custom and that was the only fault his fellow Governors could find against him in order to get him hooked.

When we start living our lives like Daniel, great things will come our ways. Some of the great things that took place in Daniel’s life due to his trust, faith and firmness in the word of God include:

- God sent His angels to guide and guard him throughout his stay in the Lion’s den : which means, even if we get into trouble by doing things God’s way, God will always take care of the situation His own way.
- The king made a decree that in every dominion of his kingdom, that men must worship, tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: when we live for God, He will use us to draw men to Himself.

You can read more about Daniel from the book of Daniel in the Holy Scriptures.

When we dare to be like Daniel by standing alone, having a firm purpose, and making our purpose and stands known to everyone without any compromise, God will do for us as He did for Daniel even more.

Remember, if you walk in God’s light,
Shun the wrong and do the right
God will always make a way for you
God loves you more than you can imagine.

Are you a Roman in Rome, Learn from Beltshazzar.

@Elexharry

My Service Year Experience (In Brief)

My name is Elekwa O. Elekwa. The “O” in my name stands for Ochie and Okechukwu. I hail from Bende Local Government Area of Abia State. I was born with my twin brother at General Hospital (now Abia State University Teaching Hospital) Aba, Abia State. My Nursery, Primary and Secondary Education were all in Aba Abia State; furthermore, I attended Abia State University, Uturu where I studied Architecture. This actually is not my autobiography; if need be, I still have many things to achieve before that. The little about me above is just to highlight that I have lived almost all my life in Abia State and the Eastern part of Nigeria. This article is a summary of some of the many things I observed and experienced during my service year.

NOT EVERY NORTHERNER IS HAUSA AND NOT EVERY NORTHERNER IS A TROUBLE MAKER!
For us, everyone from the North is an Hausa man or woman. I used to think that the Fulani are a group of Hausas that rear cattles not knowing that they are a tribe. Most of the people from Niger State are either Nupe or Gwari and other minor tribes, I once went to somewhere in this State (Maraba Guni) where I met people who neither speak nor understand Hausa but only Gbagi (Gwari people’s dialect). Even my friend Ogiri Joel from Nasarawa State who would be called an ‘Hausa man’ in the East will always tell me he is not Hause but Alago. I later researched, heard and read about more ethnic groups in the north that I never knew. They include; Kadara, Zuru, Koro, Baruba, Gana, Dibo, Kambari, Kamuka, Pangu, Dukkkawa, Gaada, Ingwal, Amo, and many others. Also, northerners are not trouble makers as we often think they are there will always be trouble makers everywhere in the world.

MOSQUES EVERY WHERE!
All through my life in Abia State, I saw only three (3) Mosques; one at Azikiwe by Asa road, another at Mosque Road (all in Aba) and the third one at Eket Road in Umuahia (Abia State Capital). But as I got to Minna, there were Mosques everywhere; very big ones as big as cathedrals, small ones and very small ones. In the street where I stay there are more than ten (10) Mosques, one is less than 15 metres from my window. I later figured out that the big mosques are used for Friday prayers and other special prayers while the small ones are used for everyday prayers. Apart from these block/built mosques, Moslems also pray anywhere with their mats if that place is not dirty. Mosques were also synonymous with plastic kettles and water.

I NEVER NEEDED AN ALARM CLOCK TO WAKE-UP BY 5!
During my stay in Minna, I discovered that Moslems pray 5 times daily (though from my research, there’s a sixth one by 7am-Shurooq, which is not obligatory). The prayer hours are 5am –Fajr, 12noon- Dhuhr, 4pm – Asr, 6pm –Maghrib then 7pm – Ishaa. If you can remember, I said earlier that there is a mosque less than 15m from my window; the mosque has a horn speaker, so the Fajr prayer served as my 5am alarm.

WHO’S IN CHARGE OF TAXI?
I noticed something about the Taxi drivers, 90% of these drivers are Yoruba. Did you notice that too?

VIGILS!
I actually thought vigils were only for Christians until the last ten days of the Ramadan fasting; that day, when the horn beside my window came on, I thought it was 5am only for my clock to say otherwise! I had to run to twitter to ask my twend @trueNija (he tweets Islamic stuffs on twitter) if the time for prayers have been changed from 5am to 1am, he then told me that Moslems have vigils everyday during the last days of the Ramadan fasting, those ten days were something else for me, I cannot forget them easily.

PURCHASING POWER!
The first time I heard of “purchasing power” during my service year was from The Chief Servant, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, CON. (Talban Minna) Executive Governor of Niger State. He used it during his interactive session with the Corps Members at the Orientation Camp; Corps Members were comparing the State Allowance in Niger State to other States, and the Chief Servant told us that the purchasing power in Niger State is not the same with those States. I later observed that too...

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH MINNA
Seventh-day Adventist Church Minna was my family during my service year. There I met wonderful, loving and lovely people. At the church, I met and made friends with so many people including my fellow Corps Members - Obiuto, Micah, Chinyere, Loveday, Ocheze, Otobong and David. The Church organized a ‘Corpers Day’ for us on the 13th of October 2012. I will really miss that family.

