Faithooo

Lets start this conversation with the meaning of some of these words above:

Voluntourism: A form of tourism in which travelers participate in voluntary work i.e for a charity.

Volunteering: An unpaid activity whereby we give our resources, time, energy, service, effort etc. to help a not for profit organisation or an individual.

A number of times,while I think of ticking off more items on my bucket-list, some of the other places I want to visit, explore, experience etc. I also sometimes think of voluntourism.

Prior to now, all my volunteer experience have been in Lagos/Ogun which include: volunteering for a Makoko outreach, being a member of the Lagos state book drive initiative (mainland chapter) this initiative won an award at the SME 100 Africa 25 under 25 Awards as a result of our outstanding activities, I have served as the team lead of Naza Agape Foundation(Lagos branch).

During my service year(N.Y.S.C), I volunteered with other corp members who were also a part of SDGS (Sustainable Development Goals) and we carried out various projects, I served as the Secretary General of Project Good Education.

Currently, I am a volunteer with the Value Adding Woman. To know more about these initiatives please check my LinkedIn page: Faith Oguntayo.

After doing some of these, I have asked myself: how can I be of impact in more cities and in more countries beyond the places above? In recent times, especially with more racism issues; I have asked myself: can voluntourism in any way or in someways help to foster genuine love, peace, togetherness, joy etc amongst us irrespective of our skin colour

I have asked myself: If when I travel to other countries, beyond doing the exciting activities on my bucket-list, patronizing the locals in the country, boosting the economy of the country, interacting with the citizens,learning about their culture, learning about their history etc. Can I also volunteer in their various less privileged initiatives, can I also give my time,skills and resources to those who cannot afford it in these countries like I do in my home county?

Some school of thought say voluntourism has had some negative effects: such as sending college students to volunteer in activities which are not their area of expertise, companies sending their staff on some weeks of voluntourism is a means of them saving money of engaging the citizens of the host countries(On this point i ask myself: won’t the company incur costs on sending these staff: flight tickets, accommodation,feeding,logistics and other expenses) and not necessarily to help, some countries asking volunteers to pay some money before they are allowed to volunteer in their country etc. What is your opinion on these?

Will love to get your feedback in the comments section. Please share some areas in which you have volunteered(the places and what you/the team did), what do you think about voluntourism(is it a good or bad idea?) If you think it is a good idea let us know why, if you think it is a bad idea let us also know why.

Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for engaging. Looking forward to your feedback.

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This is a guest post and the article is written by: Oguntayo Favour Morenike, She has won a couple of awards which includes: 2nd prize fiction winner for a story she wrote which was organised by Towunmi Coker Literary Initiative.Enjoy the post!

“A people without a knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”-Marcus Garvey.

I remember vividly how captivated I was the first time I heard about Queen Moremi Ajasoro of Ile-Ife. It was in the book “Moremi, the Courageous Queen” by Segun Thomas Ajayi that I first read about this indomitable Yoruba queen of the 12th century. ( Also referred to as Queen of liberty).

Moremi was from Lukugba compound in Ile-Ife, her mother was a princess from Offa. Moremi was married to the king of Ile-Ife, Oranmiyan. she lived during the period of constant raids on the people of Ile-Ife by what they believed were spirits sent by the gods to punish them.

After missing the initial showing of Queen Moremi Ajasoro the musical in May, 2019, I was elated when I discovered it was coming back to  stage in December and I was definitely not going to let this opportunity pass by again.

I decided to go for the 3pm showing of the musical on 3oth December 2019. I got to the venue just about two minutes before the show started (Lagos traffic).I made my way up to the 3rd floor of the Lagos Continental Hotel ( formerly Intercontinental Hotel) in Victoria Island where the musical was happening.

The show lasted for about 90 minutes. In those 90 minutes the story of Queen Moremi was told beautifully, detailing how her braveness led to the freedom of the people of Ile-Ife.

During the show we were taken back in time to a period in history where Ife the ancestral home of the Yoruba people faced a great disaster due to constant invasions from masked unknown people who they believed were spirits. At the end of each invasion the invaders would take farm products, also women and children as slaves.

A concerned Moremi who was worried about her people after several attempts to appease the gods and free her people from the terrors from the spirits they believed were sent to them as punishment. She visits Esimirin, the river goddess who taught Moremi what to do.

In line with the instructions, Moremi allowed herself to be captured during the next attack. Her beauty and charm made her very attractive so Moremi was given to the king of the strange people as wife.

As the wife of their king, Moremi was able to get their weak point- fire. Moremi informed the people of Ile-Ife so they prepared for the next attack. When the next attack came they were all prepared with torches of fire, thus defeating the unknown people who were discovered to be the Ugbo people.

