Bristow Helicopter Crashes In Lagos Lagoon

A helicopter flying in from Port-Harcourt owned by Bristow Helicopters crashed into the Oworosoki end of the Lagos lagoon around 3pm today. A total of 12 people were reportedly on board when the helicopter went down.

Speaking on the incident, Ibrahim Farinloye, NEMA spokesman said,”We don’t know exactly what happened but we have called the Nigerian mission control centre (NIMCC) to confirm the distress signal.” he said, adding that “the centre will ascertain this through the COSPAS-SARSAT, also known as the beacon, which is a hi-tech satellite based equipment made by Russia, USA and Canada for search and rescue purposes.”

According to Vanguard, three of those on board have died while four injured ones were moved to the nearby Gbagada General Hospital.

An eyewitness, Adaora Moka, was the first to tweet about the incident:
I just saw a helicopter crash into the lagoon from 3rd Mainland Bridge. I hope the people survive

— Adaora Moka (@jugomoka)August 12, 2015

This thing is so devastating. The helicopter burst into flames when it crashed into the water. I don’t know if people will survive. — Adaora Moka (@jugomoka) August 12, 2015

See photos from the crash scene below (Photos by Michael Opeyemi):



NEMA officials conducting rescue efforts at the scene of the crash


NEMA senior officials directing proceedings at the site of the crash


Victims getting medical attention







Officials of LASEMA at the scene of the helicopter crash


Helicopter at the scene of the helicopter crash






Money found on some victims of the helicopter crash

May the soul of the victim rest in perfect peace and for those who are still in the hospital, I wish them quick recovery.

Mothers Who are Preparing to Give Birth Abroad:

I'm passionate about delivering my next child abroad and became curious to get vital information on this matter.  So, I contacted experts  to gather reliable information on how to give birth abroad and I found it worthy of sharing on this blog.

Here are my tips for Mothers who are preparing to give birth abroad:

1.   DO YOUR PRE-BIRTH RESEARCH: Which country?  Which location? What type of extended housing and transportation is available at the location? Also, remember to check the visa requirement for such country. You can ask around other expats, search the internet and don’t be afraid to reach out to those expats bloggers with your questions.

2.    GET A STANDARD HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY OF YOUR CHOICE: Register with a standard and affordable maternity hospitals in the country of your choice and after finalizing with the hospital proceed to the country Embassy in your home town to get your visa with the original documents to proof your reasons for traveling to the country. After getting visa, you can book a flight.  Do not forget to get an affordable health insurance and make a budget for your trip.

3. CHECK FLIGHT REGULATIONS FOR FLYING WHILE PREGNANT: If you are planning to fly to another country to deliver your baby, you must find out the airline’s regulations for flying while pregnant. Regulations are not the same for all airlines and all airports. Airports policies are different depending on whether they have a clinic to do the pre-flight check. Some airlines let you fly with a doctor’s note until you’re 35+ weeks pregnant. Other airlines won’t even let you on the plane (even with a doctor’s note) if you’re 33 weeks pregnant. Do your research on the regulations and make sure the note from the doctor is dated no later than a week before your flight.


4. GET YOUR BAGS PACKED FOR THE TRIP: Since you might have to fly out a month before your due date and then you’re looking at another month or two after you deliver to take care of passports and visas, you’re going to want to put a little more thought than usual into your packing. It is important to pack smartly (travel as light as possible) to avoid any inconveniences in your journey.

5. SECURE A PLACE TO STAY:  By the time you have passport and visa in hand combined with flying restrictions you may find yourself relocated for 2 to 3 months. You want comfortable and affordable accommodations. Check with other companies/organizations that have home offices in the city you will be staying. Maybe if they have vacancies you can get a cheaper rate than through a private rental. Also, check with the hospitals themselves, especially, if the country is known for medical tourism.

6. HAVE A BIRTH PLAN READY:  There are many different cultures and many different religions. This means that people have a lot of different cultural and religious preferences when it comes to the birth of a child. Prepared to tell the hospital staff what you want and what you do not want. Please, remember to ask your doctor to provide you a pre-typed birth plan, this will help you indicate your preference.

7. DON’T BE AFRAID TO PESTER PEOPLE WITH QUESTIONS: If you aren’t sure of anything  ask questions from experienced people and when you get to the country also ask question from your Doctor and Nurses.

