Juanita was always caring. Just plain concern for her friends. She was a special kind. She will be missed. Goodbye my friend.

It was my first or second year in secondary school and we were having a major event.  I don't remember exactly what the event was but I remember it was being held in the dining hall and involved all 1000+ students, staff and principal.  i walked in late and the hall was field to capacity with standing room only at the back.  I went to stand at the back right behind a group of teachers who were seated.

There were performances being held on stage by students and as I walked in, Juanita got on stage to sing.  I did not know her personally but I had seen her from a distance and heard her sing on stage before.   She had an incredible voice that was both powerful and unique.  That particular performance stands out very sharply in my memory till this day.

As Juanita started to sing, the packed hall fell into a complete and deafening silence.  You could hear a pin drop in that hall.  She could not have been more than 11 or 12 years old but her voice rang out powerfully and with deep emotion.  She was singing "Oluronbi", a Yoruba folk song about a woman who had carelessly pledged her daughter to the gods and eventually had to fulfil that pledge, resulting in her daughter's death.  Though Juanita did not use a microphone,  her voice reverberated from every corner of that big hall and transfixed everyone in it.

There were a row of teachers sitting right by were I was and one of them was a a notoriously mean woman who was particularly harsh towards us students.  To my shock, she stood up while Juanita was still singing and started to dance.  It was the first time I had ever seen her (the teacher) react positively to anything and the transformation struck me.  I watched this lady go from being a cold, mean and unreactive person to a smiling, dancing and seemingly joyful person as Juanita sang.  Even at the young age of 11 or so I was profoundly struck by what I observed that day standing at the back of that hall.  Juanita, singing on stage with all her heart and soul and seemingly oblivious to the effect she was having on others. 

Juanita had a very unique impact on people from a very young age and she was an unforgettable character.  Out of the 1080 students that attended our school, FGGC Bakori, at the time, she was the one student most likely to be remembered by everyone.  Her talent and people skills resulted in her being made Social Prefect for the school about 3 years later.  She was in charge of all stage events which were  frequent and included stage plays, cultural dances, fashion shows, discos and so on and so forth.  At Bakori, we were a bunch of lively and exuberant girls and loved to express our creativity in various ways on stage and Juanita was just the right person to lead that which she did exceptionally well.

In our final year at school, Juanita and I were among a small group of students who travelled to Lagos to represent our school in a National competition for literature and drama.  We won the competion and an invitation to present our play to the Governor of Lagos State at the time which we did at the National theater in Lagos.  That time we spent together in Lagos, at about 15 years of age, is one of my most enduring and endearing memories of my most amazing friend.



 

I'd always been curious about the meaning of names and never missed the chance to ask people the meaning of their names whenever I heard a new name. Attending high school in Bakori (then Kaduna State - now Katsina state, Nigeria) - with a population of about 800 people from a wider diversity of cultures than the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa I was used to up to that point was therefore an endless opportunity to ask the question.

I'd never met anyone with the name Juanita so my curiosity about names drew me to Juanita in our first few weeks at Bakori. Looking back at her life, it is little wonder that she lived a life that showed how much of a gift from God she was to us, to me ... how much she graciously spent her time charting causes where many feared to tred... Juanita... Gift from God, Consecrated to God. 

I went from learning meaning of names to learning phrases and words in all the many languages Juanita spoke. I dare say I made her my handy dictionary cos she seemed to know something in every language!

We once had some exchange students from Namibia come to our school. Several of them expressed interest in sports but seemed incredibly shy - almost scared - to mix with the other students. I was a sports girl and thought I had a reasonably good relationship with the exchange students but wanted them to participate better. One day, I explained the challenge to Juanita. During one of many opportunities we had together with the students, she got into a discussion on their culture, language, life at home, and coming to Nigeria. The next thing I know she's teaching me phrases in their language!  

The lessons came in very handy because it resulted in an improved relationship with the girls and soon several of them joined the sports team. I know people reacted warmly when I asked the meaning of their names and the language it represented, but I soon learned how much more it means to a person  to speak to them in their own language. It meant even more to the exchange students being so far away from their homes and families, and endeared us to them.

With Juanita encouragement and support, the students blossomed and thrived so much that soon they were on stage during one of our many entertainment events sharing of their culture.  Guess who was the only 'local' students on stage with them .... our one and only Juanita .. singing in the language like she'd always understood it... singing in her beautiful voice, with a passion that reflected meaning, understanding and a sharing of the pain, suffering, joys, concerns, sorrow, happiness, expressed in the songs. It was soon after that I learned about Apatheid and the struggles going on in Southern African region. With that came a renewed respect for my friend Juanita and an appreciation for my peaceful environment. How did - could - she know so much even way back then? And then go on to choose a career dedicated to ridding the world of poverty, injustice and unfairness?
 
