History of Farreach International

Introduction

Farreach theory is a product of an effort to create and define a framework that will produce a paradigm shift, improve the theory and practice of International Development, Development Communication, and Development Studies in Africa, and provide a guide for the operations of Farreach International and Farreach Initiative for Development Communication in Africa. The idea of Farreach theory was conceived in 2007 when I had an opportunity immediately after I finished my first degree to work as an ad hoc field staff of Imo State Economic Planning Commission in a research project that surveyed all abandoned, uncompleted, functioning, and non-functioning projects especially infrastructural projects in Imo State, Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa. The Governor of Imo State then, Chief Dr Ikedi Ohakim, who was Imo State Governor from 2007—2011 conducted a survey of development projects in Imo State to know the condition of these projects — all development projects funded by local governments, state government, federal government, and international donor agencies. Two ad-hoc field workers were recruited and sent to each autonomous community for the survey. I was sent to my autonomous community, Umuaka, in Njaba local government area, Imo State to do this assignment in three weeks. My colleague who came from another village in Umuaka and I met the traditional rulers and the President-General of Umuaka Development Union who took us to all the development projects in Umuaka. We visited the sites of these projects, spoke with some people especially the indigenes we met around the project sites. We filled the forms given to us for the survey, submitted our reports to the Commission, and we were paid for the job.

I conceived two inspired ideas that were registered in my mind as personal experience from the survey activities that opened my eyes to see development projects from a different perspective. Both my observations at different project sites, discussions I had with some people there, and the stories they shared with me helped me to start thinking about the success or failure of development projects in my community. The summary of my personal experience was that I discovered that development projects especially participatory development projects stand on three major pillars: People (Role-Players), Project, and Communication. The intersection of these three major pillars of participatory development determines the success or failure of any development project. The first inspired idea was to write a novel I titled “Shadows of Development” which I started the first draft in 2009. The second inspired idea was to explore a research idea on the intersection of the three major pillars of participatory development project. I couldn’t explore this research idea immediately because I thought I needed more time to meditate on it and get more intellectual strength. I left home around August 2007 for my one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Kogi State, North-Central of Nigeria.

During my one year NYSC programme, I applied for admission to study International Business and Marketing at a university in Sweden. I was offered an admission and I applied for a student visa to study in Sweden after my NYSC programme.  But my application was denied because of insufficient proof of fund I submitted. Immediately after my NYSC programme in 2008, I went back to Imo State to continue my fashion designing business (making & selling native and corporate clothes for men) I started when I was an undergraduate, while I was searching for a white collar job.  In January 2009, I relocated to Aba because it was the centre of my fashion designing business. I expanded the network of my business to Port Harcourt in Rivers State and Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, thereby increasing my clients’ database significantly. In 2010, I decided to start my graduate studies because my fashion designing business was doing well, and it could pay my bills and fund my studies. I started my graduate studies in Management at the University of Port Harcourt with the intention to specialize in Strategic Management or Corporate Communications. I intended to join the academia or start a private research and consultancy firm after my PhD studies.

I discovered that whenever I travelled to my native home and passed through any of those development projects I visited during the survey exercise, I hardly sleep well at night. I would be worried throughout my stay at home, until I travelled back to Aba. At a point, I stopped passing through some of the roads where some of the development projects were located whenever I visit my native home. Those stories, pieces of information, and the experience I had during the survey exercise kept resonating in my mind. They motivated me to pick interest in Development Studies, Project Management, and Development Communication in order to understanding what is happening in international development sector. 