8. REPORT THE BIRTH TO YOUR EMBASSY AND APPLY FOR THE BABY’S PASSPORT: Not many moms have to pack up and head to the embassy with baby in-tow a mere week after giving birth. Lucky you! It’s not ideal but it has to be done. You’re required to make an appointment for this so don’t just show up to the embassy unannounced. There are also a good bit of documents you need to have ready to turn in once you’ve made your appointment. It is crucial to ask for the list of the needed document and be sure if you are to bring photocopy or original copy of such document to the Embassy.

9. LOOK FOR INTERPRETER: If you don’t deliver in a city where all nursing/doctor/staff speaks English well, to have a friend in the city come and help interpret. Or take advantage of a hospital’s interpretation services (many hospitals with high expat patient numbers have this service). Or, if you already know the language, brush up on some terms you might encounter.

10. ASK A FRIEND TO “PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE” PICK YOU AND YOUR FAMILY UP FROM THE AIRPORT ONCE YOU RETURN HOME:  Nobody wants to take a taxi (or maybe even 2 with all of your luggage) once you get back to your home city.  Don’t underestimate how much others want to help you. When there’s an opportunity to hold a precious little newborn baby, people are going to be quick to offer you some help. You might feel guilty asking someone to drive way out of the way to come and get you but trust me, people want to help. Don’t rob someone of the joy that comes from helping others. Speaking as a person who likes to give, it really does bring me joy. So let the givers give and the helpers help.


Hope this is useful. Do not forget to drop your comment or like our facebook page: www.facebook.com/travelarmy

Scholarship: the University of Geneva,Faculty of science offers Masters Scholarships.

The Faculty of science of the University of Geneva is awarding excellence master fellowships for students from any country. Fellowship is open to students from any university with very good performance in their studies and that have completed the Bachelor degree or expect to complete it within 6 months. The Excellence Fellowship consists of a grant amounting to CHF 10’000 to CHF 15’000/year (no teaching duties). Selection of the applicants will be based on excellence. The application deadline is 15 March, 2016.
Study Subject(s): Fellowships are awarded in any discipline available within the Faculty of science. They cover a broad range of scientific disciplines: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Computer Sciences, Mathematics, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Physics.
Course Level: Fellowships are available for pursuing Master of Science program at University of Geneva.

Scholarship Provider: University of Geneva, Switzerland
Scholarship can be taken at: Switzerland
Eligibility: Application for an Excellence Fellowship is open to students from any university with very good performance in their studies (belonging to the best 10% of their bachelor’s program) and that have completed the Bachelor degree or expect to complete it within 6 months.
Scholarship Open for International Students: Students of any country can apply for these excellence master fellowships.

Scholarship Description: The Faculty of science of the University of Geneva is an internationally top-ranked scientific institution covering a broad range of scientific disciplines: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Computer Sciences, Mathematics, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Physics. It has a strong focus on research and hosts three National Centres of Competence in Research of the highly competitive Swiss National Science Foundation (Frontiers in Genetics; MaNEP; Chemical Biology) and many European collaborative research projects. The Masters of the Faculty of Science constitute an ideal entry for high-level professional and academic careers.

Duration of award(s): It is awarded for one year and extended for the regular duration of the chosen Master’s programme (three or four semesters) provided the applicant is academically successful at the end of his/her first semester of studies.
What does it cover? The Excellence Fellowship consists of a grant amounting to CHF 10’000 to CHF 15’000/year (no teaching duties).
Selection Criteria: Selection of the applicants will be based on excellence. Evaluation will be made on the basis of the documentation sent by the applicants.

How to Apply: Applications should be sent as an unique pdf file by e-mail to the Dean of the Faculty of Science: Excellence-Master-Sciences-at-unige.ch. The application (in English or French) consists of:
1. Application Form
2. A Curriculum Vitae including the transcript of exams passed during the bachelor education, with grades.
3. A two-page essay in which the applicant describes his/her specific scientific interests, specifies the Master’s program at the Faculty of Science he/her would like to pursue, and motivates the intention to pursue a Master of Science programme at the University of Geneva.
4.  Letters of references from two professors (preferably sent by them directly to the e-mail address   indicated below). They should specifically attest if the candidate fulfills the conditions of the Excellence Fellowship Program.
 5. Other pertinent information like results of GRE (General requirement examination), of TOEFL or other language test.
Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadline is 15 March, 2016.

 Click here for further information and applicatiofor the Scholarship.

Inside KSA: Princess Reem named UN goodwill ambassador

Princess Reem Bint Mansour Al-Saud was named a UN goodwill ambassador, the first Saudi princess to receive the honor, for her humanitarian work.

