June was super fun and engaging!  A Quiz session preceded our mid-year appraisal, after which we had another Quiz session. Our volunteers, both old and new, were engaged and winners were rewarded for providing correct answers. General Criteria:Winner: Fastest finger, first correct/appropriate answer.Quiz timeout: variesEligibility: variesTake home: varies (data/recharge card) 1st Round 1. Mention 5 Volunteers name and Surname outside of your Department; state their Departments.Take home: 1GB dataQuiz timeout: 4 minutesEligibility: Volunteers only, administrative members excluded 2. What are the names of the keynote speakers at RNI’s Inauguration Ceremony.Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 3. What is the full name (name & surname) of your Departmental leader?Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: New volunteers who joined in 2020 4. What was the theme and the facilitator’s name of RNI’s first Volunteers’ Connect.Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 5. Why is Agriculture a solution to postCovid poor economy as well as a means for rural development?Take home: 1GB dataQuiz timeout: 4 minutesEligibility: Only those present at May 2020 Volunteers’ Connect 6. Recall and share a vital lesson from any of the Volunteers’ Connect.Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 3 minutesEligibility: Everyone 7. State RNI’s Vision and Mission.Take home: #300 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 8. Mention 3 other Volunteers (surname not necessary) in your DepartmentTake home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: New volunteers who joined in 2020 9. “for you to be effective at RNI, you must find a point of interception between your personal vision and RNI’s Vision”This statement was made by who? Which of the Volunteers’ Connects?Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 10. Mention the 5 SDGs focus areas thaat are in tandem in RNI’s thematic area.Take home: 1GB dataQuiz timeout: 4 minutesEligibility: Everyone Round 2 1. What was the focus and date of RNI’s first inauguration ceremony?Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 2. What is the name of the Primary school and location (State) where RNI had her education outreach?Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 3. What month and year was RNI’s website revamped?Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 4. State both RNI’s founding date and officially inauguration date?Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 2 minutesEligibility: Everyone 5. Briefly explain the bottom up approach towards Community Development.Take home: #200 recharge cardQuiz timeout: 4 minutesEligibility: Only those present at May 2020 Volunteers’ Connect

May edition of Volunteers’ Connect, themed COVID-19 LOCKDOWN: Possible Implications for Rural Communities, hosted Happiness Agboola, RNI’s Programme Manager as facilitator. The webinar commenced with a welcome address by the Executive Director, Damilola Iyiola, after which the facilitator had the floor. Mr. Happiness took the floor by asking the audience a few thought provoking questions: Are urban settlements ready for a technology driven education system let alone rural communities? This is what the post-COVID era demands but with the exorbitant price of data and the eclectic power supply in Nigeria, is this feasible? Does investing in a technology-based education system equate more debt for Nigeria’s future generation and what are the chances of the rural communities being carried along with the proposed development? He further mentioned that palliatives only became a popular topic of public knowledge earlier in 2020 in the wake of the gruelling effect of COVID 19. However, it is listed on the United Nation’s website that the sum of five thousand naira is being given to the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria for the 4th year running. Mr Happiness went further to explain that Nigeria had already been established the poverty capital of the world and that COVID-19 further milked the situation as Nigerian Economy is worst hit. It has been predicted that at best Nigeria will experience a minimum of two years of naira devaluation. He expatiated that the reason we have found ourselves in this mess is tied to the fact that for a long, Nigeria has banked on crude oil to pillar its economy. Unfortunately, with the various lockdown and curfew orders instituted to contain the spread of COVD-19, movement powered by crude oil such as air and train travel have been put on hold. Another notable point was that of Crypto currency being suggested as a replacement for hard currency, to reduce the likelihood of the spread of the novel virus via physical contact. But how informed are rural communities on these developments? Evidently, he pointed out: “Nigeria is not prepared for a post-COVID era”. On the flip side, COVID-19 continues to force development on all fronts. Working remotely is the order of the day with company’s constantly employing adaptive innovations. Amazon for example is working toward a drone delivery system. Some recommendations from his session are as follows: Institutional development is one of many ways to brace up for a post-covid era. Change can begin with institutions like Rural Nurture Initiative expanding their sphere of influence and conducting more outreaches in rural communities with Local Development. National Development can also be achieved through government policies and social justice. One can advocate for social justice by campaigning for those who are vulnerable and further influence lawmakers. Conducting research on burning issues and making them available online for global consumption is a way in which International Development can be accomplished. International journalism is often considered more valid as the national press can easily report stories in a manner that favours the incumbent government rendering it less reliable. The focus ideally should steered toward Agricultural development. This may be the only viable solution to Nigeria’s economic downturn. However, if the government realizes the true source of the country’s economy lies with the rural communities, will they be neglected? There is no need racing toward development if the rural communities remain undeveloped. There is a need to peddle down on international influence and comparison as the gap between the rich and the poor will no doubt be strengthened if we keep racing to meet up with the Western World. Attention should first be paid to bringing rural communities up to par. There is a call for Community Engagement. Members of a community should be capable of identifying problems remotely and then looking with themselves for a viable solution. For example; a community rich in land expanse can resort to agriculture in driving it’s economy; a community rich in historical sites and  artifacts can generate revenue from tourism. This makes for an Asset Based Community and ensures government at all tiers of government are held accountable.