Moremi and the people of Ife took gifts of appreciation to the river goddess, Esimirin, but she rejected all these and requested for the life of Oluorogbo, Moremi’s only son. Moremi made the sacrifice for the sake of her people.

As Moremi bent over her son singing songs of lamentation, the people of Ife promised to be her sons and daughters forever.

Definitely worth it. From the sound, to the acting, the dancing to the language, the dressing to the music. Perfection! I probably shed a tear or two. Money well spent. It was definitely a worthwhile experience and I am looking forward to many more stage plays like this one.

The bravery of Queen Moremi Ajasoro ended the human trafficking of her people. A feminist queen!

Earlier in the week, precisely Monday 25th May, we celebrated Africa Day! Africa is a blessed continent and I am proud to be an African. To celebrate Africa ,please do share in the comments section: amazing experiences you have had in an African country it could be your home country or any other African countries(s) as it relates to tourism(which could be food tourism;tours;travel;locals of a community;airlines;airbnbs;hotels etc.)

This post will be focusing on some  places to visit in Lagos and how to explore them.

(1) Upbeat Center: Located at 11 Admiralty Road, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos is West Africa’s first trampoline park and recreation center. There are different activities to do for fitness, fun, leisure etc

I went to Upbeat with my sister. On arrival you will be asked to sign a waiver if you are up to 18. For children below 18, a parent or guardian will complete the process for them. Afterwards, we joined the queue to purchase our tickets. The tickets gives access to the trampoline section for an hour and comes with socks.After payment, we were asked to secure our valuables in a locker.Afterwards, we were asked to watch a safety video.

When we were done watching the safety video, we were allowed into the trampoline section. I did the trampoline jumping, playing on the foam pit, attempted to play trampoline basketball etc.

Other facilities available at upbeat centre include: restaurant, virtual reality, outdoor basketball court, retail space for lease for events, football pitch, go kart etc. Going to Upbeat center is a good way to have fun, exercise, burn some calories etc

(2) Rufus and Bee: Located at twin waters, Okunde Blue waters scheme off Remi Olowude Street,Eti-Osa,Lekki is a game arcade with over 100 interesting games. Some of the games come with rewards which could either be winning a prize or reloading the buzz card with more coins. Tickets are of different prices depending on the number of coins you want, you will also purchase a buzz card, which can be re used on your other visits to Rufus and Bee.

It also has a bowling alley, a sports bar/restaurant where you can watch football and eat. I went to Rufus and Bee with my sister and a friend.

(3) Omu Resort: Located at Bogije town; almost opposite Lakowe Lakes Golf course, Ibeju Lekki has a variety of things to do and different ticket prices depending on the activities you want to pay for (tickets include: Gold, Platinum, Prime and Super Prime)

Activities in Omu resort includes: Rides at the amusement park(which includes: ferry wheel, gully deep, chain ride, umbrella ride), zoo, sea world, antique museum wax museum, mini golf, water park, swimming pool, mechanical bull riding, kiddies play area,outdoor fun, roller skating,Kayaking,Quad bike, boat cruise, archery etc. I went to Omu resort with some of my friends

(4) Badagry: Known for the slave trade to foreigners. I went to Badagry with my mum and sister. A tour guide took us to the 1st story building in Nigeria, the museum, Badagry slave route etc

(5) Johnson Jakande Tinubu Park:(JJT): Located at Alausa,Ikeja,Lagos. It is a free park and has free wifi too. i went there with a few friends. You can have a picnic, there is a play area for children, food court available,large chess board different places to take pictures such as: statue, Tinubu’s face etc

Other places include:visiting the different malls to shop,eat,virtual reality, cinema(this i do a number times and its affordable especially when you go on promo days;usually more expensive during festive seasons)

Different beaches in Lagos include: Oniru Private beach, La campagne Tropicana, Chaka beach resort, Jara beach resort, barracuda beach resort, Atican beach, king diamond beach, Landmark beach and more . I have been to some of these beaches.Looking forward to visiting the beaches i have not visited as well as Lekki Conservation center; Lufasi Nature Park etc

Which of these places have you visited? What was your experience like? Please do share in the comment section.

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Update: March 2022, I visited Rufus and Bee a second time with my friends: Motunrayo and Gloria

WELCOME!!! WELCOME!!! WELCOME!!!

A 7 DAYS INTERESTING GUIDE ON HOW TO EXPLORE DUBAI

Desert Safari with dune bashing

I want to first say a very big thank you to everyone that has supported in one way or the other since launch  of my website (15th May 2020).

This is the  first post,enjoy as you read. Please leave a comment and share as well.