NCCF NIGER
I was not a part of NCCF during the Orientation Camp… after Passing Out from Orientation Camp, NCCF officers came and safe guarded our luggage and took them to the Family House. That was how I ended up with NCCF. I was a loner during the Orientation Camp; apart from my roommates, I made no new friends. But the NCCF Family House provided for me a ground to make more friends. I met wonderful people there – Mfon, Ayor, Mekus Moredays, Peter, Ogiri, Kaycee, Moses, Solomon, Alex, Mike, Bro. Moses (Mama), Abodunrin Dayo (Uncle) Godson, Ibrahim Ismaila (Papa), Oliver, Jackson, Justice, Ndubuisi, Paul, Sunny and so many other wonderful people. I also had a good time with the NCCF Choir and attended some Rural Rugged too.

MINISTRY OF WORKS CORPERS’ LODGE – KPAKUNGU
I was privileged to stay in the same lodge with wonderful people from all over Nigeria .We had good times; threw banters up and down, had political arguments as well as watched football games together; the arguments and shouting that follow were part of it too. We always stay awake after every UEFA Champions league game to analyze and argue. Of course, the Ronaldo/Messi argument comes up most of the times too. The Night after the Euro 2012 finals was the quietest night in the lodge because we supported different teams during the event, but that night, we supported Italy and Pirlo to win Spain. My lodge mates include Ogochukwu Aduba (Delta), Michael Amalu (Enugu) and Abiodun Animashaun (Lagos) Chelsea fans, Samson Egbefa (Delta) Man Utd., Ejireme Onos (Delta) Arsenal, Obinna Nwaroh (Enugu) Liverpool, Oghenero Ishieke (Delta) Real Madrid, Chinenye Nwegbo (Enugu) and Ikokpu Nsini Udo (Akwa Ibom) are not football fans. Another significant feature of this lodge was that out of the ten (10) Corps Members that resided there, four (4) were CDS Presidents : Ogochukwu – ICPC, Michael – Environmental, Ikokpu (Lala) – Red Cross and Elekwa – NYSC Band, Obinna and Chinenye were Treasurers in Sports CDS and NEMA . We were later joined in the lodge by another lovely set of Corps Members mostly from the Batch C – Henry, Ben, Nonso, Ify, Happy, Dabbie, Churchhill and others. I will miss all these wonderful people.

NYSC BAND AND MDGS
I attended MDGs lectures during the Orientation Camp and Graduated from the program. I have been involved with Parade Drums since 1999. But during the Orientation Camp, I did not join the Band because I was still acclimatizing to the weather. After the Orientation Camp, I joined the Band and went with them to various outings; one of which was the Inauguration of the SURE-P in Niger State by the Finance Minister Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. During my time in the band, I met wonderful among who are; Ifeanyi Oliver, Mike Uddin, Christy Kolo, Mfon, Jackson, Kayode, Otobong, Ijeoma, Lilian, Abigail, Innocent, Ngozi, Michaels, Nnaemeka, Wale, Ojukwu and so many other people there won’t be space to mention. I couldn’t join the MDGs CDS Group since I was already with the Band, but I still worked as a DKF for MDGs with Day Junior Secondary School Limawa where I met wonderful kids.

CONCLUSION
My phone’s contact can now boast of names from all over Nigeria! Thanks to NYSC. I also experienced how other tribes in Nigeria pronounce my name; most times, it can be lovely, funny and annoying too. I was once called Elekwuu O. Elekwuu.

My service year was filled with so many experiences that the space provided cannot enter them all. It was really a wonderful experience I will never forget and I will miss so many people. God will continue to bless my parents, siblings and friends who never relented in prayers and support all through this time. To God be the Glory for seeing us through this journey.

You can follow me on twitter @Elexharry

Elekwa O. Elekwa
08063344634
NG/12A/0612

My Service Year Experience

WHEN GOD IS WITH YOU - Gen. 39 in Mind

When the Lord is with you, great things follow you.

A great example of someone who had the Lord on his side was Joseph as could be read in Gen. 39

Joseph was sold as a punishment by his brothers, but was sold into the house of Potiphar an officer of Pharoh and he reigned there

He was so much in charge that Potiphar left everything into his hands that He knew nothing about his wealth but only his daily meal.

When God is on your side, don't think temptations won't come, don't think you're immune to temptations...

But know that those temptations will always come to test your relationship with God and when you triumph, more blessings are on the way + more temptations + more blessings etc

Joseph was tempted by his Master's wife. When she was trying to lure him, he made a statement;

"There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9).

Joseph took an upper hand when his temptation came, he flee from Potiphar's wife because that was the only option - Lesson: Certain temptations require we run away from them rather than staying to solve them, meaning running away from certain temptations is the solution.

Yet that was not the end, triumphing brings other challenges. He was accused by the Madam of trying to mock her (rape her).

After all, he found himself in the prison!
But since the Lord was with him, no shaking!

"But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." (Genesis 39:21).
He became a leader, an over all leader in the prison of the King's servants.

"The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper." (Genesis 39:23).

When we fear the Lord same way Joseph did as well as doing the right things in all situations, the Lord that lead Joseph will lead us.

@Elexharry