In 2012, I started a master’s degree programme in Communication Studies at the University of Port Harcourt after completing my post graduate programme in Management.  It was challenging for me running my fashion designing business in Aba together with my graduate studies in Port Harcourt. Some of my clients were taking advantage of my absence in their offices or meeting points when I was supposed to be around to receive payment for the new clothes I supplied or collect some debts they were owing me. I started recording high bad debts and it affected my business and graduate studies negatively. In 2014/15 academic session, I was unable to complete the payment of my school fees and I could not sit for the external defence of my master’s degree thesis. I picked a job as Assistant Manager (Sales & Marketing) at one Confectionery Company in Aba to raise fund for my school fees. In less than four months in that job, I was able to initiate and conduct an applied research  on the Impacts of Communication in Relationship Oriented Marketing, which I submitted the research report to the CEO of the company. The outcome of the applied research significantly improved the sales and revenue of the company for the next three months I worked there.  I resigned from the job after six month because there was no job satisfaction and the environment was toxic for me. I relocated to Port Harcourt to look for a private consultancy firm to join for mentorship. I attended the monthly meetings of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), and Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) Rivers State Chapter in search of a mentor or a private consultancy firm I could join, but I couldn’t find any after six months. I spoke to a member of NIPR who was the Editor-in-Chief and publisher of a local newspaper called “Notable Outcomes” in Port Harcourt. He encouraged me to continue coming to his office until I find a consultancy firm to join. I started going to his office and began to write for his newspaper. I picked interest in printing and publishing business and started learning the trade. In August 2015, I travelled to Owerri to scan the business environment for printing and publishing, and to check if I could find a private consultancy firm in Owerri that I could join. Luckily, I met an editor of a local newspaper where I went to make enquiry. After a short conservation with him, he took me to the publisher of the local newspaper who asked me to join her editorial team as a reporter/sub-editor and she sent me to cover a political event in Owerri that day. I decided to join the editorial team of the local newspaper in Owerri that month and I started making contacts to meet the CEO/Lead Consultant of a consultancy firm I found in Owerri. In October 2015, I met Dr Chuks Osuji, the CEO/Lead Consultant of Opinion Research and Communications, Inc., Owerri. After our conversation, he told me that he was not recruiting and he had no intention of taking a new consultant. But he promised to provide an office space for me to work independently in his office building and to engage me whenever he had a job that I could do. The gift of an office space was a great encouragement and booster for me to start a new career as a young researcher and consultant. I started going to my new office every day with my laptop while occasionally writing for the local newspapers.

Since pursuing my graduate studies to a PhD level had stopped temporarily because of the financial challenge I experienced in my fashion designing business, I decided to start a new business in spite of the challenges. My utmost desire then was to start a business and career around a passion that gives me joy and sense of fulfilment for living. I was not interested again in the fashion designing business and seeking a white collar job was not at the top of my priority list then. I desired to build a business and career around conducting research and consultancy services because of joy and sense of fulfilment they give me.  Certainly, there were many loud and noisy voices that were speaking to me that I was taking a suicide mission. The facts available were supporting those voices. But I always hear a small gentle voice that always tell me to go forward. That voice always gives me peace and joy whenever I hear it. I made up my mind to go forward with the decision I took in August 2015. I received the blessings of my parents to start a new business. I started the process of registering my new business, Farreach Media. I successfully registered Farreach Media in January 2016.  I started providing printing and publishing services, and other media and communication services to individuals, small business organisations, and churches. I had an opportunity to work with Dr Chuks Osuji on several projects on book writing and publishing, media and communication research, public relations consultancy services, communication design and implementation etc.

In January 2017, I rented an office space for Farreach Media and registered Farreach Initiative for Development Communication in Africa, Inc., as a non-governmental organization to assist in implementing inclusive innovative solutions that will facilitate and drive development initiatives in rural and urban communities in Nigeria. I decided to take a different approach from what other NGOs around were doing.  The personal experience I had on the survey of development projects in Imo State in 2007 came very alive to me. And the passion to provide a solution moved me to take up the second inspired idea I had then which was to explore a research idea on the intersection of the three major pillars of participatory development project that determine the success or failure of any participatory development project. I started work on this research idea to create and define a framework that will produce a paradigm shift, improve the theory and practice of Development Communication, Development Studies in Africa, and provide a guide for the operations of Farreach Initiative for Development Communication in Africa, Inc., and Farreach International Ltd. a research and consultancy firm I registered in 2020.

