Sunday, February 28, 2016

From PCM to NTDs…



Hello Dear Readers,

It’s already a very sunny morning here in Lagos, Nigeria. I should mention that it has been unbearably hot so for a while now and in fact, I saw an amusing post on a friend’s Facebook wall recently which read: 
  
Dear Sun,

You are still the hottest on the planet. No one is competing with you.

Concerned Nigerians

Yeah, it’s been that hot and I really look forward to the rainy season.

So, I just completed my course on “Project Cycle Management” (PCM) and I enjoyed every bit of it. Most importantly, I learned so much that I can now utilize for all of my work and projects. I learned both theoretically and practically, which I think is a great and effective way to transfer knowledge on this course. I got a proper introduction into the “business” of development aid especially the relationship between donor countries, partner countries and international development organization. I learned the essence of evaluating of aid effectiveness, the importance of effective partnerships between donor and partner countries, project ownerships and capacity development for sustainable development. 

For the core practical aspect, I learned first-hand the applicability of log frames and budgeting including a basic foundation in monitoring and evaluation. The group assignment was a great tool for learning these things as my group and I worked across locations to complete an actual proposal for a 3-year Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. Needless to say, I had a wonderful team to work with and we all learned from each other in a lot of ways. We communicated majorly through Skype and despite the enormous differences in time, distance and our busy schedules; we completed the assignment in good time. Overall, I believe we all did a great job with our contributions and team work.

I just started another course on Neglected Tropical diseases (NTDs). I selected this course as one of my electives because of its core relevance to my country, Nigeria. As a developing country with embattling issues such as relatively high level of poverty and health inequalities, these set of diseases are encountered regularly. So, you can understand my choice and enthusiasm to learn on the course.

Now, in other news...... I have some great and exciting NEWS that I will be announcing shortly….