2ND DAY AT THE EMADADJA COMMUNITY FOR THE RURAL CHILD MUST READ PROGRAM (RCMR).

A team of the Onuesoke Foundation was today at the Emadadja community of Delta state with her well equipped mobile Library for the RCMR program.

The event which took place within the Emadadja Primary School compound started early this morning with so many kids itchy to get their hands on our avalanche of interesting and educative books. The children who treated themselves to books of their choice had over two hours of silent and guided reading before we went into the book review segment where two books were selected and read to the children by choice readers after which a personnel of the foundation summarized the book.

This program has revealed to us the defects in the learning of the rural child as some of them even as primary 4,5 and 6 pupils could not read at all and many others had epileptic and disjointed reading skills.
It is our expectation that at the completion of this program, we would have been able to impart in this children, proper reading skills. Be this as it may, we are still faced with the challenge of finance, and the shortage of personnel.

At the end of the event, virtually every child got a gift or the other. While the star readers went home with maths sets, story books and notebooks, others got pens and exercise books.
To keep this children attentive for this period, we introduced the recess time for recreation and light refreshment; therefore we call on the persons out there to support this great dream and help in safe guarding our future.

In all it was a successful outing and we look forward to have it better come next weekend.
Onuesoke Foundation, beaming the light for rural enlightenment.
Support this foundation as we strive to make our futures what it ought to be.

ONUESOKE FOUNDATION, RESTORING NATURE, SAVING HUMANITY.

ONUESOKE FOUNDATION MOBILE LIBRARY WEEKEND READING WITH THE CHILDREN OF EMADADJA-UDU

It was yet another great experience as the children of Emadadja community troop out in mass to partake of the weekend reading exercise sponsored by Onuesoke Foundation Mobile Library on Saturday, May, 2015.

The children had a nice time reading to extent that some of them read more than one book during the course of the exercise. Some of them that can't read well promised to put in more efforts in their academics to be better readers.

 They children were advised to be versatile in their reading behavior, to read anything they see in their homes, streets, churches etc in order to have good reading skills. They were reminded that a good reader is a good leader.

 THE BENEFITS OF THE MOBILE LIBRARY TO RURAL CHILDREN

The impact of the mobile library to children in the rural communities cannot be under-emphasized. It is an educative initiative that will help to change the lives of vulnerable children in rural communities.
                         

The mobile library is a literacy on wheels initiative that helps to bring reading materials at the “beck and call” of rural children. It brings reading materials right at doormats of rural children making it easy for them to access and use these educating materials to the fullest.

Most schools in the rural communities are void of libraries; this invariably hinders the reading capacity of children found in such areas. The mobile library has come as a messiah to help the children of the rural communities enjoy the benefits of a library like their counterparts in the more developed areas.

The mobile provides an ample opportunity for the rural children to improve their reading culture and ability. This will in turn boost the vocabulary banks of these children, equipping them proficiently in the academic world.

They say an “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop”. The mobile library consists of an initiative that allows children to borrow books and read in their homes. This keeps them children gainfully engaged during their idle periods, keeping them away from troubles.

The mobile library is equipped with both local and foreign books that expose the rural children to the intricacies of the culture and customs of the wider world.

It is a movable library that moves from place to place. It has the ability of covering a wide range of areas within a short period of time, at the same time achieving its goal and objective.

This is to mention but a few of the benefits of the mobile library to rural children. This is an initiative that has come to transform the educational and social lives of the less privileged children in rural communities!

ONUESOKE FOUNDATION MOBILE LIBRARY SERVICE FOR CHILDREN IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. 

Open hours. 10am: 3pm saturdays.
venue for this week. Emadadja community for Emadadja and Ekrota communities. visit us during these hours at Emadaja primary school Emadadja.
come in, Pick a book and read.

HOW CAN A CHANGE OF ONE OR TWO DEGREES IN GLOBAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR LIVES?

Changing the average global temperature by even a degree or two can lead to serious consequences around the globe. For about every 2°F of warming, we can expect to see,

# 5—15% reductions in the yields of crops that are currently grown
# 3—10% increases in the amount of rain falling during the heaviest precipitation events, which can increase flooding risks
# 5—10% decreases in stream flow in some river basins
# 200%—400% increases in the area burned by wildfire in some parts of the world 

Global average temperatures have increased by more than 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. Many of the extreme precipitation and heat events that we have seen in recent years are consistent with what we would expect given this amount of warming. Scientists project that Earth's average temperatures will rise between 2 and 12 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.