Presuppositions of Farreach Theory

When I started probing the three pillars of participatory development (People, Communication, and Project) through the research works of some scholars like Robert Chambers, Jan Servaes, Thomas Tufte, Paolo Mefalopuos, Alfonso Gumucio Dagron, and others, I found similar reports of the experience I had in the survey research. Their research works shaped the development of Farreach theory. Through their research works, I discovered that there are many activities and issues going on in each of the pillars and these issues attract the intellectual curiosity of scholars. For instance, through the research works of Robert Chambers (1993; 1994a; 1994b; & 1994c), I discovered that in the pillar of people (role-players), there are issues of power display especially economic power, political and diplomatic powers of the super nations, donor agencies, and government of state’s interest and thematic priorities. All these issues are generating reactions and scholars are studying them. I discovered that the ‘interest’ of these role-players is aimed at improving the living conditions and well-being of the core beneficiaries in any participatory development project. Robert Chambers argued that if the core beneficiaries were truly the target of participatory development project, they should be put first in the participatory development project.  Without the presence or existence of the core beneficiaries of development interventions, the efforts and activities of all role-players are directionless. Therefore, the core beneficiaries occupy the foundation of the role-players pillar of participatory development. In the pillar of project, there are issues of corruption, misappropriation of project funds, ineffective monitoring and evaluation process of development projects. All these issues attract the intellectual curiosity of scholars to study them. I discovered through my studies in management especially project management that the project proposal is the roadmap of every participatory development project. Without a project proposal, all these issues will not find an anchor. Therefore, the project proposal occupies the foundation of the project pillar of any participatory development. The third assumption of Farreach theory was on communication pillar. I discovered through the research works of Jan Servaes, Thomas Tufte, Paolo Mefalopuos, Alfonso Gumucio Dagron, and others that there are issues concerning the appropriate communication model to use because of misconceptions of communication for development and social change.  This is because communication specialists and development professionals draw from different kinds of communication activities and models in the implementation of a participatory development project. Some development professionals draw from media relations, public relations, corporate communications, strategic communication, social communication, behavioural change communication, participatory communication etc. These sources lead to confusion in the communication pillar of participatory development as noted by Rogers, 2005 and Servaes, 2021. I discovered that participatory communication plays a major role for effective engagement of the role-players especially the core beneficiaries of a participatory development project. Therefore, participatory communication occupies the foundation of the pillar of communication in any participatory development project. Besides these findings, I discovered that none of these scholars I studied their research works closely could provide an explanation or description of the connection of these three major components of Participatory Development. This research gap motived me to take up this task to develop the Farreach Theory.       

Farreach Theory Beliefs     

Based on these discoveries, Farreach theory postulates that participatory communication, project proposal, and role-players (core beneficiaries) are the three major components of participatory development.  The Farreach theory provides better insight towards understanding the intersection of effective participatory communication, role-players engagement, and project proposal that provide far-reaching impact of development interventions in Africa and beyond. It fills the gap in the engagement of these three major components of participatory development. The thrust of the Farreach theory is the effective incorporation and implementation of the principles of participatory communication and role-players engagement in a project proposal designed to implement development intervention in Africa and beyond (Dikeocha, 2024).

The Farreach theory is anchored on the following premises:

1. Participation is an inclusive process.
2. S/he who wears the “shoe” knows where it pinches most. The experience of the core beneficiaries of development interventions can never be ignored when providing solutions to their challenges because the core beneficiaries of development intervention stand in a better position to identify where the “shoe” pinches most and in finding solution, their opinions should count significantly.

• Role-players’ opinions especially the core beneficiaries of development intervention are not static. Their consents may change midway in the project circle. Therefore, holding on to the only one role-players analysis conducted at the onset of the project cycle is risky.

1. The core beneficiaries of development intervention have voices and every voice demands a listening ear. Ignoring each voice may be counterproductive.
2. A project proposal is a roadmap that must capture the strategic role-players engagement plan and participatory communication plan of a development intervention.

Therefore, Farreach theory postulates that every project proposal for a participatory development intervention should capture the participation of role-players in these five basic standard stages.

1. Identifying a problem
2. Designing solution(s) for the problem
3. Implementing the solution(s)
4. Evaluating the solution(s)
5. Sustaining the solution(s).

