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Showing posts from December 7, 2025

Reflection on My First Day Back at Work – Lessons in Project Risk and Management

By Ivory waki / Solvoice
Today marked my return to work after the festive season and the beginning of 2026. I did not expect the day to bring such an eye-opening experience — one that made me smile, reflect, and learn. I was confronted by five frustrated workers from the appointed contractor for the JCPU Administration Building project. One of the workers had just been released from temporary detention at the police station after the contractor reported them. You can imagine the emotional state of someone who had just come out of detention — stressed, confused, and upset. I took time to talk with them and quickly noticed several failures in the current project management that contributed to this situation. I believe these setbacks are rooted in the early stages of the project, particularly in the following areas: 1. Procurement system of the project 2. Planning phase, including costing and scheduling 3. Lack of written agreements between the main contractor and subcontractors 4. Incompetence and poor leadershi...
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That One Brother in Every Family

By Ivory waki / Solvoice
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 In every family, I believe there’s that one funny—and a bit annoying—brother. For me, that brother is my cousin, and we’ve shared so many moments together. It’s such a wonderful and blessed feeling to have a brother you can truly be yourself around. Someone you can talk to freely, joke with, sing together, and even argue with—knowing that at the end of the day, everything goes back to normal. Our special bond began in childhood, and now that we’re adults, certain moments still take me back to those early days. Those memories remain, unchanged by time. They are moments I will never forget and will cherish for the rest of my life. If you like reading it, also read losing our mother tongue wake up call. https://solvoice.blogspot.com/2025/12/losing-our-mother-tongue-wake-up-call.html?m=1
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Losing Our Mother Tongue: A Wake-Up Call

By Ivory waki / Solvoice
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 Today I had a casual conversation with one of my work colleagues, who is also a fellow Kwara'ae speaker. What started as a simple chat turned into a sad realization: many of us in this generation can no longer count properly in our own mother tongue. We can easily count in English — 1, 2, 3, 4, up to 10 and beyond. But when it comes to our own language, most of us only manage to count up to 10, and even then we struggle. Beyond ten, we are lost. This really opened my eyes. We went through school learning everything in English, including basic counting, and we ignored or were never taught how to count in our own language. We grew up fluent in English numbers, yet disconnected from something so basic and meaningful in our cultural identity. It is sad, and it is worrying. Because if we, the current generation, already struggle with something as simple as counting in Kwara'ae, what will happen to our children? What will they inherit? A language they can barely speak? A culture th...
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A Dreamy 2:30 PM: Between Procurement Manuals and Island Grilled Fish

By Ivory waki / Solvoice
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 It’s 2:30 PM, and the afternoon feels soft around the edges—dreamy, almost floating. I’m sitting here in front of my computer screen, wrestling with ACOM’s Procurement Manual, which stubbornly sits at one-quarter complete. It’s a challenge, yes, but one I’m determined to master. But my thoughts today… they are an entanglement. Half of me is deep in procurement clauses and approval workflows. The other half wanders back to my little house project—completion of concrete slab, required mesh wires, the quiet dreams of a home taking shape.  In-complete Slab [ Personal Project] And somewhere in between, another thought pulls me completely off course: that irresistible craving for island grilled fish. The kind cooked over open flames, with a side of fresh vegetables and sweet boiled banana. A simple plate, yet powerful enough to shake the entire afternoon awake. Grilled Fish   Sometimes I wish I could grow wings like a free bird—gliding above the heavy clouds, rising above dea...
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