Juanita ... she certainly was a gift from God... and I'm forever grateful for the lessons I learned through her, with her. 
 
 

I taught Juanita how to draw that puppy face next to her name when we were 12.  I did not even know she still used it.  I still do too:-).  Our handwriting is almost identical, its almost like reading my own words.  I had forgotten how much we had rubbed off on each other from childhood (well, except I never planned on ten children!:-).  She really was my "other" twin.

You should see the tremor shocks here in the country. I had a colleague over for dinner and she was telling me about a dear friend she lost. She did not know that I too had lost the same friend. We had just flown together a few months back 

I actually took this picture...in my office...and I remember it all...She was in her usual mood! excited about everything...in a very infectious manner!  how I miss her now.

Read Tribute on eWASH 

My heart has been heavy since last Friday. I have just overcame the initial shock, grief, and psychological trauma of losing a dear friend and colleague, one of the finest in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector.

One of the most depressing assignments a Journalist could face is to break the news of a  friend’s obituary. When I heard of the sudden death of Juanita last Friday through an email by Saheed Mustafa, Policy and Partnership Officer at WaterAid, I refused to spread the news.

Later that same day, when   Oluseyi Abdulmalik, Communications and Campaigns Manager, WaterAid in Nigeria, specifically requested I quickly write a befitting  tribute on Juanita During, I also could not surmount the strength to do so.

How do I start writing of Juanita in the past?

My relationship with Juanita During was more than  that of a professional colleague. She was a friend and motivator.  She was also an inspiration in water, sanitation and hygiene  sector -advocacy and activism. Personally, I regard her as a model, and she was always there to  support and encourage my work.

For those who do not know her, Juanita, was the before her death,  the Head of Policy, Advocacy and Partnership at the African Centre for Water and Sanitation (CREPA) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

She had earlier worked for WaterAid Nigeria as Head of governance, UNICEF, and the Afri-projects Consortium which managed the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in Nigeria.

She was reported to have died on died last Thursday, August 16 at a Burkina Faso hospital after a brief illness.

My eyes are filled with tears as I write this piece on a person, that has been described by various people as a ‘Rising Star’ in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, nationally, regionally, and internationally. As the Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria will say’ Iku fi osika sile, omu eni rere lo’. (Death left the wicked and took a good person).

Juanita was one of the most passionate people on WASH that I have come across. Her profound commitment to increasing access of services to the poor is perhaps unmatchable by any other person in Nigeria, nay in the African continent. When I approached her for an interview at the Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene in Mumbai, October 2011, she said she is willing to answer all questions, saying with confidence and modesty that even if she was just woken from a sleep, there was not question on WASH she could not answer or an issue she could not respond to.

No International meeting on WASH was complete without her participation and egregious contribution. She had the WASH facts on her finger tips and figures on her lips. She is well known and respected for making informed commentary with a power of oratory fuelled by a deep conviction that WASH issues need to be put in the front burner.

You cannot come in contact with Juanita and not become won over to WASH advocacy. On August 24, 2011 during the World Water Week in Stockholm, she was one of the speakers at a seminar titled: ‘Drive to 2015’, where the strategies of achieving the WASH Millennium Development Goals were discussed. Before she was called to the podium, the speakers before her, had described water sanitation in esoteric and technical terms, such as ‘human excreta’ and ‘human waste’.

When she picked the microphone, she set the hall literally ablaze with an infectious conviction, speaking powerfully, breaking the communication barrier, and laying the facts bare; she described human waste simply as ‘shit’ to a thunderous applause. Her quarrel was that even the sector practitioners are reluctant to talk about ‘shit’ in plain and simple language.

The proceeding of the event as report by eWASH titled: “Stakeholders discuss ‘shit’ at World Water Week” http://assemblyonline.info/?p=13269; is reproduced below:

“At a seminar on ‘Drive to 2015’ during the World Water Week in Stockholm, yesterday, During said: all stakeholders need to talk more about “shit”.