The Farreach theory is shaped by the Additive theory of colour mixing. The Farreach theory establishes that participatory communication, role-players engagement, and project proposal are the three major components of participatory development which greatly influence the outcome of any participatory development intervention. Like the three primary colours (Red, Green, and Blue) which the human eyes recognise (Morton, 2009), participatory communication, role-players engagement, and project proposal are the major components of participatory development that influence the outcome of any development intervention either negatively or positively. When these three major components of participatory development are effectively applied to any development intervention, they enhance the success of that development intervention. On the other hand, when they are lacking in any development intervention, that development intervention is bound to fail in achieving its objectives. The combination of any two of these components of participatory development will produce shade of other components of participatory development. The representation of these three major components of participatory development with different colours is symbolic. It captures the major roles they play in participatory development. The blue colour represents participatory communication, the green colour represents role-players engagement, and the red colour represents project proposal.  The intersection of these colours will produce white colour which represents participatory development. The black background represents the development challenge which participatory development aims to solve. The strength of the light from the white colour changes the black background to white. The white circle with black ring represents the Farreach Theory (Dikeocha, 2024).

On these premises do Farreach theory stands. Please see the application and details of Farreach theory in research article titled: “Using participatory communication for effective role-players engagement: Farreach perspective” (Dikeocha, 2024).

The Presentation of the Farreach Theory (Framework)

On March 18, 2024, I stood on the spirits and grace of the Just Men made perfect and on the   shoulders of Giants: @Paulo Freire, @Robert Chambers, @Jan Servaes, and @Thomas Tufte and others to present the Farreach theory (framework) to the academic community and the general public. The Farreach theory was presented to the general public in a journal article titled: “Using participatory communication for effective role-players engagement: Farreach perspective” (Dikeocha, 2024) published by the Annals of the International Communication Association (ICA). The publication of this journal article was a great milestone in the history of Farreach International, Farreach Theory and Farreach 1 Toolkit. This milestone was achieved not withstanding all the challenges and barriers that confronted the completion of the research and its publication.

On January 2017, I officially started working on this research project as a full time job. I gave it over 90% of my time and resources. I gathered my research materials and I studied over 100 development projects implemented in different countries in Africa from 2001 to 2017. Only 48 development projects met the criteria to be used in my research paper.  By December 2018, I had completed the first draft of the manuscript of the research article. I worked on the second and third draft of the manuscript in 2019. Something remarkable happened in August 2019 as I was intensely working on the third draft of the manuscript. The Holy Spirit kept speaking to me that the publication of this manuscript as a journal article and the launch of Farreach 1 Toolkit will mark the beginning of a new era in international development sector and Farreach International will play a leading role in the new era. Throughout the month of August 2019, this message and other instructions were coming to me whenever I was in deep conversation with the Holy Spirit. I am a Christian and I believe in the Trinity and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit and I always work with Him because He is my Senior Partner. Every instruction I received from the Holy Spirit is obeyed completely.

On February 2020, I started sending the manuscript out to three experts in field of my research study to review my manuscript for correction and feedback. After three months, I expected to receive their feedbacks but none come. I picked the manuscript and read it closely again for corrections and restructured some sections that were not strong and clear to improve my argument and clarity.

When I contacted the three experts I submitted my manuscript for a review, one of them told me that he was not strong to review the manuscript that his health was challenged. He had been going to the hospital for medical attention frequently. The other two experts requested that I resubmit the manuscript again because they could not find where the previous manuscript was kept. I gladly submitted the edited manuscript I had worked on recently. However, I waited for another three months to receive their feedback, but none come. When I contacted them for their feedback on my manuscript, they had not read the manuscript and their responses did not assure me that they can review the manuscript soon. They responses were not satisfying. I decided to review the manuscript again by myself and prepare it for submission to an international academic journal for consideration and publication.         

 From September 2020, I started searching for a suitable international journal to submit my manuscript. I considered many factors in selecting an international journal to submit my manuscript and the fear of desk rejection was holding me strong. Considering my academic background and status when I did this research study, the fear of desk rejection was high. I was not a PhD holder nor a lecturer in a university, nor a professor in my field of research. My master degree programme in Communication Studies was uncompleted. So, I considered these facts and the probability of getting a desk rejection was high. Though I had published two research papers in international academic journals in 2018 and 2020 respectively but I still found myself battling the fear of desk rejection. Also, given my temperament and the self-imposed standard for perfection I had for my works, overcoming the fear becomes a self-battle. I had no option than to submit the manuscript after the Holy Spirit spoke to me that early morning on December 4, 2020.   By the help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to overcome the fear and I submitted my manuscript in December 4, 2020 to an international academic journal. 