We consider this lockdown period a great time to build the skill set of our Volunteers, so we decided to explore Graphics Design at the April Edition of Volunteers’ Connect. This was also premised on the fact that Graphics Design remains a lucrative venture even during this global pandemic. Odewale Ayomide, an I.T professional and the Director of Fovero Digital Technologies, facilitated the April Edition of Volunteers Connect themed, SKILL UP: A Graphics Design Training Session. He basically touched on the basics and principles/elements of Graphics design and provided easy guides for starters with mobile softwares like Canva, Desygner, etc. After the session a good number of our team members tried out some designs as seen in the pictures below. It’s a seed sown and a step in the right direction and there’s no limit to how much everyone can acheive over time. We also hope to explore PC softwares at a physical training session.

While delivering the lecture titled “Becoming Relevant in the World of Social Development Advocacy” at the February edition of Volunteers’ Connect, Dr. Olufolake Adelakun, an astute lecturer and a rural development specialist in the Department of Agricultural extension and Rural Development, University of Ibadan, identified ways through which social development advocacy groups and individuals can become relevant and make sustainable impacts in their various advocacy efforts. According to her, every individual who seeks to become relevant must find a purpose in whatever they do, at every point in time; adding that a purposeless effort will amount to zero impact in the long run. Dr Adelakun stated the need to ensure continuous self-evaluation, engage in self-audit, pay careful attention to feedback from others and make adjustments where necessary. She also emphasised that self discipline, making conscious choice, loyalty and consistency, are necessary in the tool box of any social advocate in order to make meaningful impact in the current world. In her own speech, the Executive Director of RNI, Miss Damilola Iyiola, enjoined youths to always endeavor to join online campaigns pertaining to global issues that are of interest to them, while adding that they should also be actively involved in implementing local campaigns.

The January Edition of RNI’s Volunteers’ Connect, being the first for the year, was a preparatory event for the enormous task ahead. It’s a fresh year with numerous potentials, thus, the Volunteers’ Connect tagged “IMPACT 2020”, achieved its aim of helping our team revisit our shared vision at RNI, refuel our passion and reinforce our action towards an IMPACTFUL year. We had a conversation around Vision and Impact, which was facilitated by the Founder/Executive Director of Rural Nurture Initiative, Damilola Iyiola. It was a very interactive session as we discussed the concept of vision, the importance of having a vision and the barriers to achieving one’s vision. “To serve at our best, there must be a point of interception between our individual vision and RNI’s vision” – Damilola Iyiola “Vision is to impact, what air is to man” – David Oyedepo Beyond wearing the ‘volunteer’ tag, we would say that our Volunteers are visionaires with a sense of purpose. Together, we are ready for an IMPACTFUL 2020! Previous Next