Logos Circle Benin City, March 2026
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2026
Location: Benin City, Nigeria
Registered on Luma: 9
Attended: 7 participants (7 return attendees)
Languages: English, Pidgin
Circle Steward: Paschal
Participants
Seven members attended this month’s circle, a more intimate session that allowed for deeper, more focused conversations. Attendees included UNIBEN students, blockchain developers, and community organisers involved in the Zeqah initiative.
Event Structure
Start Time: 3pm End Time: 5pm
Agenda:
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Community welfare - supporting Ephraim (Zeqah coordinator)
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Zeqah Study Group - finalising the organisational structure
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Logistics planning - venues, power supply, and coordinator support ahead of exam season
Topics Discussed
1. Community Crowdfunding for Ephraim
The circle opened with an immediate, real-world demonstration of what community organising looks like in practice. Ephraim, a Zeqah coordinator, has been unwell and needed financial support for medication and welfare. The group collectively crowdfunded for him on the spot.
Key Points & Insights: This was a powerful moment for the circle, members stepped up without hesitation to support one of their own. It reinforced the trust and solidarity that has been building across our meetings.
Why it matters: This is exactly the kind of small, winnable action that strengthens a circle. Before we can coordinate on larger infrastructure projects, we need to prove that we show up for each other in tangible ways. As @drgoemon suggested in his feedback on our last report, starting with something concrete and achievable builds the foundation for bigger wins.
2. Zeqah Study Group, Organisational Structure
The bulk of the session focused on implementing the Zeqah Study Group structure, which we first proposed at the February circle. We moved from concept to concrete planning this time.
Key Points & Insights:
The group agreed on the following structure:
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Departmental Coordinators will be the school’s departmental Directors of Academics, leveraging existing student leadership rather than creating parallel structures.
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Other leadership positions, Campus Lead, Monitoring & Evaluation Lead, Welfare Lead, Communications Lead, and Academic Programs Lead will be filled through a combination of open applications and group voting.
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Timeline: The full structure will be operational at the beginning of next semester. All selection and onboarding processes need to be completed before then.
Challenges: Ensuring candidates for leadership roles are genuinely committed and not just collecting titles. Balancing the workload on coordinators who are also students with their own academic demands.
Next Steps: Open the application process for leadership roles in the coming weeks. Finalise the selection criteria and share them on the group chat.
3. Logistics & Support Planning
The final portion of the session addressed practical logistics that will determine whether Zeqah succeeds during the high-pressure exam period.
Key Points & Insights:
Three priority areas were identified and discussion continues on the group chat:
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Venue for night classes: Securing a reliable space where study groups can meet during exam periods, particularly for evening/night sessions when students need focused study time.
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Power supply: The electricity situation in Benin City remains a persistent challenge. The group discussed procuring power stations (generators or solar setups) to guarantee stable power during exam periods, building on the solar energy conversations from our February circle.
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Coordinator stipends: Establishing a system to financially support study coordinators with small tokens or stipends, recognising that their time and effort deserve compensation even if modest.
Next Steps: Research venue options and associated costs. Get quotes on portable power stations. Propose a stipend framework for coordinators before the next circle.
Highlights
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The spontaneous crowdfunding for Ephraim was the standout moment, the circle acting as a genuine support network.
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Smaller attendance allowed every participant to contribute meaningfully to each agenda item.
Outcomes
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Zeqah structure agreed upon - the study group now has a clear leadership model and timeline for implementation.
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Crowdfunding completed for Ephraim’s medical and welfare needs a concrete, winnable action taken by the circle.
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Three logistics workstreams identified (venue, power, stipends) with owners to follow up before the next circle.
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Ongoing deliberations continue on the WhatsApp group chat.
What We Learned / To Improve / New Ideas
What worked well: The smaller group size created space for more deliberate decision-making. We were able to move from discussion to actual structure and commitments rather than just brainstorming. The Ephraim crowdfund showed the circle’s maturity as a community, we’re not just talking about mutual aid, we’re practising it.
Areas for improvement: We need to follow up more actively between circles to keep momentum on action items. Some logistics discussions could be handled async on the group chat to free up circle time for deeper strategic conversations.
New ideas: Consider inviting UNIBEN departmental Directors of Academics to a future circle to get their buy-in on the Zeqah coordinator roles. Explore whether FundBrave could eventually be used as the platform for future circle crowdfunding efforts a real use case for the project built by and for the community.
Challenges
The execution of this circle was abit impromtu as the zeqah issue needed to be treated, this resulted in why we had a low turn out compared to previous circles.
Pictures of the meeting are available Here