WE WANT YOU TO KNOW US

Our activities are spread in to four broad categories namely:
THE CORE PROGRAMES OF THE FOUNDATION IS STREAMED IN TO FOUR BROAD SPECTRA:
1. DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH AND STUDIES
• Perception survey
• Needs assessment
• Local economic development plans
• Social impact assessment

2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
• Participatory partnership for community development
• Interventions
• Promotion of cooperate social responsibility(CRS)

3. EDUCATION ……Partnership with the ministry of education
• Rural schools development program to improve learning and teaching standards as part of community development programs.
• (A special arm of our programs as a result of the challenges we see when we go to rural schools to teach students on tree planting exercise as a proactive measure to deforestation we see students who cannot read simple literature books we donate to them on plants and their importance.)

4 NATURAL DISASTER
• Contingency/intervention programs/management.eg flood
• Awareness campaign and teaching for proactive/reactive measures eg
Our weekly CLIMATE CHANGE AND YOU A T.V. SHOW WITH DBS TELEVISION WARRI

RURAL CHILD PROJECT 
PHASE ONE: FREE UNIFORMS FOR RURAL SCHOOLS

THE RURAL CHILD PROJECT.....Affecting rural communities(EDJEBA PRIMARY SCHOOL)Awhire Agbara-otor

perception survey as one of our instrument in diagnosing community felt -needs, issues affecting rural communities.Our project on education, identifying challenges of school children in rural communities.Rural children are the least motivated to go to school for the basic education needed for their personal development.not pointing at the low quality of education children in rural settings receive as their share from a government too busy in neglecting them, the social economic status of rural parents deters intrinsic motivation on the personal lives of their children by not being able to provide some basic needs like good school uniforms for their wards. In ensuring some quality of effective schooling for the rural child, ONUESOKE FOUNDATION provides some of these needs.

PROJECT RCMR:Rural Child must read"..MOBILE LIBRARY BY ONUESOKE FOUNDATION FOR SCHOOLS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OF DELTA STATE.

ONUESOKE FOUNDATION MOBILE LIBRARY VISITS TO 4 SCHOOLS IN UGHELLI SOUTH  LGA.     counsellor Temisire reading to the pupils of Ogoni primary School Ogoni.

MAKE YOUR LIFESTYLE GREENER

Everything we do in our day to day lives emits CO2 into the atmosphere. That means that making small changes in what we do, or  how we do it, can have an impact in preventing the onset of climate change. Collectively we can make a difference. Here are a few tips;
*Holidays: don't fly, take a train or an alternative transport method
*Shopping: minimize the number of shopping trips you take by planning ahead and writing a list
*Nightlife: walk to your local facilities rather than taking the car
*Sports: try cycling, walking, running to get from point A to B

At work
Don't leave your good environmental habits at home- take them to the office too. Take public transport to work or walk rather than take your car, or share journeys with colleagues. Turn off appliances, equipments and lights off when you have finished using them, and, importantly, shut down your computer rather than just logging off. And for the things you can't change- speak to the person who can see if your employers have a greener policy in place.

To a greener planet, and all that can bring,
Onuesoke Foundation.

 

READ A BOOK PROFILE STORY OF THE WEEK… NO PLACE TO PLAY. Authored by Sarah Kovatch and illustrations by Arvis Stewart.

ONUESOKE FOUNDATION MOBILE LIBRARY

****READ A BOOK PROFILE **

STORY OF THE WEEK…

NO PLACE TO PLAY. Authored by Sarah Kovatch and illustrations by Arvis Stewart.

CHAPTER ONE

David played indoors all winter, counting the days until spring. Some of the time, though, he didn’t feel very patient. And so after what seemed like a million years of snow and ice and playing quietly on the carpet (really it had only been five months), David woke up to a warm and sunny Saturday.

Sensing something different in the air, David propped open his bedroom window and gave the air an expert sniff. “Yes!” he declared, enjoying a healthy breath of warm air, “skateboarding season has arrived!”

He felt so delighted by the sounds of birds chirping in the trees and radios blaring from the cars passing on the street. Every year when the season changed to spring, David could hardly contain his extra energy and blissful mood. He sprang out of bed and rummaged around in his closet.

First, he found his favorite baggy shorts. Then, he slipped on his neon green sneakers. It was such a pleasure to feel the air on his skin instead of heavy winter layers of coats… and boots… and hats… and snow pants.

Finally, David peered beneath his bed. He had to search around, but there it was – his skateboard.

This was no ordinary skateboard. David spent all winter fixing it up. He found special wheels at the skateboarding store to help him go as fast as possible. He also decorated the board’s bottom with neon green tape to match his neon green sneakers.

