Reports- Senegal- Vietnam- Nigeria- Central African Republic

I am losing no time in writing to you to express again my gratitude to all the people of Israel for having allowed me, through MASHAV, to expand my know-how, kindly offering me a grant, so that I could improve my knowledge of modern poultry farming and popularized poultry farming in the course held from October 20 to November 24, 1999, CINADCOs training center at Kibbutz Shefayim.

With G-d's help, I was privileged to encounter eminent teachers such as Shalom Nahman, Amir Ben David, Yaakov Doron, Israel Nir, who provided me with effective training. Not to mention you, Michel Isaak, and all your staff, and in particular Tammy.

Rest assured, your efforts are not in vain. As you will see from the photographs, I am in the process of placing all my knowledge and abilities at the service of my fellow countrymen who feel the need to acquire them.

Thus, as promised at the first meeting "Learn about my country," I am honoring my declaration, by reproducing and popularizing. I think that I can be even more useful in the region, because the contact between Senegalese who participated in the course is on an almost daily level through exchanges of views on many of the experiences undergone in the field in relation to the knowledge acquired in Israel.

Beyond the close, ongoing and fraternal relations that have developed among us, we have received from MASHAV another very important treasure, that of friendship, of having a pied-a-terre in all the countries where there are alumni who are members of the Shalom Club.

Thanking you again, and with fondest wishes,

Shalom, Toda and lehitraot

In 1997 I was in Israel at Bet Dagan for two months attending an International Training Course on Irrigation and Soil Management, held at the Institute of Soils and Water of the Volcani Center.

Since I graduated from Hanoi Water Resources University in 1991 I have worked as an expert in Irrigation Management in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tuyen Quang Province. I usually visit districts, communes and villages, but of course sometimes I go to the city. My duties and responsibilities include irrigation planning, monitoring irrigation schemes, training water users groups at the district and commune level and agricultural cooperatives, monthly and annual reporting on irrigation schemes, water fees, and canal concretization programs.

In June 1996 I attended a training course on Operation and Maintenance of Water Resource Infrastructure held at the Hanoi Water Resources University, a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This was the first time in four years that I had a chance to return to my university to meet my old teachers, old friends. The teachers gave us very useful lectures, sometimes reminding us what we had already learned and sometimes giving us new information on irrigation, such as water demand and planning, resource and system management, and planning and implementation of operation and maintenance.

Then in 1997 I traveled outside my own country for the first time, to attend the course in Israel. We studied soil-water physics, nutrition of irrigated crops, physiology and crop irrigation, irrigation technology. I enjoyed those two months very much and was impressed by irrigation systems we observed. We visited many beautiful places and on the last day we had an evening of international cooking. My Vietnamese Spring Roll was very popular!

Did I tell you about the training course in Orchard Garden Management held in Tuyen Quang, in my office, in 1998? At the time I was too busy with my work, and it is not in my main field, so I did not participate, but I spoke to the two Israeli teachers, Kosto and Itay from the Ministry of Agriculture Extension Service. Every time I see something or someone to remind me about Israel, I think about the nice times in your country.

In May 1999 I attended a Seminar on Participatory Irrigation Management held in Da Nang financed by the ADB, and in October, 1999, I took part in a training course on Implementation of Irrigation Management Change in Irrigated Agriculture held in Tuyen Quang, supported by the German Foundation for International Development (DSE) We studied the role of monitoring and information in the implementation of management change in irrigated agriculture and cooperation in the implementation of management changes and service orientation. After that course I understood our work more systematically. The course gave me a lot of experience in methods of learning, teaching and organizing training courses.

I have since become a resource person for a similar training course held in Vinh Phuc Province where for the first time I lectured older, more educated people, even one of my former teachers. However, I have improved my knowledge as well as gained a lot of experience.

In May 2000 I attended a workshop in Sustainable Use of Water Resources in Rural Areas, held at Chieng Mai. I once again became a trainer in a course on Promotion of Effective Irrigation Organization held in Nghe An Province. These training courses have given me not only professional skills but also enhanced many sides of my life so that I can be a more effective irrigation officer in the future.

I was a participant in the 1964/65 course for Kindergarten and Nursery School Teachers at the Mt. Carmel International Training Center in Haifa. Since my return to Nigeria in late 1965 I have utilized the knowledge I gained in Israel to establish in Enugu, in 1970, a viable Shalom Nursery School. The Nursery School was approved by the Enugu State Ministry of Education in 1972 - the first government-approved Nursery School in the State. In 1994 the school was expanded to include a primary school section and this also received the approval of the Ministry of Education.

I therefore presently run the Shalom Nursery/Primary School, and I have of course continued to transfer to my colleagues and staff the relevant knowledge and expertise I acquired during my course in Israel.

On November 4, 2000, we celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the Shalom Nursery and Primary School. The primary section is comprised of 182 students and 8 teachers, while the nursery section has 154 with 10 teachers. Parents participate too - the PTA was inaugurated in 1995.

With great sorrow we deeply regret the death of MCTC Founding Director Mina Ben-Zvi. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

I remain grateful to the Government and people of Israel for the opportunity given me to study in Israel. My thanks go to the staff of MCTC for their willing cooperation and assistance in running the course. It is my prayer that the existing relationship between Israel and Nigeria will continue to grow and develop into more useful and relevant areas of mutual cooperation and assistance.

Shalom! Shalom!

From the training received from CINADCO during my stay in Israel in 1999, I absorbed many things. This enabled me to see the possibility of extending my activity. Today, I have begun to keep laying hens. This training course also allowed me to help so many other poultry farmers in the many problems that they encounter in their farming activities.

Beyond the knowledge acquired during my stay in Israel, today I am confronted with farming equipment problems. You will see in the photograph that a stone is used to crush the shells.

Toda!