Date: 31st July, 2026
Location: Local communities and streets of Ibadan.
Luma: Signups: 28, Registered: 21
Attendees: 17
Language: English
Circle Steward: Uchenna Agams
EVENT STRUCTURE
We took the community conversations beyond our Circle meeting space and into the streets of Ibadan through what we called The Community Voices.
The activity was designed to engage directly with residents, understand the challenges affecting them, gather possible solutions and identify practical “winnable issues” that the Circle could address through community-led action.
PARTICIPATION AND TEAM STRUCTURE
A total of 17 community members attended the activity. The field participants were organised into four teams of four (+1) members, with each team comprising:
- An interviewer or host
- A camera person or video recorder
- A note-taker
- A liaison officer
Each role contributed to ensuring that the conversations were properly conducted, documented and coordinated.
The teams were equipped with mobile phones for video recording, four microphones, flash deives for storage, Logos Circle Zines, Code of Conduct forms, a document containing the list of questions for respondess, recording devices, power banks, pens, jotters and other supporting materials. Two teams moved through the streets, while the other two visited schools and other locations within the community.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The field exercise lasted approximately one hour and thirty minutes. During this period, the teams engaged residents from different backgrounds and age groups, ranging from approximately 18 years old to people in their seventies and eighties.
About 25 recorded interviews were conducted. The teams also spoke with several other residents who were willing to share their experiences and opinions but preferred not to be recorded.
The residents were generally receptive and happy to speak with the teams. Some even shared their personal contacts and indicated willingness to help, support or contribute if need be. Their responses provided valuable insight into the everyday realities of people living within the community.
Some of the most frequently mentioned challenges included:
- Unemployment
- Poor electricity supply
- Limited access to clean water
- Food insecurity
- Environmental pollution
- Poor waste disposal and refuse-management systems
- Limited access to opportunities
- Out of school children
- Educational challenges
REVIEW AND IDENTIFICATION OF WINNABLE ISSUES
After the field interviews, all the teams reconvened to review their observations, notes and the ideas shared by residents.
The discussion highlighted several major concerns, particularly unemployment, power and water supply, waste disposal, food insecurity, limited access to opportunities and educational support for students.
The plan was to identify and work on at least one winnable issue to be achieved on or before our next meeting. The group discussed practical actions that could be implemented with available resources while longer-term issues continued to be explored.
Three immediate possibilities were identified:
-
Community Clean-up Exercise
Organising volunteers to clean selected areas affected by poor waste disposal and environmental pollution. -
Student Awareness and Opportunity Sessions
Visiting schools to speak with students about self-awareness, personal development and educational or career opportunities available to them. -
Food Bank Support Initiative
Providing food to vulnerable people experiencing hardship, particularly people living or seeking support on the streets.
The Circle reviewed the three proposed interventions to determine the most realistic and impactful winnable issue to implement during the coming month.
Given that it was already getting late, we decided to continue the meeting in our WhatsApp Community group that same weekend.
The WhatsApp Discussion had about 20 people in attendance, and the discussion was thus:
OUR CORE WINNABLE ISSUE: Disability Inclusion
Disability inclusion remains the Circle’s core winnable issue, with a particular focus on creating skill-acquisition, learning and economic opportunities for persons with disabilities.
However, the Circle recognises that this is a long-term intervention that requires extensive research, careful planning, sustainable funding, skilled personnel, partnerships and strong operational support to implement effectively.
While we continue to research the needs of persons with disabilities, engage relevant stakeholders and explore the resources required to develop a meaningful intervention, we also want to maintain consistent community action.
In line with this, we decided to identify a smaller, achievable intervention that can be timely implemented with the resources currently available.
OUR FIRST WINNABLE ISSUE: Environmental Sanitization and Waste Disposal Excercise.
A simple, low-cost cleanup of one or two streets. This including providing basic waste bins/baskets where necessary and ensuring proper disposal.
The short-term plan is to select one or two streets/locations for a morning community cleanup in August (This month). This will serve first winnable issue will serve as a platform to create awareness and boost community morale.
On the long-term, we intend to explore partnerships with waste disposal companies to support regular refuse collection, potentially once a month. We’re also looking at providing waste baskets/bins for households or strategic points along the selected street. We are already in talks with a waste disposal company and some community residents.
Attached is a post on X, it is a video summary of the activity: https://x.com/agamidodaigwe/status/2087263606526148927
The aim is not just to clean the area once, but to create a simple system that encourages proper waste disposal and continued cleanliness.