Princess Reem holds an M.Sc. in social policy and a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern studies from Oxford University. She is a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government working on enhancing Saudi labor policies, especially those pertaining to women.

She was named as a UN goodwill ambassador at an award ceremony held at the Conrad Hotel in Cairo.

Afaf Abdullah Yamani, the official Saudi representative to the Friends of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), was present at the award ceremony and delivered the acceptance speech on Princess Reem’s behalf.

In the speech, the princess said her priority would always be her country and that her newly earned title would aid her in breaking new ground in Saudi society.

Thanking UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Friends of WFUNA for the honour, she said she had always had a strong interest in the role of Saudi women in the Islamic world and that the UN title would enable her to contribute more to the world’s social and humanitarian issues.

The Princess also thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for the efforts he has put into humanitarian and women’s issues in Saudi Arabia.

Expat caught skinning rotten sheep carcasses

I saw this post on Saudi Gazette and found it useful for my Muslim fans who care so much about their deen. Please, say capital 'NO' to junk food.

JEDDAH — An expatriate restaurant worker was caught skinning rotten sheep carcasses and cutting the meat outside a police compound in Hafr Al-Batin.

The man was preparing the meat for use in sandwiches sold at a cafe.

During a routine round, municipality inspectors noticed the worker outside the police compound in a deserted area. They kept watching him and soon they saw him pull out a carcass from dead sheep dumped at the place by farmers.

The inspectors monitored the worker until he skinned three carcasses and started cutting the meat. The officers surrounded him and phoned the police, who arrived at the scene and arrested the worker. The café was immediately closed down.

Culled: Saudi Gazette

Australia – 2015 Full Master Scholarships at South Australia University

The University of South Australia is a globally-focused, locally-engaged institution established on the dual principles of equity and excellence. With more than 33,000 students, the university is South Australia’s largest and has more than 10,000 International students. The University of South Australia is inviting applications for the President’s Scholarships available for Australian and International students and awarded on the basis of academic merit. Scholarships are available to support students enrolling in areas of research concentration and research strength and are nearly always given to doctorate by research candidates but can be given to masters


Description of Ideal Candidate:
In order to be eligible for the scholarship you must have a University of South Australia supervisor willing to nominate you for consideration and outstanding academic records, and be a citizen of an overseas country eligible for entry to Australia for the time required to complete the research degree.

Criteria for Australian applicants:
Generally an applicant must have first-class Honours or equivalent to be eligible;
Scholarships are awarded on the basis that the candidate will be studying full-time. In some cases, candidates can apply to receive scholarships on a part-time basis if there are compelling social reasons (eg the need to provide full-time care of children, disabled, sick, injured or elderly). The need to undertake part- or full-time work is not considered a compelling social reason.


Criteria for International applicants:
Generally an applicant must have first-class Honours or equivalent to be eligible;
An awardee must be enrolled on a full-time basis as a candidate for a Masters by Research or PhD at the University of South Australia.
An awardee shall be enrolled as an internal candidate at the University of South Australia.

Hope this is helpful?

Latest Exchange Rates to Naira

Here are your latest exchange rates as at today Monday 7th August 2015

1 US Dollar = 199.01 Naira
1 European Euro = 218.262 Naira
1 British Pound = 310.333 Naira
1 Kuwaiti Dinar = 656.699 Naira
1 Libyan Dinar = 142.554 Naira
1 Israeli Shekel = 52.89 Naira
1 Brazilian Reals = 57.89 Naira
1 Argentine peso = 21.65 Naira
1 Egyptian pound = 25.41 Naira
1 Ethiopian Birr = 9.58 Naira
1 Moroccan Dirham = 20.23 Naira
1 Kenyan Shilling = 1.96 Naira
1 Japanese yen = 1.6 Naira
1 Chinese yuan renminbi = 32.04 Naira
1 South African Rand = 15.67 Naira
1 Emirati Dirham (Dubai AED) = 54.17 Naira
1 Qatari Riyal = 54.64 Naira
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 53.06 Naira
1 Malaysian Ringgit = 51.67 Naira
1 Canadian Dollar = 151.548 Naira
1 Ghanaian Cedi = 52.10 Naira
1 Gambian Dalasi = 5.02 Naira
1 Russian Ruble = 3.177 Naira
1 Australian Dollar = 144.896 Naira
1 Indian rupee = 3.11 Naira
1 Philippine Peso = 4.35 Naira
1 Mexican peso = 12.37 Naira
1 Czech Koruna = 8.07 Naira
1 Algerian Dinar = 2.00 Naira
1 Liberian dollar = 2.15 Naira
1 Angolan Kwanza = 1.57 Naira


Note: These are the base exchange rates which Forex agents work from - you will pay a higher rate than this with a Forex agent because they charge commission/service fee. TravelArmy does not sell foreign currency, these serve only as a guide.

