Why do we honor our fallen?

On Monday, May 28 Americans will gather together in parks and around BBQ’s, walk in parades, and sit in town squares or around bandstands (yes there are still towns that have these) to hear a local band play John Philip Sousa marches.  All this is done to celebrate and honor those soldiers who lost their lives protecting ours.  This isn’t a new tradition, but one that goes almost as far back as the birth of our country or our devotion to our beloved flag.

Prevention is Better than Cure

This posting's title is a popular adage in Nigeria mainly used in relation to health issues.  It serves to show the importance of taking measures to prevent illness rather than go through the trouble of treatment.  A very good example of this is getting vaccinated to prevent infection by certain diseases.  Today many diseases that hitherto resulted in death or disability have been brought under control as a result of immunization.  Diseases like smallpox, whooping cough, measles and polio.
First documented vaccines began when a British doctor Edward Jenner noticed milkmaids who had cowpox never contracted small pox.  He then carried out an experiment in 1796 in which puss from a cowpox blister was inserted into an eight year old boy and proved that having been inoculated with cowpox the boy was immune to smallpox.  From this beginning vaccines have been developed to protect against many fatal or serious diseases.  Better yet, smallpox has been eradicated thanks to the pioneering work of Edward Jenner.
Today immunization starts at birth and most are usually completed by the time the child is two years old.  Why start so early?  Why not wait until the child is grown?  This is what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has to say.

Art for the Earth

The U.S. Embassy Abuja held an art exhibition to celebrate this year’s Earth Day.  The four day event held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel featured 30 pieces produced by ten up and coming Nigerian artists.

The artwork was unusual because most of them were produced using recycled materials like bottle tops,  straws, beads, broken CDs, feathers,  pieces of cloth, empty juice cans, and wood-logs.  This was done to demonstrate the 3Rs strategy in preserving the environment.  The 3Rs stand for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.   Essentially what the artists have done is to reduce waste by reusing the items mentioned and recycling them as useful things.  This is a simple enough strategy that everyone can apply to help preserve our environment.

Of Education fairs

One annual event of the Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy I find quite interesting is the College and Career fair.  Organized by the Education Advising Center of PAS, they are usually held simultaneously in Abuja and Lagos and attract many young people, their parents and guardians.  One noticeable thing about the program is it reveals the high premium Nigerians attach to good quality education.  For most parents, it doesn’t matter how far or what the sacrifices may be.  Meanwhile, American colleges remain the preferred destination for international students and it’s not surprising.  Among the most reliable university and college ranking organizations, American universities consistently top the best 100 list and dominate the top ten.

Celebrating Women Every March

Every March the U.S. commemorates Women’s History Month. Globally, March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day.   The commemoration in the U.S. started in 1981 when Congress passed a resolution which asked the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7 as Women’s History Week.”  Following a petition by the National Women’s History Project in 1987 Congress designated the month of March that year as Women’s History Month.  Several resolutions later it has come to stay.

The month provides an opportunity to focus on women's issues, their achievements and challenges and is normally celebrated worldwide by U.S. Embassies and consulates.   In honor of this year's celebrations the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama and Ambassador-at-large for Global Women‘s Issues Melanne Verveer hosted the International Women of Courage Awards, honoring remarkable women from around the world.  Those honored are advocates of women's issues and many have done so at great personal risk.  For example Honorable Maryam Durani, a member of the Kandahar Provincial Council in Afghanistan who has spoken out for the rights of Afghan women and girls in a province considered the most conservative and dangerous in Afghanistan.  She has survived multiple attacks on her life including a suicide attack that resulted in serious injury.