Safety net

Living in Nigeria is certainly helping me to appreciate many of the things I take for granted in the UK.  Things we regard as basics are by no means reliable here.  Electricity comes and goes (at the time of writing it's been off for over 12 hours and I've no idea when/if it'll come back today).  Mains water is turned on and off to no pattern I've been able to discern and door to door rubbish collections just don't exist.  There's no AA or RAC and if you have a medical emergency you can't call for an ambulance but have to find your own way in to the hospital.  In some ways this is good as it's teaching us to rely on God for ordinary things far more than we ever had to in the UK and seeing the results of prayer is exciting and reassuring.

I was praying hard on Friday driving back from Jos as the temperature gauge in the car rose off the scale, hoping that it was merely a faulty connection (there are a few).  It was when I stopped at a junction and saw copious amounts of steam/smoke rising from the bonnet that I realised that perhaps the gauge was accurate and I ought to do something about it.  Thankfully there was a fuel station right beside me so I pulled in and got out of the car quickly.  A few days before I'd said to James and Ruth that we should check if the fire extinguisher was working.  Here was my chance.

If you ever want to see a group of workmen move quickly try driving up with steam pouring out of the bonnet.  They all leapt up, gesticulating wildly, pointing out the obvious (as if I hadn't noticed) and to my relief taking charge, wielding the extinguisher (which did work) and opening the bonnet.  Thankfully there was neither smoke nor flames only steam shooting out of holes in a pipe but there was no way I'd be able to take the car the rest of the way home that night.
My rescuers pushed the car to a place where it would be safe under the floodlights for the night and found me a public transport vehicle (7-seater van that takes about 14) which would take me to where I could get a keke back to TCNN.  In some ways I was glad there was only just room to squeeze me and another passenger into the van as it meant we were wedged in too tightly to roll around as we swung round corners.  It's not a method of transport I would recommend for long journeys as any padding on the seats had disappeared a long time ago.  My first journey on a keke was more fun although there were times I thought we'd tip over as we negotiated large holes in the road.  Going across the railway was a bit hairy too but I got home safely.  Be thankful that public transport in Britain doesn't feel quite so much like taking your life in your hands.
The next day Fraser went back to collect the car and nursed it gently home where it's now sitting waiting for a mechanic.

Every week we put safety in travel on our prayer requests and there have been many incidents which could have been far far worse than they were.  I am thankful there was a safe place to stop and people to help, that James and Ruth weren't with me in the car, that nothing happened to it overnight and that the mechanic has promised to come out to assess the damage this morning.  We're praying that it can be fixed today as life will be very difficult without a car to take me into BRICC in Jos and bring James and Ruth back from school.  Perhaps I should have sent them in with sleeping bags and pillows so they could sleep in a classroom until it's fixed.

UPDATE: The machanic came, took away the radiator, bought a new piece, returned and put it all back together.  By 6pm all was fixed.

Keke

Kekes are ubiquitous around Jos. The little three-wheeler vehicles swarm through the streets like green and yellow wasps, enveloping traffic from all sides, considering (like many drivers here) the rules of the road to be optional.

Kekes near BRICC office

  They all have the same paintwork, obligatory for any taxi-like vehicle, but the opportunities for interior design seem endless.  I've seen seats covered in leopard skin material, insides painted bright pink and richly decorated cloth hanging like tapestries.  One day I followed a keke with the happy face of Alex Ferguson stuck to the small rear window, flanked by two more photos of (to me unknown but presumably Manchester United) footballers.
Another method of individualising your keke is to paint slogans on the back.  Some are profound, some unintentionally amusing, some rather obscure.  Here are a few I've collected.

• Lazy man not eat
• All power to Jesus
• Hard to find (not particularly sensible for a taxi!)
• What do you say?
• The rich also cry
• Man pass man God pass all
• Nothing good come easy
• Behold I have told you before
• Cash them young
• No condition is.....
• Love thy nevor
• School fees
• Don't trust girls
• Thank God man no be God
• Money nobe everything

BRICC has its own keke the rent from which is proving invaluable in supporting our weekly expenses.  I may find them extremely annoying as I'm under and overtaken at the same time but at least they're far easier to avoid than the motorcycle taxis they've replaced.