Three weeks, one bag. Camp issues you khaki, a crested vest, shorts, jungle boots and a cap; everything else is on you. This is the list corps members wish they had before their first bugle.
Documents (waterproof folder, never in checked luggage)
- Call-up letter (several copies)
- Green card / registration slip
- Statement of result or certificate, original and copies
- School ID card and a valid national ID (NIN slip, passport or driver’s licence)
- Passport photographs: at least 8 (white background)
- Medical fitness certificate from a government hospital
- Bank details: account number and BVN, for the allowance
Clothing
- White round-neck T-shirts, 4 to 6 (you will drill in them daily)
- White shorts, 3 to 4
- White canvas shoes (2 pairs; one will be wet) and white socks, 6 pairs
- Underwear for a week; laundry is by hand
- One decent outfit for the swearing-in and social nights
- Flip-flops for the bathroom
- A light jacket or hoodie; mornings are cold, especially in the North
Bedding and washing
- Bedsheet, pillowcase and a light blanket (camps provide a mattress, not always a clean one)
- Mosquito net, the pop-up kind
- Bucket (buy at the mammy market, do not carry one), soap, sponge, towel
- Toiletries, sanitary products, sunscreen, lip balm
Electronics and money
- Power bank, 20,000mAh or more; sockets are few and shared
- Phone, charger, earphones; a cheap second phone is common
- Cash in small notes for the mammy market. POS machines exist but the network doesn’t always.
- Torch or headlamp
Health
- Personal medication with a note of your dosage
- Paracetamol, antimalarial, oral rehydration salts, plasters, insect repellent
- Reusable water bottle
Leave at home
- Expensive jewellery, laptops you can’t afford to lose, more than two bags
- Anything that looks like a weapon, including kitchen knives
Camp kit packages
Several vendors sell pre-packed camp kits (whites, canvas, bucket, net, toiletries) delivered before camp. We are arranging a vetted partner with a corps-member price; until then, buy whites from any sports shop and compare against this list. [Partner offer: replace this paragraph when the kit vendor is confirmed.]