Speaking forcefully that the sanitation target in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be achieved, if sanitation becomes trendier to stakeholders, she said “I’m not very good at political correctness, but let’s face it; we are here to talk about shit,”

“It is not pretty, it doesn’t smell nice and we want to get away from it, but it is a matter of life and death. We need to make sure that sanitation and hygiene is trendy, hence the catchy acronym: SHIT”, said Juanita During who represented CREPA (Centre Regional pour l’Eau Potable et l’Assainissement à faible coût) at the ceremony”

The second day, she event was expectedly the lead story of the ‘Waterfront’  the daily newsletter of the World Water Week, and her picture and comments graced the cover.http://www.worldwaterweek.org/documents/WWW_PDF/Media/2011/2011WWW-Thursday-low.pdf

As some of us her friends and colleagues  in Stockholm, sat down to review the ‘Waterfront’ story of the titled: ‘Sanitation needs a higher profile to achieve UN targets’, a colleague who jocularly wanted to diminish the impact of her messages, commented that her picture was put on the cover of the Waterfront, because of beautiful face.  The rest of us defended Juanita, stating  while we agreed that she had a beautiful face, she also had a beautiful brain and a mastery of WASH issues.

Juanita was a queen. She had a beautiful face and a beautiful heart. She had a charming and infectious debonair , yet friendly, humble and down to earth. She knows her job and was exemplary in her profession. She was a golden fish in hot demand by all development partners.

She once told me she is not perturbed about her marital challenges, confessing that she is a child of God, and God’s marital plan for her will eventually materialised. Death missed the point by snatching her as she is about to settled down in marriage after the years of waiting. Unknown to death, Juanita has gone home as a bride, to meet the true bridegroom.

Goodnight Juanita, you shall be sorely missed. But we shall meet in heaven.

Babatope Babalobi   Babalobi@yahoo.com is the Executive Director of Bread of Life Development Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria.

Ahhh! Darling Sister!

So charming and so lively! so sweet!

My Mum's birthday mate.

What we don't understand is fully understood by the Lord. I give glory unto Him in all situations - we will understand it better by and by. Sleep in the bossom of your Lord till we meet again. Adieu.

May we all fulfill our purposes on earth and may we be found standing firm on the Rock of Ages at His coming or calling in Jesus' name. Amen.


Maranatha!

As a christian, I learned at a very young age that I could and should pray about everything and anything... but it was Juanita that really taught me to pray about anything and everthing...

We met at FGGC Bakori, but our friendship, which like many others that started there, continued byond that school compound, extending beyond just the two of us to our families. It helped that we both lived in Lagos and within walking distances of each other for many years after Bakori.

One of our favorite things to do during our many forced holidays while we were in university, was take long walks during which we would dream, hope, plan, wish, talk or just walk silently. 

It was during one of such breaks that I noticed Juanita's hair had grown exceptionally long while we'd both been away to school. When I asked what she'd done to get such results, she said she prayed over her hair and asked God to give it life. 

Ever since then, whenever I find myself praying for what may be considered the most ridiculous things, or encouraging others to pray for whatever burdens or desires they have, I do so not really in response to God's invitation in the Bible ... but because I still hear her voice responding to my question ... because Juanita taught me to do so ... because Juanita proved God's word to be true.

Juanita's testimony given so many years ago has blessed me and I'm certain many other people over the years ... I don't think I ever told her how much that singular act stayed with me over the years and I'll never have the chance to tell her ...  I cannot describe how much it hurts that I had so many opportunities to tell her but I didn't ... 

Even in death ... Juanita is yet drumming home another lesson we all know ... not to put off for another time what we very well can and should do NOW.

I pray the Lord her good soul to keep. 

Juanny.......what can I say......here today, gone tomorrow. My sister, my friend. Saying goodbye our long term friendship is the hardest thing. I still remember, I was 5 when we met. You will be greatly missed.

Life is so so short....let's make peace while we still can.

I love you always Juanny.

I just knew Juanita would be doing something in and on the International stage, she  had all the pedigree for such and Glory be to God, she was given the opportunity with her job going round the world.  I celebrate you my darling and thank God I met you through your lovely sister Kemi During.  The life you lived holds this scripture true, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord raises a standard against it (Isaiah 59:19).  That standard is the Grace that God  our Father put on your life to do so much, touch so many even through the challenges.  You had graceful talents and skills and you expressed them, touching lives.

I know Jesus, He is loving and kind, He wipes tears and gives strength, He loves passionately and makes everything okay.  I trust Him very much, He will take wonderful care of you for that is His specialty.  I love love and miss you.  

Sleep well my darling, rest peacefully.