Kim Lowery, Kabissa's co-executive director, met Timothy Etchie of The Homestead Study Group at one of her Member Meetups on a recent visit to Nigeria. In this month's spotlight we are pleased to draw attention to the bold advocacy work of Timothy's organization in the Niger Delta and the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) to their work.

"it is better to light a small candle than to curse the darkness"

Dear Ms. Kim Lowery,

I want to thank you for coming to Nigeria. I also want to thank the entire Kabissa family for deeming it fit to come to Nigeria and for bringing light to the civil society, environmental and human rights movement in Africa.

The Homestead Study Group is very happy to be accepted as a member of the Kabissa family since April this year.

How the Homestead Study Group Came About

Since 1956 when oil was first discovered at Oloibiri, a small sleepy community in Bayelsa State, the community and the entire Niger Delta region have been exposed to different forms of environmental abuse.

Many people in the world are ignorant of the reality of the Niger Delta
riverine oil-producing communities; that is, the poverty and the
environmental degradation. Oil spillage is one of the worst forms of
pollution that threatens both humans and the environment. Oil spillage, gas flaring and other forms of disasters constitute
serious environmental hazards. Farmlands and sources of potable water
are often polluted by onshore spills. We the inhabitants of oil
producing communities often lose our means of livelihood to such
disasters. It is even
worse because the impact of the environmental pollution is long-term
and recurrent, making it impossible to create an 'impact assessment' as
the incident occurs. Unfortunately this has been the lot of
oil-producing communities.

This has resulted in much social, economic and political tension and violence in the area. The recent spate of kidnap and hostage taking of foreign oil workers, for example, has raised serious security concern among stakeholders in the oil industry and the international community.

So what do we do? We have seen the threat of crushing poverty amidst plenty. An African proverb says "it is better to light a small candle than to curse the darkness". So in 2004, a small community-based youth advocacy organization called The Homestead Study Group was formed. The objective is to promote dialogue, peace, social and economic welfare and well being of the local people of oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta.

The membership of our organization comprises of young intellectuals of the Niger Delta.

The Homestead Study Group and ICT

Since advocacy/sensitization/publicity is a focus for our organization, in 2006 we decided to take our advocacy campaign to he next level--internationally. We have seen the reality of a global village, as predicted by Marshal McLuhan, the Canadian communication scholar. In fact, Thomas Friedman even dared to call it a "flat" world. In this world, location does not matter. In this world, the internet, new technologies and other positive forces of globalization should enable people in the Niger Delta to live in a decent environment, particularly when this area is a major source of the nation's wealth.

The Homestead Study Group and the ICT Challenge

It is true that the internet can put you in touch with millions of people around the world, notwithstanding our difficulties using the Internet. Today I can say that we are proud because we have a website. You can visit our website at: www.homesteadstudygroup.org. You can also view our membership profile in the Kabissa website.

But the question is: How many people Niger Deltans can surf the internet? For instance, the World Information Society Report 2006 measures the changing dynamics driving the information society with what it calls the "Digital Opportunity Index". The report says only seven Nigerian out of a 100 have mobile phones and only 0ne in 200 can afford to surf the Internet.

But in the riverside oil-producing communities where I came from, only one in 1000 have access to the Internet. We are terribly far behind in broadband technology, even thouh the wealth from our coomunities drives the social and economic develpment of our country.

Our aim is to educate stakeholders, use the principles of ICT to create awareness and positive change about Nigeria's richest but most underdeveloped region. We intend to use ICT to draw global attention to the neglect, marginalization, stagnation and backwardness in the Niger Delta riverine oil-producing communities. We also hope to help increase the access of stakeholders to the internet.

The Homestead Study Group and Chevron Nigeria Limited

Ms. Lowery, when you came to Lagos, I asked you a question which goes something like this: How do we measure the efficiency, the gains and success of the Internet in tackling the numerous problems civil society organizations face in Africa?

I do not have all the answers, but at least I have this. My experience with Chevron Nigeria Limited. As for the story I told you visit this page of our website to get access to the document:
www.homesteadstudygroup.org/mou2002.htm

And if you want to know more about how we created the little rumble in the underbelly of CNL visit: www.homesteadstudygroup.org/newugborodo.htm

We hope to hear your response to this mail.

Yours faithfully,

Timothy Etchie,

Director of Administration,
The Homestead Study Group