Rural life and motivational stories

There once was a little boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to hand him a bag of nails and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail into the fence. On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into that fence. The boy gradually began to  control his temper  over the next few weeks, and the number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased. He discovered it was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept his temper under control. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. ‘You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When y...

LITTLE BLACK BIRD There was once a beautiful little black bird that always said ‘ I am free, I am free ‘. Because it thought itself to be a free bird, it went and nested on a dry branch of a tree, and there even layed an egg. Beneath that tree a quiet snake lived. Every morning the bird cried, ‘ I am free, I am free ‘. One morning, in the height of the sun, the snake heard the bird saying ‘ I am free, I am free’ and got annoyed by the noise it made. Slowly up it went, to the branch of the tree where the little beautiful bird had nested, and slowly it chased away the bird and slowly it swallowed the bird’s egg. The beautiful bird jumped, and flapped and cried and sang, ‘ I am free, I am free ‘, But couldn’t do anything, and the dry branch broke and it fell to the ground and it broke its wing and it broke a leg. A little boy came along, and heard the bird crying, ‘ I am free, I am free ‘. He searched for the bird beneath the tree and found it, because it had broke a leg an...

 Everyone Has a Story in Life A 24 year old boy seeing out from the train’s window shouted… “Dad, look the trees are going behind!” Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year old’s childish behavior with pity, suddenly he again exclaimed… “Dad, look the clouds are running with us!” The couple couldn’t resist and said to the old man… “Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?” The old man smiled and said…“I did and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today. Every single person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth mi ght surprise you.

 Shake off Your Problems A man's favorite donkey falls int o a deep precipice; He can't pull it out no matter how hard he tries; He therefore decides to bury it alive. Soil is poured onto the donkey from above. The donkey feels the load, shakes it off, and steps on it; More soil is poured. It shakes it off and steps up; The more the load was poured, the higher it rose; By noon, the donkey was grazing in green pastures. After much shaking off (of problems) And stepping up (learning from them), One will graze in GREEN PASTURES. Never Give Up!

A DISH OF ICE CREAM In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” “50 cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. “How much is a dish of plain ice cream?” he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. “35 cents,” she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins.  “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. Don't look down on anybody in life.

 The Elephant Rope As a woman was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. She saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were. Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply bec...

14-Year-Old Girl JAMES JOY Commits Suicide After Posting Cry For Help On Facebook   A girl was found dead by her dad in her bedroom moments after posting a cry for help on Facebook. Rochelle Pryor, 14, took her own life hours after she wrote on social media:  “Once I’m gone, the bullying and the ­racism will stop.” The teenager died in hospital on January 10, nine days after her dad Godwin discovered her unconscious in her room. Only one person replied to her post online. In a heartbreaking tribute, her older sister Kyanne described her as “ sweet, happy and funny”.  The teenage girl was concerned her siblings’ friends had “turned against her”. Kyanne told The Australian: Quote “She was really upset by it. “There was racism involved – a lot of the time it was just random people who don’t ­realise what they’re saying.” Rochelle was involved in an altercation in August outside school and she returned home with cuts on her legs. Following t...

As Lagos Governor, a Commissioner once refused to shake Fashola's hand. This is the story of what happened. Fashola clears the air on closure of Third Mainland bridge, Lagos. A former Governor of Lagos State and current Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, has shared the story of how Lagos and the rest of the country beat the deadly Ebola virus in 2014. The next couple of days would leave all of Lagos in panic mode. It was at a time when Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone had been declared Ebola epicenters. It was at a time when all of West Africa was in panic from having Ebola creeping through their borders. The rest of the world was praying that Ebola never found its way into Nigeria, a country of over 180 million people. The consequences for the rest of humanity if it did, were better imagined. Fashola avoids Uganda but couldn't avoid Lagos During an interactive session with  TheSheetTV,  Fashola said he had declined a speakin...