David rushed into the kitchen with his skateboard. His mother was absorbed with the newspaper crossword puzzle. His father was still in his robe, hovering over the stove making pancakes. David looked at the parents he loved so much and wondered how in the world they could appear so quiet and calm on the first warm morning of the year. Didn’t they want to run and jump about like he did?

“Morning, Mom. Morning, Dad,” David said as he gave each of his parents a quick squeeze. He wanted to hurry up and roll down the block on his skateboard before his mother asked him to do chores all morning.

“There’s nothing like the smell of golden pancakes, right son?” His father said, yawning and slowly turning a wooden in the pancake bowl.

David felt too excited for breakfast. “I’m not hungry, Dad! I’m going skateboarding.”

“Not so fast, David,” His mother said from the table. “You need to have a healthy meal, first.”

Whenever she looked at him like that, he knew she was serious. He sat down and slid the board beneath his chair.

“Now that you’re joining us,” David’s father said, “How many pancakes would you like?” David sighed and gulped a glass of juice. “Since I’m here,” he sighed, “I guess I’ll have six.”

He ate six pancakes and then had two more. After another big glass of orange juice, David reached for his skateboard. “Now I’m ready,” he said.

CHAPTER TWO

“You can go skateboarding, David, but don’t go past the library at the end of the block. I want to be able to see where you are all day,” his father said.

“Okay, Dad,” said David. “Bye, Mom,” He called. Then he rolled down the block, feeling free as the wind.

Just as David had expected, he found four of his school friends – Gabrielle, Henry, Yoshi, and Sam – playing on the steps of the library. David was glad to see that skateboards accompanied them all.

“Hi, David”, said Gabrielle. “We were having an ‘ollie’ contest. Join us!”

“You bet!” said David, eager to experiment with his new wheels.

In a matter of minutes, David and his crew were executing ollies all over the library property. Gabrielle and  Yoshi ollied high off the library steps. Quick as can be, Henry slid down the library railing. All the while, Sam and David dodged library customers who were coming in and out of the building.

The friends moved as though propelled by comet tails. Some of the library customers raised their eyebrows and scowled at the young skateboarders, but that only encouraged David and his friends to be more daring. How they loved the music of their wheels crashing down upon the stone steps of the library!

David felt as though his heart had wings. His quicksilver footwork was as sure as ever, and something about the perfect blue sky made him smile from ear to ear. Gabrielle skated toward him, stopping on a tail slide. Her smile stretched from ear to ear, too.

“Those are cool shoes, David,” she said, looking down. “I like the way they match your skateboard.”

David was bashful when people complimented him. He stammered a little and blushed. Just as he was about to say thank you, he saw Gabrielle look up and gasp.

David swiveled around. Right behind him, standing tall and stern, was a police officer. David’s winged-heart feeling turned heavy and his breath caught in his throat.

“Hello, kids,” said the police officer.

David’s friends stopped skating and gathered around. “Hello,” they all mumbled. David felt scared of the police officer. Was he in trouble?

“I’m going to have to ask you to skateboard somewhere else. This is not a good place to play,” explained the officer.

“The library is a very old building. Skateboarding is too rough for the stone steps. Maybe you can skateboard in your backyard instead,” the officer suggested.

“But our backyards only have grass,” protested David. “We can’t skateboard on grass.”

“I’m sorry. You must find somewhere else. This is not a place for skateboarders. If I find you here again, I’m going to have to call your parents.”

David and his friends apologized to the police officer and picked up their skateboards. All of David’s blissful springtime energy leaked from his muscles. Now he was frustrated and glum.

The skater friends watched as the police officer walked away. David wasn’t the only glum kid with a skateboard. All of his friends’ faces had changed from carefree to sad. They were all silent and sullen as they kicked little pebbles on the street. David spoke first.

“There is no place around here to skateboard!” he complained. “We’re always being asked to leave.”

“I know,” said Yoshi. “Remember last year when my mom took us to the park? That police officer came and told her that we couldn’t skate on the fountain because it would ruin the fountain.”

“Our teachers won’t let us skateboard at recess, either, because it’s bad for the bricks around the front entrance,” David continued.

His friends nodded. They all propped up their boards and sat on the library steps. Anyone passing by could tell that they were feeling forlorn.

“There’s nothing to do,” they all moaned at once. Then they all skated home.

“See you later, maybe,” they all called back at one another.

David skated slowly back home. He felt disappointed at how the day had turned out. Skateboarding was the whole point of spring! He was not looking forward to spending all of spring and summer playing quietly on the carpet indoors. He certainly did not want to be in trouble with his parents or the police. Nevertheless, he knew something would have to change. But what?

SWEET FOOD, BAD LUNGS.



