Dispatches

by Fr. Peter Abue

January 2007

Hello Friends of CORAfrica, New Year greetings from Ogoja Nigeria!

I am writing to update you on CORAfrica initiatives as seen from Nigeria. I arrived home safely after a successful meeting on November 30th at SUNY Cortland, where we sought to strengthen partnerships with the State University of New York International Programs. Derek and I came out of that meeting with an intense sense of fulfillment, assuring ourselves that things will move in the right direction for CORAfrica. On behalf of CORAfrica, I wish to sincerely thank all who attended and contributed to our discussion.

Though I had limited time to visit with most people and share our initiative with all, hopefully we can keep the conversation going online. I hope you will continue to visit our website for more updates on our projects. I am particularly grateful to the small community in Groton, NY that makes it a routine to host me whenever I visit. My special thanks goes to Carolann Darling and her family for putting up such a wonderful reception at very short notice and to the youths of St. Anthony Church for thinking of fundraising ideas for CORAfrica. I hope you will continue to remain friends with us and remember the children of rural Africa in your endeavors.

At the SUNY Cobleskill meeting held on Monday 11th, December 2006, a key area was touched upon which we have to address in our efforts to build sustainability for our rural children in Africa. There is a lack of connectedness between Universities and communities in the past, especially in Nigeria. CORAfrica is hoping to create a connection between research results and their practical application as a way of filling this vacuum. It is in this regard that CORAfrica has identified the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) as a good counterpart in this collaborative effort. We are hoping that this will provide an opportunity to demonstrate how we might make a connection between the University and the community, linking research to practical application especially in agriculture in Nigeria.

As a way forward, I have started to address our most relevant needs in Nigeria:

• Setting up local committees to formulate local responses to our key program areas in educational curriculum, health, agriculture, micro-credit, service learning, and the general student exchange program.
• Seeking out an affiliation with the Cross River State University of Technology as a follow up to the SUNY Cobleskill meeting.
• I have also opened up communications with USAID in Nigeria to assist CORAfrica with an American with experience in Nigeria to serve as project director.

Once again, let me have the pleasure and honor of thanking you for your wonderful support of this initiative and permit me to add that your efforts mean a whole lot to our rural children as we are all on course to make a difference through an education that will shape Africa’s future. I am especially grateful to those of you who have made such generous donations to support this important work.

May God bless you all.

Sincerely,

Fr. Peter Obele Abue