Erhayanmen Michael is the team lead Owan West Volunteers For COVID-19 Awareness Campaign in Edo, Nigeria. This is his #COVIDPositiveStory.
As the world battled the novel Coronavirus, it soon became a national health challenge. As checks were put in place to curtail and prevent the spread in Nigeria, I observed that those in the rural areas were neglected so to speak. Particularly, the people of Owan West, Edo state, who are predominately farmers, traders, artisans etc; and were relying on hearsay as to what was going on in the country. Schools were shut down, Religious and social gathering were being banned and a survey showed that the majority didn’t even know why. Myths, fears and rumours began to spread. It was for this reason that the Owan West Volunteers For COVID-19 Awareness Campaign was organized.
I felt the responsibility to enlighten and educate the people on the virus and the preventive measures they could follow to avoid it entering Owan West, a town in Edo state. A Call for Volunteers was made and a group of young volunteers took it upon themselves to enlighten the populace on the reality of the virus, the pandemic and to debunk various myths associated with the pandemic and Sensitizing them on the preventive measures against the virus. This was done in a door to door awareness campaign, in markets, motor parks, churches and on the street. Our mission was clear and our message sound.
Although, it was a tough fight against the ignorance we are particularly grateful to God for the feedbacks afterwards. On the field, we had numerous response of; “Thank you, now we know better.” The people expressed their gratitude especially after they were told that we are a non-governmental agency and volunteers from the locality. We can see the effects of our sensitization already.
Owan West Volunteers For COVID-19 Awareness Campaign was solely organized for the purpose of the current health challenge but the volunteers being passionate are always ready to undertake other tasks. We hope to continue our campaign until we overcome the pandemic and also to undertake other pressing challenges.
This project has taught me that No man is an Island. No man can succeed in standing alone. We all need people. I couldn’t have been able to execute on my own had I tried to, many thanks to my amazing volunteers for making this a success. I have learnt that we don’t need everybody, we just need the right people.
This project exposed me more to the vulnerability of people to ignorance. It was clear that no one is immune to ignorance, not even the learned, we probably possess the cure which is knowledge through enlightenment per time. With the right information, ignorance can be defeated. I also developed the interpersonal skill of interacting with people who are ignorant about the disease and felt we had ulterior motives.
I discovered that those in the rural areas are the most prone and worst hit to any disease outbreak because of the seeming government neglect to these areas in terms of infrastructure. There is a need for the government to channel resources towards rural areas. They need to feel the impact of governance and support organizations doing their bit to impact these communities.
My advice to the youth is inspired by the words of John F. Kennedy who said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” I believe we all can cause the change we desire by taking action. We do not necessarily need to wait for the government for everything. We must dare to take the little shots in our own little corners. We must take responsibility because Nigeria is ours to serve.