Food is one of the most important necessities for survival. Foods are of various kinds and prepared in various methods. Just as we are different in culture and creed so are the foods which we eat for growth and development different; even the ways we cook our foods also differs. Foods are prepared when we cook, grill, roast, or fry them. All foods have the ways one is expected to prepare them if he expects to derive satisfaction from them.

People cook with the aid of different things. Some may cook with a kerosene stove, others may cook with the electric stove or gas cookers or even the firewood and tripod stands all is geared towards attaining the same goal of passing the food through heat. However, in some part of Africa and Asia, the firewood is still used for preparing foods. It is used when food is prepared in large quantity. The firewood is still in wide usage as there is this popular believe among Africans, particularly Nigerians; that foods cooked with firewood is always sweeter.

Yes, the believe that firewood foods are sweeter than foods cooked with any other kind of stove may be true but the question is whether it is totally safe both to the body and the environment? I believe that as humans we must put safety above taste. As we all know that the combustion of firewood produces CO2 which is a harmful gas both to the body and the atmosphere. CO2 damages the lungs, the nasal cavity, and in fact all the respiratory organs and may also affect the lungs and the liver so also does it damage and deplete the ozone layer thereby causing more heat of the sun to reach the earth; a fact which contributes to global warming. The use of firewood gives out pollutants which makes our air unhealthy and unsafe. It may also be cheap and more readily available even to the very poor in the society but its use can only cause harm and sickness and may even lead to death.





Sweet food is good but staying alive is sweeter. Stay away from soot and smoke and you may be adding to your own life expectancy.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF AIR IN YOUR HOME?How do you feel when you suddenly open your windows and feel the rush of cold fresh wind rushing through your nostrils or the feel you get when  you lift those long thick curtains and feel kool?INDOOR AIR QUALITY, simply means the quality of air in your home, your living environment.Most times when we think of air pollution, we think its only outdoor air that can be polluted.

In door air can be polluted and can pose serious health problems.We tend to think of air pollution as something outside -- smog, ozone, or haze hanging in the air, especially in summer. But the truth is, the air inside homes, offices, and other buildings can be more polluted than the air outside. The air inside your home may be polluted by lead (in house dust), formaldehyde, fire-retardants, radon, even volatile chemicals from fragrances used in conventional cleaners. Some pollutants are tracked into the home. Some arrive via a new mattress or furniture, carpet cleaners, or a coat of paint on the walls.
  Indoor air quality   cause some form of discomfort. Most people feel better as soon as they remove the source of the pollution. However, some pollutants can cause diseases that show up much later, such as respiratory diseases or cancer.Causes of poor indoor-air quality, polluting indoor-air.·         Mold and pollen
·         Tobacco smoke
·         Household products and pesticides·         Gases such as radon and carbon monoxide·         Materials used in the building such as asbestos, formaldehyde and leadSometimes a group of people have symptoms that seem to be linked to time spent in a certain building. There may be a specific cause, such as Legionnaire's disease. Sometimes the cause of the illness cannot be found. This is known as sick building syndrome.

Simple Steps to Improve Indoor Air Quality·         Plants some( pot- plants) around you.·         Keep your floors clean, fresh and dry. (mop, sweep, and dry up)·         Keep your clothes clean, dry and fresh·         Keep refuse far from kitchen and living room·         Clean up pet litters as quick as possible 

Why does Indoor Air Quality matter?The air quality of our indoor environments affects our health and often contributes to structural degradation and building failures within our homes.Consider the Facts·         According to the American Lung Association of Minnesota, elements within our home and workplaces have been increasingly recognized as threats to our respiratory health. The most common pollutants are radon, combustion products, biologicals (molds, pet dander, pollen), volatile organic compounds, lead dust and asbestos.
·         There are an estimated 40 million individuals in the United States who are affected by allergies. Learning how to control a homes environment to reduce allergen levels is important for managing allergies and asthma. Individuals who suffer from asthma, or have other respiratory illness may potentially be at a greater risk for health complications associated with poor air quality in their homes.·         The prevalence rate of pediatric asthma has increased from 40.1 to 69.1,—a 72.3 percent increase. Asthma is the sixth ranking chronic condition in our nation and the leading serious chronic illness of children in the U.S.
·         In the house, poor indoor air quality can result in structural rot within the walls and attic and around window framing from excess moisture.
·         Common pollutants can enter our houses through air leaks in the structure.
·         Common housing problems or failures that occur in our homes include: musty odors and mold growth, window condensation, structural rot, peeling paint, back-drafting appliances, damp basements and ice dams, or build-up of ice on the roofs edge, and high utility costs.