Big Switch, Big Plans

I just switched over to the new Google-owned version of Blogger, so there are a couple elements that have changed here. For instance, my comments and trackbacks from Haloscan are gone from all the old posts. Hopefully I'll figure out how to recover those. I'd hate to lose all those comments from prior posts. Plus, I'm missing some pictures (but reload I'll them soon.)

Other than that, the big news here is... I'm going to start writing again. O.K., that's not exactly big news, but the reason is. I am going start a foundation to raise money for the school in my father's village and schools in the surrounding area of Aboh-Orlu. Education is very important to my family, and in trying to determine what difference I can make in the world, that is the direction I'd like to go.

My grandfather founded the school over 40 years ago, but some time in the last decade, the government took over running it. I remember hearing that the government would be open to having my family run the school again. (It is named after my grandfather, after all.)

We will find out what we will need to upgrade the school as far as infrustructure and educational materials. I would like to find a way to improve the building itself and to build a gymnasium also. In the time since I left Nigeria (my first trip there,) my Uncle Boniface passed away (late in 2004), as did one of my younger brothers, Gerald (this past Christmas day.) I some way, I'd like to dedicate the improvements to the school to them.

It would be a wonderful memorial to them and their legacy of education. My uncle Boniface, with my father, ran the school for years. And my brother Gerald took education very seriously and became a practicing attorney. Perhaps we'd even name the gym after him, as in his younger days was one of the best basketball players in the region. I am saddened that I never got to play basketball with him. That is something I would have liked to have done on my next trip to Nigeria. Instead, I will just have to honor him.

My next move- learn how to start a non-profit organization and solicit funds for a school in Africa. That shouldn't be too hard....

We'll see how this goes.

Fascinating Things

I have made a couple of very interesting contacts lately that may be able to help me get my "thing" going. I'm quite intrigued about the possibilities of helping re-establish the educational ties my family has around the village of Aboh-Orlu. I will do this in honor of both my uncle and my brother, who have both passed away since my journey began.

Also, starting today, you'll need to register to comment. It's not a big deal. I won't deny anybody. It's just that I have changed over to the new version of blogger which is a comment spam magnet. I'll be writing more frequently too. A post every several months isn't enough. There will be a lot of new stuff coming up as I proceed with some of my big plans.