Meeting Little Sheila

So, one of the interesting aspects of Nigerian culture and customs is the significance around names.  Many children are given multiple names at birth by different people who are significant in the lives of the parents.  Many names are reflect the events and circumstances surrounding the pregnancy or birth of the child.

Meet little Sheila.

Left to Right:  Big Sheila, Little Sheila, Patience

Little Sheila was growing in her mother's tummy during the launching of the Teacher's Transforming Nigeria Program in May of 2016.  Her mother, Patience, was one of the participants in this program.  She and her husband have started a school called "Bethel Livingstone Academy" and she found the one month training very useful in equipping her with tools she needed to lead the staff of her school.  Since this event was significant in Patience's life and the life of her family and school, they decided that one of the names they would give her daughter was...Sheila!  What an honour.

Making Banga Soup

We have a beautiful yard which has lots of wonderful trees in it.  One has oranges, another bananas.  The one pictured below is a species of palm tree.

Along the trunk are bunches of palm kernels that look like this:

One Nigerian delicacy that is made from this is "Banga Soup".  It is quite the process to make, and its preparation becomes a group affair.  Here are some snapshots of the process below.

Palm kernels being cooked down.

At the same time the cocoyam is also cooked until soft.

Next, the palm kernels are pounded down using a mortar and pestle.

Greens are washed

Cocoyam is also pounded

Palm kernels have been cooked down.

Parts all come together...

And then....I forgot to take a picture of the final product and all of us enjoying it too!!  Oops.

But there is a wonderful website called All Nigerian Recipes that also shares the process.  P.S.  It is a great website if you want to try making your own Nigerian food!

Here is the link for Banga Soup:  http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/soups/banga-soup.html