It’s about that time when u go and serve your country, hopefully In a
week or 2 u will know which of the state u are going for your NYSC
orientation. I have taken the liberty to interview some of my friends to
learn their camping experience; I have also scouted blogs, dairies,
journals and other archives in, a bid to get as much info as possible
about the three weeks of camp.
For those of you that are scared cuz it’s the first time you are
leaving your family for such a long time, don’t worry you are not alone.
It is that anxiety that lead me to this research; hearing people
recount their camping experience has put me a little bit at ease.
According to most people it is the best 3 weeks of their lives. “u
wouldn’t want to leave”. Well, i will be the judge of that after my own
experience. I decided to get a comprehensive list of the things we might
need to make life at the camp a more palatable experience. Below is the
list of things you will likely need:
Condom and Birth Control/After-Morning Pills
16 Photocopies of Statement of Result (Original and Photocopies)
16 Photocopies of School ID Card (Original and Photocopies)
16-24 copies of passport photo (take as many as possible)
Original & 16 Photocopies of Call-up Letter (This will be taken and not returned to you)
10 plain sheets of paper
A Pen
Stapler with your own pins (will save you a lot of begging)
Glue and Tipex (they say everything @ d camp is 4 sale, u want to save as much as possible)
NOTE: Make a lot of Photocopies before going to Camp. A copy can be as much as N20 at the Orientation Camp.
Please remember to also take the original documents, some camps will send you home if u don’t have originals.
+
A Cardigan
4 Round-necked white T-Shirts Throughout your stay at the
orientation camp, you will only be allowed to wear your white top and
shorts; you might not like the ones that will be handed to you at camp
so you can get those fitted brands as long as they are white, With these
duly pointed out, no need to pack a lot of clothes to the Camp. You
should only take a few in case you need to go to Mosque on a Friday or
Church on a Sunday.
2-3 extra pairs of white Shorts (All white)
A Pair Of Plain White Sneakers (NYSC will give u 1 but you’d be lucky
if they fit plus it spoils quickly know Naija & low quality things)
2 pairs of white socks
A pair of slippers (These camps are very dirty according to my
source, The bathrooms are filthy! The bedrooms are dirty! The corridors
are icky! Just have something on your feet at all times)
DETTOL (very essential, BRING or BUY. It’s just to disinfect your bath water)
Towel (BRING from home. At least you know it’s clean. Anything you buy from Mami Market may or may not be secondhand.)
Bed-Sheets, Pillow Cases, and A Pillow. (BRING from home. Again, the
peace of knowing what you’re sleeping on is clean. Mattresses will be
provided by NYSC. It is best to “double up” with the mattresses, as they
are about 1 to 2 inches thick
Handkerchief (BRING from home. There will be BUCKETS of sweating. Do yourself a favor)
Sleep clothes (BRING from home. *note that it is ridiculously hot at
night, so a large t-shirt or long tank top and little shorts will
suffice)
Underwear (Guard it jealously, I was told people steal panties SMH)
Detergent (BUY from market. Again, this reduces the amount of load
you’re bringing into camp. Remember how I said camp offers no frills?
You have to wash your clothes, underwear, and bed things. However, if
you’re lucky the mami market will have vendors offering laundry
services! The only caveats are: you run the risk of your stuff getting
lost)
A Novel (very essential esp. if u read a lot, or if u get bored
easily like me) u can also bring board/Electronic games if u like
(Chess/Scrabble/PsP/Gameboy)
Money (About 10 to 15,000 Naira should see you through the camp
period modestly. but if you have to drink and hang out at The Mammy
market a lot, then you can take more money depending on how much you can
finish, be wise though! Sha budget N1000 per day)
Toiletries/Sanitary Pad (If you are posted to the Up-North like Yobe
and Maidugiri, pls do not spray perfumes/anything scented, or the flies
won’t stop hugging you. For the ladies, u will be wearing white all
through when it’s time for your menstruation, beware of stains. )
Bucket, soap dish (buy at the camp site, don’t stress yourself taking one to the place, they always sell in the camp)
Waist bag (Try to buy this before you get to the camp, very very
essential, U’ve got to put all ur money in it and tie it round ur waist,
cos some people won’t come to camp with money and will steal)
Torchlight and Batteries (BRING or BUY. Seeing as there’s hardly ever
any electricity, and you might want to read at night, having the
flashlight helps.
Music (Ipod, MP3, Phone, , just take your music, )
ATM card (u may need 2 run out and get dough)
Painkillers, Malaria Medicine, Allergy Medicine, etc. (BRING from
home. You do not want to make the mistake of getting ill in camp. The
camp clinic is a BIG JOKE!)
Padlock (BRING or BUY. Well, you might not need it if u have a hard
suitcase – no padlocks required. And anyways, thieves apparently can
tear people’s bags with scissors or knives to get to their things)
Sun Glasses/Face Cap: (It can get really sunny, especially in the
north, but I’ll advice all to take sun glasses since you’ll be standing
on the parade ground for long hours. unless it’s rainy season)
MOSQUITO NET (My friend said the camp is Mosquito’s headquarters)
If you have a camera you can take it along because you will want to
snap a lot of scenes. If you have a Blackberry phone, that’s good for
you because you can easily and share on social networks. If you don’t
have any of those, you will have to pay some guys on camp who do that as
business to follow you around and snap you wherever you go. They might
charge up to N2000 for the duration of the camping. They should give you
all your photos and videos in CDs at the end of Camping.
You will be fed three times a day in camp but I must not lie to you,
the food there is nothing to write home about. If you are someone like
me who loves to eat good food, make provisions for your own food. You
should get some fast foods along, some breakfast cereals and beverages.
You should also hold extra cash to eat at the Mami market. You will get
good foods there
THINGS U DON’T NEED
Don’t take materials like pressing iron, knife, fork, tin cutter to
the camp. They will be seized and returned to you only on the last day
of camping. I was told this is a security measure.
Food Flask (if you’ll eat camp food,)
Don’t pack loads of unnecessary stuff. As for day clothes (mufti)
pack one or two cos you’ll only be allowed to go on mufti on Sundays and
you have 3 Sundays, so why pack all your clothes? On the 1st day of
registration, try to see that after you do your registration where u
declare your call-up letter, you endeavor to register for accommodation
as early as possible, if not you’ll not have a place to sleep on ur 1st
night in camp, and that’s not funny.
The forms that will be handed to you and attach your passport are
very easy to fill. Fill them correctly. After your registration, you
will be issued with your State Code Number. This will be like your PIN
throughout your Service Year.
After you have been given your State Code, you should proceed
straight to collect your mattress and your NYSC Kit. During my own time,
I went straight to my hostel (you will be directed), put my mattress in
place before going for my kit. Go for your kit on time so that you can
get your size.
The Camp Commandant (the soldier in charge) and the other soldiers
may tell you that if you participate in parade, play volleyball, and do
all they want you to do, you will end up being posted to a favorable
place for you Primary Assignment – LIES! Soldiers ain’t got that power
at all, maybe the Camp director and some NYSC officials can help, but
not all of them have the powers they claim.
Have fun but never agree to be manipulated or coerced into anything
by anyone. I wish everybody good luck and I hope to see you in my camp.............copywrite(sybblogpage)
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