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Showing posts from December 7, 2025

Title: When Peace Becomes the Greater Victory

The whole of last week was both satisfying and relieving for me. The long-standing issue with the contractor has finally come to an end. The final resolution from PPIC was signed, the variations were verified, and the payout to the contractor was raised. For my part, I declined to be a witness to the resolution. This was not because of disagreement or resentment, but simply a personal decision—an exercise of my right to step back after everything that had unfolded. Through this experience, I learned something deeper about working within church institutions like ACOM. In many organizational environments, the focus is often on being technically right—ensuring that every clause, every condition, and every loophole in a contract is addressed. But within a church organization, there is often a higher priority that guides decision-making. Peace. Peace between people. Peace between the parties involved. Peace within the institution itself. Sometimes, from a purely contractual or professional ...

That One Brother in Every Family

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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

Losing Our Mother Tongue: A Wake-Up Call

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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...

A Dreamy 2:30 PM: Between Procurement Manuals and Island Grilled Fish

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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...