After two weeks, I received an email from the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal that my manuscript had been sent to two peer-reviewers to evaluate my manuscript for publication in the journal. I was super excited for the good news and I started preparing myself to answer any question or comment the reviewers may asked concerning my manuscript. By mid-February 2021, I received the comments of the two peer-reviewers through an email sent by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.

I answered all the issues the two peer viewers raised in their comments on my manuscript. After four weeks, I resubmitted the reversed manuscript to the international journal for another round of peer-review. After three months, I received another email from the Editor-in-Chief with an attached document containing the comments of the peer-reviewers on my reversed manuscript. After reading the comments, I was happy that my manuscript was making progress and its quality had improved significantly.  I carefully answered all the issues the peer-reviewers raised on the reversed manuscript. And by the end of September 2021, I resubmitted the reversed manuscript to the international journal. The Editor-in-Chief of the international journal acknowledged receiving the reversed manuscript the following day in an email I received from the journal.

After three months I resubmitted the second reversed manuscript, I expected to receive the verdict of the Editor-in-Chief concerning my manuscript, whether the manuscript is accepted or rejected by the international journal. I keep checking my email and refreshing it several times a day, yet there was no email from the international journal. In March 2022, after five months I submitted the second reversed manuscript to the international journal, I wrote the Editor-in-Chief, requesting the status of my manuscript I submitted to the international journal. I waited for two months, yet I did not receive any reply from the Editor-in-Chief.  I sent the second email to the Editor-in-Chief, requesting the status of my manuscript I submitted to the international journal. After waiting for two months again, there was no reply from the Editor-in- Chief of the international journal. I contacted the Administrative Editor of the international journal via an email. After three days, I received an email from the Administrative Editor of the journal and he informed me that my manuscript was waiting the verdict of the Editor-in-Chief to take decision. The Admin Editor informed me that the two peer-reviewers had submitted their reports on the second reversed manuscript. He assured me that as soon as the Editor-in-Chief takes a decision on my manuscript, the journal will communicate her decision to me. I waited to receive the decision of the international journal till the end of 2022, I did not receive any email from the journal.

From January 2023, I starting studying carefully the options of withdrawing my manuscript from the international journal and the chances of getting the manuscript accepted in another international journal.  After considering the options and risks involved in withdrawing my manuscript from the international journal, I discussed it with my Senior Partner (Holy Spirit) to receive His instruction. After our conversation, I was convinced that withdrawing my manuscript from the international journal was the best option for my work in spite of the risk of starting the peer-review process afresh with another international journal.

On February 10, 2023, I wrote the international journal that I want to withdraw my manuscript from be considered for publication in the journal. The Admin Editor replied my email and tried to persuade me to consider the risk of starting the peer-review process afresh with another international journal. I told him that I had made up my mind to withdraw my manuscript in spite of the risk to start afresh the peer-review process with another international journal.  My request was approved and my manuscript was withdrawn from being considered for publication in that journal.      

I edited my manuscript again to meet the journal style and requirements of the new international journal I want to submit the manuscript. On March 8, 2023, I submitted my manuscript to another international academic journal for consideration and publication. In fact, the new international academic journal is a Q1 journal that is ranked on the top 10 journals in Social Science and Communication by Scimago while the previous international journal is a Q3 that is ranked on the 300^th journals in Social Science and Communication by Scimago.

After two weeks I submitted my manuscript to the Annals of the International Communication Association, I received an email from the Editor-in-Chief that my manuscript had been sent to two peer reviewers for evaluation. I was super excited that waited to receive the comments of the two peer reviewers. After two months, the reports of the two peer reviewers were sent to me by the Editor-in-Chief. I answered all the issues and questions the two peer reviewers raised on my manuscript and I resubmitted the reversed manuscript to the journal. After three months, the Editor-in-Chief sent an email requesting that I should respond to the issues the two peer reviewers raised on the reversed manuscript. I gladly answered the questions and provided further explanations one of the peer reviewers requested. I resubmitted the reversed manuscript to the journal on September 23, 2023. To the Glory of God, on November 13, 2023, I received a congratulatory message from the Editor-in-Chief that my manuscript had been accepted for publication in the Annals of the International Communication Association. I was overwhelmed by joy and fears of gratitude to God Almighty for making the development and presentation of Farreach theory a reality. On March 18, 2024, my research article was published online in the Annals of the International Communication Association.