Looking at the above exchange rate you can see that our  naira (NGN) is really going through terrible devaluation, I hope our new President (Muhammadu Buhari) will rescue us.

Have a lovely weekend.

Early Childhood Education in Australia

Working with Children can be one of the most rewarding experiences of anyone’s life. Child Care Centre Managers direct and supervise child care workers, develop and implement programs to enhance the lives of young Australians and provide care for young children in before-school, after-school, day and vacation care centres.
Child Care Cenre Manager is currently on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) to view this list Please Click Here


Employment in this Qualification has rose very strongly in the last 5 years and is expected to keep growing. This is wonderful for anyone currently studying or thinking about studying this course because there is a very strong chance employment opportunities will exist when they have completed their course. ‘
Career Information:
The average hours worked by a person in Child Centre Managers are 37.6 hours per week compared to the national average of all occupations 41.1 hours per week.
The Average Pay for someone working in Child Care Centre Manager is $1115.00 per week.

Child Centre Manager Courses:
Certificate III in Children Services
Course Duration: 6 months (including 240 hours of practicum working in a childcare)Common Course Requirements:
Must have graduated year 11 in home country
Must have a minimum of IELTS 5 in all 4 components


Course Outcome:
Assistant in a Childcare Centre
Assistant in Family Day Care Provider
Pathways: Most Certificates in Early Childhood Education courses provide a pathway to Diploma of Early Childhood Education.
Diploma Of Early Childhood Education

Course Duration: 1 year (including 240 hours of practicum working in a childcare) Common Course Requirements:
Must have graduated year 11 in home country
Must have a minimum of IELTS 5 in all 4 components
Course Outcome:
Qualified Child Care Group Leader
Family Day Care Coordinator

Pathways: Most Diploma of Early Childhood Education courses provide a pathway to Bachelor or Bachelor of Education majoring in Early Childhood. If you complete a Diploma of Early Childhood Eduction, you may be given Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) for your Bachelor of Education and reduce the time of the course significantly.
Education Pathways:

Child Care Centre Manager (134111) is currently on the Skilled Occupation List. The current education qualification requirement to obtain a positive skills assessment is a Diploma of Early Childhood Education. By studying a package of courses that go for 2 years and result in a Diploma of Children’s Services you may be able to begin your pathway to living and working in Australia. You may even be able to do this without being sponsored by an employer and you may not need to live in a regional area. Below are some simple steps that may allow you to go down this pathway.
Step 1: Study a course or package of courses that go for at least 2 years and includes the Diploma of Early Childhood Education
Cert III in Early Childhood Education (6 months)
Diploma of Early Childhood Education (1 year)
Diploma of Management (6 months)
Step 2: By studying for 2 years and undertaking 360 hours of vocational placement during your studies (most education providers will arrange this for you), you may be eligible to apply for and receive the temporary graduate visa

The graduate visa is a work visa that allows the visa holder to live and work in Australia for up to 18 months. For more information on the graduate visa click here.
Step 3: On the graduate visa, you will be able to undertake part in the Job Ready Program.

The benefits of the JRP is that on completion you will be provided with a positive skills assessment for general migration purposes. On this program you must work for at least 12 months as a Child Care Centre Manager. The Childcare will need to have a minimum of 20 children in the 0-5 age group. Your employer will not need to sponsor your visa, as you will already be on the graduate visa. This will mean that you have a lot higher chance of finding employment as it is very easy for the employer to hire you. You may find this video on the Job Ready Program helpful.
Step 4: Once you have completed the Job Ready Program as a Child Care Centre Manager you will receive a positive skills assessment. Once you have the positive skills assessment you will be able to apply for general skilled migration visas.

If eligible, the general skilled migration visas do not require you to have an employer that is willing to sponsor your visa. Please note that you will still be required to pass the points test and health checks to apply for this visa.
Job Forecasts & Facts:
Employment in this sector rose very strongly in the last 5 years and also in the long term as well (10 years).
Growth in this industry is predicted to be very strong over the next 5 years.
This Industry is also growing in Regional areas creating more & more employment opportunities.
The most common level of Education Attained is a Bachelor Degree (49.2%).
There are currently 26000 Child Centre Managers employed in Australia.


Culled: www.pathwaytoaus.com