Published September 10, 2007 @ 11:34AM PT

Dr. George Crosby's Visit to Nigeria July 31 – August 4, 2007 Courtesy of State University of New York, Cobleskill in partnership with Children of Rural Africa by George Crosby, Ph.D.Tuesday   July 31, 2007 My trip to Nigeria was at the invitation of Children of Rural Africa (CORAfrica) and the State University of New York (SUNY), Cobleskill campus. I was asked to represent the SUNY system as an agriculturist and to explore ways in which SUNY might partner with Nigerian universities, ultimately with the goal of assisting Children of Rural Africa. I departed Entebbe International Airport after two weeks in Uganda and traveled to Abuja, Nigeria via Nairobe, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria.  I arrived at Abuja International Airport at 9:15 p.m. and was greeted by Fr. Dr. P... Read More

Published September 10, 2007 @ 11:27AM PT

Dear Friends of CORAfrica, Greetings from Nigeria!This month I bring you a report that signals hope for the children of rural Africa by way of scholarly research benefitting rural people at the grassroots level. CORAfrica’s intensive effort to encourage partnerships between universities has led to the recent visit of one of America’s renowned scholars to Nigeria. Dr. George Crosby, Professor of Plant Science at the State University of New York (SUNY), Cobleskill campus was CORAfrica’s guest this August 2007 (Read Dr. Crosby’s trip report). He represented the SUNY system to explore ways in which SUNY might partner with Nigerian universities, ultimately with the goal of assisting children of rural Africa. On his arrival early in August, Dr. Crosby was warmly welco... Read More

Published August 19, 2007 @ 08:17AM PT

Dear Friends of CORAfrica, Greetings from Nigeria! We just concluded an intensive training on micro-finance initiatives and sustainable development in the Ipong-Obudu community, which lasted for four days. The workshop was intended to intensify in villagers a sense of solid economic security and business ownership. It was a joint venture of CORAfrica and the Sophia Foundation for health, education and development – a local NGO in Cross River State. Five facilitators were drawn from the two organizations and included myself and four others: Vincent Osang, Nurudeen Dan Galadima, Victor Offum and Samuel Osang. This team offered joint inputs using a toolkit we prepared to suit the local setting.  Based on my discussion with Derek and Emily when last I visited in June, th... Read More

Published August 19, 2007 @ 08:15AM PT

Dear Friends of CORAfrica, Greetings from Nigeria! The last few weeks of May were preoccupied with thoughts of my USA trip. Having been back, I feel it is appropriate to give an update on some of the major highlights of that trip that took me through the towns of Ithaca, Dryden and Groton in NY and also Butker, PA. On my arrival in the Ithaca, NY area on Monday, June 4th, a dinner was arranged to welcome me and enable an interaction with a host of CORAfrica friends. The dinner was held at the Dryden, NY home of the Shickels and was hosted by Marion Schickel. About 25 friends of CORAfrica attended and after exchanging pleasantries, we settled on updating on the work of CORAfrica. In my update, I informed those present of my efforts to negotiate land for the proposed community e... Read More

Published May 31, 2007 @ 09:02AM PT

Dear Friends of CORAfrica, Greetings from Nigeria! In my last dispatch, I raised two fundamental issues. One was the need for us to revisit the question of a Community Education Center (CEC) in the Ipong-Obudu area and the other was the issue of clean water supply for the community. In my judgment, these two issues are still burning and I would like to share with you, friends of CORAfrica, my ideas about a way forward in this regard. Based on the enthusiasm of our youth and children, as I visit and associate with them on a daily basis, there is an urgent need for us to start our own project that is basically anchored on community ownership. Though the Ipong community has established a few schools and a community clinic located within the area, I have increasingly found a severe... Read More