Abegbu, phase one.

On Saturday, we walked along the road to reach Abegbu. People in Anam speak about it like it is a ghost town that was abandoned when the market town of Otoucha grew and inhabitants left to live in a more urban environment. After visiting the intimate and organized Iyora community last week, I wasn't really sure what to expect.

We walked for maybe 30 minutes on the road, which is beginning to fill with water in the parts that have already worn away. Along the walk, we were passed by approximately seven Okadas (motorbikes). It was almost comical to see people stop their bike with multiple passengers on it before a small pond in the road and try to figure out how to drive along the 2-3 inches of hardened earth. I think walking was easier.

Once we arrived in Abegbu, we were welcomed into the Elder most man's home. His two story home was immaculately swept and organized with large photos of individual family members framed and hung neatly around the top of each wall. After welcoming us to Abegbu, he offered his support for the project and the planning of the new city in Anam. Then he told us the story of people in the area as far back as he could remember, which was his age: 97 - almost 98. I would like to repeat: he is 97, almost 98! He lives alone, has most of his teeth, stood to shake each of our hands, and remembered the story of his down since his childhood.

It is refreshing to be in a community that so deeply reveres the wisdom and experience of the elders.

After leaving his home, we toured the sprawling town. This was quite the opposite of a ghost town, but there was a large generational gap present. This is becoming a theme in the rural Anam communities. There are abundant children under 12. I counted 70 at one point when we were standing together. Their mothers and grandmothers can also be found, usually cooking in the kitchen or tending to the farm. And there are elders. But where are the Youth? Where are the able bodied 13-40 year olds? Answer: They have gone somewhere to search for better economic opportunities. So how can we design a city that will constantly have an abundance of employment and opportunity for growth? Let me know if you have any answers. I think there are some great ideas in the works here. Another time, I will discuss these projects and goals.

Anyhow, after we left we were invited into the pastor's compound to speak with his father, where he provided the universal sign of welcome: warm Coke in glass bottles. He used to work as a general contractor and he answered many of questions about the cost and process of building in Anam and even some of his impressions about health care. From there, we left and measured a number of houses. At one point while the architects were measuring a house and store front, we met with the women to discuss health care. They offered many helpful taking points and contacts. Here are some of my notes from the conversation:

There is a chemist shop in town that people go to. And a hospital that people can go to buy drugs or for antenatal visits. Currently there are no home visits, but this would be welcomed. Other services that people have to go use are in Miata and Otochua or Onitisha. There is a Sister that comes around. Sister Mary Paulette. The doctor who works at the hospital comes every Tuesday. Or you can call for an emergency. He comes from Onishita and can come in 2-3 hours. There are nurses. The facilities lack manpower. Yesterday a woman almost died in childbirth because the nurse was busy helping another woman. No one reported hearing of an Anam woman who lost a baby in childbirth. The young pregnant woman says that the gods have been kind to them. The older woman has rheumatism and she wants help. She wants services. She suggested free services for support - medical counseling and psychological services. She would like these to be provided by a trained medical professional ideally. It would be okay if these were by semi-trained people in the community. Just to provide psychological support for people.

My head was swirling with further questions and ideas that I look forward to asking in future visits. Their requests are reasonable, and unfortunately not unique. Now the task is to identify how to provide these services in a way that can be supported in the new city. The highlight of the trip for me was the amount of information I learned about available health care and desired services that people wanted to receive. On the walk home, we stopped at the abandoned government hospital that was built in 1988. This topic deserves its own post, however, and I promise to finish it soon because it highlighted the importance of my work here along with the added challenges that are specific to Nigeria.

We left Abegbu with more of a feeling of what happens in a sprawling Anam town. There were probably one to two thousand people living there, and yet the number of abandoned foundations or walls that had become gardens or just overgrown with the power of nature here. It was a strange mix; not quite a ghost town, but not quite organized or planned either.