This amazing story happened on the Internet. But it continues in real life until now. 4 years ago Gloria met Emeka on Facebook and then the pair got married! The guy had innocently stumbled on her Facebook profile, sent her a request and soon the pair fell in love.  On their 4th anniversary, Emeka Nwarulor wrote on Facebook: "Wow! So Facebook reminded me of when you accepted my friend request 4 years ago, ha! I remember stalking your profile just to know more about you, your friends, your connections, just about anything. "Like a CIA, I scanned every picture, checked most comments to find anything that could raise a red flag. This was a classified case o. Lol. But your record was clean and I was more determined to pursue. Lol "A quick message to folks out there who could have sent their future partner away just by their social media footprints and activities. Take heed. Sometimes the answer to your prayer for a future partner could simply be putting social media...

Enugu – Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has said that the neglect suffered by rural areas of the state over the years informed the aggressive rural development initiatives by his administration. Ugwuanyi disclosed this on Wednesday in Enugu during a solidarity visit by the Association of Presidents General of Town Unions in the state. The state government had recently embarked on a community development initiative termed ‘one community, one project’, among other infrastructural interventions in rural communities. Ugwuanyi In the community development initiative, each of the 458 autonomous communities of the state is to get N10 million grant to execute a project of choice in line with local needs. The governor explained that the efforts so far made by his administration were to open up the hinterlands and give the residents of such areas a sense of belonging. Ugwuanyi said that the status of Enugu as the capital of Old Eastern Province, Old Anambra State and currently that of Enu...

The project will combat the high rate of school-drop out, child labour and youth violence in rural Nigerian communities by providing expanded learning opportunities to school-age children living in poverty and disadvantage. Through informal learning activities, MIND Foundation provides access to ICT education, leadership development and vocational skills training to enable rural children gain knowledge, skills and self-confidence to excel in life. Challenge Good education is the right of every child. Unfortunately rural Nigerian communities are laden with under-resourced schools that limit the potential of children, making them unable to attain higher education or succeed in the competitive world beyond. These children lack the knowledge, skills and resources available to their counterparts all over the world and as a consequence, develop poor self-esteem and a high level of inadequacy which exposes them to further disadvantage and vulnerability Solution Operating on a princ...

Summary The Ishahayi Beach School Foundation has built a new classroom building at a successful school serving 200 students in rural Nigeria. The village at Ishahayi has no mains electricity, and this project will bring lights, fans, desks and supplies to the new classrooms. Fans allow children to learn during the very hot dry season and lights illuminate textbooks during the cloudy rainy season. A new generator will power both buildings, as well as a pump that brings water for drinking and sanitation. Challenge Ishahayi is a small Yoruba fishing village located on the barrier island between Lagos and Badagry. There is no industry on the island, and no electricity. Being only accessible by boat or canoe, this area is isolated from the infrastructure and support that mainland areas of Lagos enjoy, such as a government-funded school. This project will provide lights, fans, desks and classroom supplies to the newly expanded Light Nursery and Primary School, allowing ...

Sad story of Nigeria’s stunted and ‘wasted’ children    When Deborah Egbe was pregnant for her first child, her dream was to have a child that would grow into adulthood and contribute to the development of her community. Like every other mother, she tried to follow the instructions of health workers but fate dealt her a big blow. Nine months after she was delivered of the baby, she lost her husband.   Deborah, a full time house wife, was shattered. Life became meaningless. The 27-year-old did not know where to begin. Although she had proposed to do exclusive breastfeeding for her baby, challenges of life robbed her of this dream. She was forced to give water and local pap to her baby within two weeks of delivery. Because she had to work to survive, her child was denied of the benefits of human milk which experts say is better than any food. Science has proved that breast milk is a complex living substance like blood with a long list of active germ-figh...

As in most parts of rural Nigeria, Ikot Akanma women are relegated to the background.  They are seen but unheard. As a result of this they were denied not just social recognition but suffered economic disempowerment.  Things however started changing when a new trend in women organising commenced in the Nigeria South South community. Ikot Akama is a remote rural village in the Oruk Anam local government area of Akwa Ibom state,  located in the southern white mangrove forest of Nigeria. Their major economic activities include petty trading and peasant farming, with palm oil production being their most important means of family and community income. Here, like in most parts of traditional Africa, women are discriminated against, even though they form about 50% of the over 3,000 population. Women and girls are regarded as the weaker sex in many communities in the Akwa Ibom state. They do not have a voice in family or community matters and neither...