The Presentation of the Farreach 1 Toolkit 

On March 18, 2025, I stood on the spirits and grace of the Just Men made perfect and on the   shoulders of Giants: @Paulo Freire, @Robert Chambers, @Jan Servaes, and @Thomas Tufte and others to present the Farreach 1 Toolkit to the general public. Exactly one year, Farreach theory and Framework were presented to the general public. The development of Farreach 1 Toolkit was inspired by the Farreach theory and Framework. It was an attempt to capture all the tools I created in the research article: “Using participatory communication for effective role-players engagement: Farreach perspective” (Dikeocha, 2024) and automate these tools in a web based software application for easy usage.

The development of Farreach 1 Toolkit started in February 2023. My Technical Assistant and I worked on this project more than one year but we were not making progress as I desired. There were many factors that contributed to slow development of Farreach 1 Toolkit. We were challenged mostly by working with very small fund and lack of electricity to power our laptops. We were working from different locations. Often, I would wait for months before getting an update from my Technical Assistant on the progress of the project. Even when I sent SMS, email, and WhatsAPP messages, he hardly reply them on time. I understood the challenge that my Technical Assistant had other App development projects he was working on that period. I did not hired him as paid developer for this project. He was assisting me as a friend to develop the software application. I did not pay him any amount of money for his assistance. On two occasions, I sent him some amount of money, he rejected the money and sent it back to me. We had known each other since 2014 and we had collaborated in working some projects. Our friendship had grown deep.

Considering the time we had spent on this project, in spite of the challenges we had working on this project, I was not happy with the progress we had recorded on the project. Maybe, my Technical Assistant felt that I was complaining that we were not making progress as I desired.  Around March 2024, my Technical Assistant informed me that he was not interested developing the Farreach 1 Toolkit, that he did not want to be the one delaying the development of Farreach 1 Toolkit. He stopped working on the project.  I was left alone in the project without good knowledge of computer programming and coding. To hire a developer was out of the options because there was no fund to hire an App developer or programmer. I told myself that I had no option than to sit down and master the basic fundamentals of Web & App development. I encouraged myself that I can do it by the grace of God.

On May 2024, I enrolled on Web & App Development Program at the Oluaka Institute of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. It is a certificate course for beginners on Web & App development. After the end of the program in August 2024, I enrolled on another Web & App development program online to master the fundamentals of App and Web development. After taken these courses, I was motivated that I can develop the Farreach 1 Toolkit with little assistance.

On December 2024, I started the development of the new website of Farreach International. It was an awesome experience because I learnt many tech skills in the process. This exercise built me up and motivated me more to take up the task to develop Farreach 1 Toolkit. On January 2025, I started the development of Farreach 1 Toolkit. I gave this project all my best and I have never stopped working on the project despites the challenges. By the grace of God, I always find a solution to any challenge I had encountered since I started this project. Joining some developers’ community online and making some friends on GitHub had been very helpful for me in this project.  

To the glory of God, on March 18, 2025, I stood on the spirits and grace of the Just Men made perfect and on the shoulders of Giants: @Paulo Freire, @Robert Chambers, @Jan Servaes, and @Thomas Tufte and others to present the Farreach 1 Toolkit to the general public.

The next task is to build Farreach Team to advance our research and development. Currently, we are building Farreach Team that will lead the New Era in the international development sector in Africa and beyond.       

Conclusion

Today, I am super excited to present the brief history of Farreach theory, Farreach International, and Farreach 1 Toolkit. The next phase is to test the Farreach theory in further studies and engage it in the implementation of participatory development projects in Africa and beyond. Farreach 1 Toolkit offers the best digital platform to engage the application and implementation of the Farreach theory in Africa and beyond. Visit our website now to install Farreach 1 Toolkit and start using it.

Farreach International:  https://farreachinternational.com

Farreach 1 Toolkit: https://app.farreachinternational.com

To support the Farreach International Mission, kindly click on Donate to send your donation.

GOD BLESS YOU, AMEN.

Chijioke  Dikeocha

Founder,

Farreach International