Gbagyis live in rural and peri-urban communities with little or no basic utilities, amenities and facilities. Their resettlement are often demolished to further expand the Federal Capital Territory. As they move further from the city center, they also move away from power, portable water, good roads, quality health and education.The project raises awareness of the trauma the Gbagyis have been through for the development of Nigeria’s capital city: shows the gaps between the ‘newcomers’ and the original land owners and documents the rich Gbagyi heritage for posterity.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
The men, women and children who had to give up their ancestral farmlands and homes for Abuja ‘mega city’ to be built are, therefore, a part of this project from inception and have contributed to the proposal development by making major inputs and providing information regarding their past and current situation. The Gbagyis are not sufficiently represented online mainly due to lack of access to computers ICT and the internet. An online presence would provide a platform for projecting Gbagyis’ land issues creating awareness among Gbagyis at home and in diaspora, sensitizing relevant authorities to take necessary action and will expose Gbagyi youths to the use of mobile phones to connect the internet and be involved in the online interactions.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
BFI has been working with the Gbagyis for about a year now, on initiatives that can promote their well being. When BFI saw the opportunity of the Rising Voices project, we initiated discussions with key traditional, women and youth leaders and members of the indigenous Gbagyi population in Abuja.The project team will include John Dogo (Lawyer and activist), Paul Samuel (Youth Leader), Madam Rose (Gbagyi Women leader of Kobi Community) and Youths and Women's Associations of Gbagyi communities in the FCT. The project will also include community leaders and elected representatives of the Gbagyi people at the local and other government levels.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
Stories that create engagement, build communities and ultimately help nurture a long term relationship between indigenous land owners in Abuja and the government at all levels. It will focus on the origin of the Gbagyi people, their original habitats and how often they have been moved or displaced. Pictures will show Gbagyi communities and the level of access to basic necessities such as water, health facilities (building, equipment and staffing), educational institutions (nursery, primary and tertiary), road access during the different seasons, key information interviews, focus group discussions and the impact of development in Abuja on skills development and employment opportunities for the original inhabitants of the city.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
A flourishing relationship has already been established between the Better Future Initiative and the rural Gbagyi communities in Abuja. We will use this project to develop a good working relationship with local government and private media practitioners who will further spotlight issues raised through the project. We have also built a good rapport with indigenous women groups, youth associations, traditional leaders and elected representative of the local government at the ward level.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
The project proposes to select a total number of 20 (gender balanced) leaders from 5 Gbagyi communities for training in the use of internet and social media for projecting issues that affect their communities. In addition the project will train 20 selected leaders on Advocacy and Negotiation Skills. The training aims to equip communities to engage in activities that preserve Gbagyi heritage and development. BFI will provide mentorship and coaching throughout the duration of the project and beyond. 20 youths will also be given ICT skills training (use of internet, social networking, maximizing the use of smart phones, etc)
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
The training will expose the participants to computer, internet, social media skills and skills for maximizing the use of electronic devices such as mobile phones and smart phones. BFI has technical team associates and volunteers with several years of expertise and skills in training and facilitation skills as well as young volunteers who are well skilled in the use and maximization of social networking and ICT skills.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
The training will be held in a conference room that has the capacity to sit 20 participants at a time. Two training events will be held – one for the leaders and another for the youths. The facility is centrally located within Abuja city and easily accessible. It has provision for use of internet, flip chart and project. However, we will need to hire computers for the purpose of the training to enable each youth trainee to have hands on experience on the computer and internet.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
Better Future Initiative has a good relationship with the community. Of recent, we have been holding a series of health sensitization and awareness creation activity in some of the communities and similar activities are being planned for other indigenous rural communities around Abuja. As a result of our presence in the community and relation built over the last one and half years, the people and their leaders have come to know the Better Future Initiative has genuine interest in their capacity building and development of their rural communities. We have gained community trust and acceptance and encouraged participatory development approach which positions us well to implement this project.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
For many youths and leaders, their level of contact/lack of contact with the internet and lack of computer exposure/skills will present an initial challenge which BFI will address through one on one discussions, assessments and orientations before the group training. Initial resistance may arise due to fear of government backslash and local politicians may hesitate to participate for fear of political intimidation. This will be addressed by meeting with key stakeholder to enlighten them and work with well known community members and leaders to gain confidence. Also by adopting a participatory approach and project transparency, this initial resistance will be addressed.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
The project will have an element of pre- and post- project implementation assessment. Adequate and relevant tools will be developed for these tests and the analysis will be used to evaluate the impact of the project on the primary participants and the wider community. We will monitor the responses from the people, who have been sidelined and see the effect in having a channel to share their heritage and the opportunity to tell their story. We will also set up indicators that measure the reaction of the general public as well as government responses and reaction, tracking all actions taken during and after the project implementation.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
Timeframe Task/Activities
June Project team meetings and consultation
July Consultative meetings with all key stakeholders for buy-in
August Selection of principal participants, villages/settlements/communities involved
August Developing of all project content, tools and materials
October Training and documentation (FGDs, KIIs, digital photographs)
November Website development and hosting and facebook page opened
December Analysis and report of findings
On-going mentoring and coaching
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Description Unit cost Frequency/No Total (Naira) Total (USD) 1usd = apprx N160
Consultative meetings (visits and selection of project communities) 5000 5 days 25,000 156.25
Consultative meetings (Identification and selection of participating leaders and youths) 5000 5 days 25,000 156.25
Training for 20 leaders and 20youths 50,000 2days 100,000 625
Hiring of conference room 20,000 2days 40,000 250
hiring of computers 10,000 5 computers 50,000 312.5
Internet access 15,000 2days 15,000 93.75
Production of digital photographs 5,000 5days 25,000 156.25
Development and hosting of Gbagyi website and facebook page (for 1year) 35,000 1website 35,000 218.75
Consultation for Tools development 15,000 2persons 15,000 93.75
Training materials (40 notepads, pens, etc) 500 40people 20,000 125
Report preparation/writing 20,000 2persons 20,000 125
Sub total 370,000 2312.5
10% Project administration and logistics 37,000 231.25
Grand total 407,000 2543.75
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Networking opportunities with other Rising Voices partners, Equipment such as computers, digital cameras and voice recorders that will facilitate the work of BFI in communities across Nigeria
Contact name
Aniefiok Anne Udoh
Organization
Better Future Initiative
