Iwelepe, a village near Sagamu, the cathedral town of Remo diocese, is approached by means of a rutted unmade track. A surprisingly large, though uncompleted church, St Michaels, occupies one side of the village meeting place. Here the tall vicar, the Revd E. O. Adekunle, a former civil engineer, welcomed us. His wife is the M.U. Diocesan Secretary.
The Cassava Press - Iwelepe Bishop of Remo with his Chaplains.
The school which lies opposite the church is in a very sorry state of repair. Built by the Anglican church, it was nationalised by the Nigerian government and subsequently permitted to run down and finally was abandoned. Today a young volunteer teacher, armed only with a few sticks of chalk, is trying to educate the children of nursery/primary school age all in one class. Although shy, the children happily sang for us.
The Mothers Union in this diocese have undertaken to restore this school and provide better facilities. What is really needed is a vehicle with a four wheel drive, to enable children from neighbouring villages to be collected in order to make this Christian school viable.
In the village, cassava, sugar cane, plantains, bananas, mangoes and grapefruit were growing. All the stages of the treatment of cassava were demonstrated. After peeling it is grated (by hand or by machine), put into sacks and left to ferment in order to reduce the cyanide content. The sacks are then squeezed in a press and finally the cassava is dry fried over a log fire on a large tin tray - very hot work. Guinea corn (maize) and fish are also dried in the smoke. We were next taken to inspect the water supply - a shallow brook teeming with tadpoles. Alum is used to treat the water which should also be boiled and filtered before consumption.
The Village School, Iwelepe in the background, Revd Adekunle leads the way.
On our return up the muddy track we passed a former palm oil press before resting under a large shady tree where the villagers congregate for relaxation. Bottled drinks were provided for our refreshment and a large basket of huge, sweet and very juicy grapefruits was gathered for us to take away. The Vicar interpreting, we thanked them and Anne described her village, Liss Forest, which bears little in comparison with Iwelepe. However these people who own nothing but palm thatched mud huts appeared pleased to show us their means of livelihood and by their friendliness made us feel most welcome.
The Christian virtues, so simply displayed, of welcoming hospitality and generosity made us feel very humble and yet at home. After all "home is where the heart is".
written by Margaret Symonds
Margaret Symonds with Anne Lawrie, on behalf of the M.U. in the Diocese of Portsmouth, visited five prayer linked dioceses in S.W.Nigeria in Jan/Feb 1999.
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