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The morning was a long one, with over four hours of waiting for news of the day’s plans. One group did finally leave after noon for Tebujo, a ten-minute boat ride from Oporoza and the home of Eddie, a NAGS student who is running for political office—a council seat in the Local Area Government.

The poverty in this village is visibly worse than Oporoza, which is saying a lot. For instance, both places are without clean water. However, in Tebujo, the homes were even less in structure, garbage was worse and there was an unrelenting stench in the air. Eddie introduced us to his grandmother and other relations, was interviewed by Ibiba then led us on a tour of the village. One particularly sad part was the primary school, an old structure with a rusted and incomplete roof. Some children sat at the desks, which stood upon nothing but the muddy earth. Children with bright eyes and glowing spirits, seated in a structure that said it all about the lack of resources here. Children whose potential and opportunities we knew were in jeopardy. As with so much of what we’re seeing here, we were deeply touched and pulled to do something to help. It’s overwhelming, and once again, we held the hope that this film will play a part in bringing attention and solutions to these communities.

We return to Oporoza a bit drained and quite tired. Our sweet little band of boys come to visit and fan us with magazines.

Laurie and Sean spent the late afternoon in the village of Kuruutie visiting the only adult literacy school in the Niger Delta. Timi introduced them to Tony Ayebi, village Chairman and founder of the school. The program runs Monday through Friday, teaching women to read and write. There’s also an afternoon program for kids. People come from neighboring villages to attend this school, staying overnight in the village through the week. They manage four classes of about 25 students each with very limited resources.

Meanwhile, Mary Ella and Joel depart for Ugborodo, a village of the Itsekiri tribe. They will spend the night there, sharing information about the film with the community and preparing for a larger group visit tomorrow. The GCJ delegation visited Ugborodo in November, as well as Madangho, an Itsekiri village that had been burned down during the conflict between the Itsekiri and Ijaw tribes. GCJ is planning another trip to the Delta next year, which will be hosted in Ugborodo. Plans are developing to have the Nigerian part of the delegation made up of half Ijaws and half Itsekiris, with a focus on reconciliation and peace building.