I traveled to Dubai in UAE (United Arab Emirates) for 7 days. Its definitely somewhere i look forward to visiting again as there are many other places i need to experience and visit and i also need to enjoy the experiences I have had before again.

I traveled with a travel agency known as Wayfare, I traveled with my sister and we met other amazing people as it was a group trip.

Dubai visa process is E visa; no need for interviews at the embassy; it can be processed by you or by a travel agent.

It was a 6 hrs flight from Lagos, Nigeria to Abu Dhabi International Airport via Ethiad Airways. On board for flight food i had beef pasta, pancakes,sweet snack,juice and water.We had movies to watch;games to play;books to read etc.

After we landed at Abu Dhabi Airport, we were conveyed in a bus to Dubai. When we got to Dubai we were conveyed in another bus to Majestic City Retreat Hotel

We lodged at Majestic City Retreat hotel for the 7 days. We were treated to sumptuous;delicious,yummy buffet breakfast every day;we had very nice and cosy rooms,the rooms were clean,sparkling and very comfortable. The air conditioners were super effective which was super cool as we traveled in July and Dubai was very hot.The coldest month to visit is usually January .

The bathroom had essential toiletries needed,rooms were cleaned on a daily basis.

Itinerary for our trip included:

Visit to the Dubai Mall: Dubai Mall is the largest shopping mall in the world based on total area. It has more than 1200 stores and services. There is no entry fee into the mall. I was wowed at how large the mall was. There were many shops,stores,cinema, a very large food court with different restaurants and more.The Dubai mall also hosts a fountain show(worlds largest choreographed fountain system) in the evening which is a very beautiful scenery, people gathered in masses to watch the show which lasts for a couple of minutes

Dhow Cruise Dinner: A Dhow is a traditional wooden vessel that has been refurbished into a floating restaurant with a buffet set up dinner on board as well as a live show(Arabian Dance). The vessel usually operates in Dubai’s premium water canal called Dubai Marina from 9p.m to 11p.m. After the buffet dinner and an interesting live show; they played Nigerian music for us, the vibe and dancing was a lot of fun. During the cruise; we also got to see Burj Al Arab, Atlantis and Marina

Dubai Desert Safari with Dune Bashing:Dune bashing means driving at increasing and decreasing speeds over sand dunes (which could be either be red sand dunes or white sand dunes). As the surface of the sand goes up, it takes special skill to drive through. We were in  a 4 by 4 jeep and we went round the desert fast paced. It was adventurous and scary at some points. It allowed us experience the depth of the desert scenery. After the dune bashing, we moved to the campsite where we partook of exclusive desert activities and experiences that reflect the ancient Bedouin culture.Also camel riding, henna designing,fire bending display,taking pictures.After which we enjoyed a buffet dinner with barbecue while we watched Tanura Belly Dance. The evening desert safari lasts for about 6 hours

desert safari

Half Day Dubai City Tour: We drove through shopping malls, cultural heritage, word class architecture, the tallest tower in the world(Burj Khalifa). We stopped by and visited the museum we were shown several artifacts and told about their history.

Pictures were not allowed inside the museum

Laguna Water park: There were several fun and adventurous water rides:lazy rivers, splash pads, infinity pool, free fall, wave Oz 180 flow ride.Most or us were laughing and also screaming in some of the water rides because it was fun but gave adrenaline rush! There were also cabanas for relaxations, restaurants etc

Gold Souk: We visited the Gold souk via Dubai’s oldest means of transportation which was by boat. Other means of transportation we experienced were: metro(this is their train system:very organised,well maintained,super effective and efficient,escalators to take you to where you will purchase tickets,elevators to take you down to the train stations,air conditioners in the train etc),cabs,buses

City Center: This was the last outing i went on before leaving Dubai, it is a shopping mall with various shops,stores and restaurants.

Dubai’s currency is known as Dirham

Dubai Rail Network

check out interesting videos and more pictures on my Instagram page Dubai highlights:@FaithOguntayo

Hope you enjoyed this post? If you have been to Dubai before what was your experience like? If you have looked forward to visiting does this post fuel your wanderlust?Looking forward to hearing from you.Please leave a comment,subscribe and share

thank you for reading

p.s: for the challenge that was on a few weeks ago;on how many states visited in Nigeria: i have been to 14 states in Nigeria. Some are states that i passed through while on road trips. I would love to re explore these states and visit the states that i have not yet explored. The states are: Edo, Ekiti,Kaduna,Kogi,Kwara,Lagos,Nassarawa,Niger,Ogun,Ondo,Osun,Oyo,Rivers and F.C.T(Abuja). Three states that i have stayed in longer than others:Lagos, Abuja and Rivers state

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