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> Special Sections > Special Features > Volunteers take time to aid those in need in Nigeria through HOPE Worldwide
Volunteers take time to aid those in need in Nigeria through HOPE Worldwide
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The four volunteers participated in a variety of human service projects while in Nigeria, including deworming children. Reminder Publications submitted photo
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By Katelyn Gendron
Reminder Assistant Editor
When Americans finally decide to use their precious vacation time each year they usually travel to Disney World, lounge on the beach at Cape Cod or go hiking in the Berkshires. Four Western Massachusetts residents dedicated to human service used their time off to volunteer with HOPE Worldwide in Lagos, Nigeria.
Fernando Alejandro, Philip Seton, Sade Awosan and Yolanda Da Costa made the 6,599-mile journey to the West African nation in June to aid HOPE Worldwide in a variety of human service projects.
Nigeria is one of approximately 50 nations on the African continent, roughly twice the size of California and home to 138.2 million people. The life expectancy in this nation is 47 years old and 3.6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.
In an interview with Reminder Publications, Alejandro, a 24-year-old UMass Amherst employee, explained that his first trip to Africa was an eye opening experience which shed light on the plight of this nation. He said that while living with Seton's uncle and family in Lagos he realized the value of electricity and running water.
"Electricity was a big problem there," he said. "Lights would come on by the state company for an hour out of the week." He added that each home has a generator in order to power the household the remaining hours.
When asked about his impressions of Nigeria, Alejandro said, "The poverty was just immense. There is a lot of traffic and pollution. Everywhere there [was] traffic, people would be lining up begging for money or food. It's very different from what we see out here. Going to Nigeria I saw how much people don't have to lose."
Seton, a 25-year-old industrial engineer, agreed. "Seventy percent of the population is below the poverty line and most people make a buck or less per day. Health care is a huge issue. The bigger needs are to feed yourself and families but not to go to the hospital. It's too expensive. If you can't pay for treatment, you die."
Seton, who emigrated to the United States from Liberia in 1988, said he was eager to return to Africa and visit his uncle in Lagos for the first time. Seton, Alejandro, Awosan and Da Costa stayed with Seton's uncle, which also helped to offset the cost of housing.
Alejandro explained that in order to participate in HOPE Worldwide in Nigeria they were required to pay for their expenses. He said he spent about $1,500 for food, travel expenses, visas and immunizations.
Seton noted the overwhelming hospitality of the Nigerian people, explaining that his aunt would wake up at 4 a.m. to draw water from the well and boil it for their bath water and breakfast.
When asked her impressions of the country, Da Costa, a 30-year-old registered nurse at Baystate Medical Center, said, "People do not have a lot of freedom because the government controls basic things like water and electricity that are not always accessible to people. Maybe only for a few hours a day or times a week can people enjoy TV or e-mail friends on the computer."
When describing their day-to-day in Nigeria, Seton explained that everyday was jam-packed with service projects.
Awosan, a resident of Nigeria until she was 12 years old who now lives in Agawam, said she has always wanted to return to her home country to participate in service work, especially with friends.
She explained that the four of them were tasked with deworming orphaned, vulnerable or low-income children who were members of their sister church, the Lagos Church of Christ. Each of the volunteers attend the Pioneer Valley Church of Christ in Chicopee. Awosan added that they also conducted diabetes screenings.
She said when not helping with deworming and diabetes screenings, each of the volunteers would be working with HOPE personnel on specialized projects. As an accountant and auditor in the United States, Awosan said she used her expertise to work in HOPE's accounting department to make suggestions on how the organization could better achieve financial accounting, reporting and organization.
Alejandro and Seton worked with HOPE's information technology department to transfer paper files into a new computerized database.
Da Costa said she used her medical training to offer suggestions on how to better improve patient care and Nigerians' knowledge of diabetes treatment. Da Costa's extensive human service experience with HOPE Worldwide includes trips to Jamaica, Indonesia and Brazil since 2004.
Each of the volunteers expressed their overwhelming desire to participate in future HOPE Worldwide service projects despite difficulty acclimating to life back in the United States.
"It's tough to re-acclimate," Seton said. "It took me about a month to get back into work mode."
He added that after returning from Nigeria he would often ask himself, "What am I doing this for?" Then he would explain to himself that working in the United States allows him the financial freedom to participate in service projects.
"I appreciated having running water and lights, something I took for granted my entire life," Alejandro said. "Every time I've done a service project I think 'I would rather do this' and I love my job [in the United States]."
He agreed with Seton that his job allows him the freedom to participate in HOPE Worldwide, adding that he plans to participate in a service project in each future year.
Da Costa said it was important for her and her friends to serve in Nigeria as few volunteers serve in this nation in great need of their skills.
"It was also important because it made a difference in the children and adults' lives that we interacted with," she said.
For more information about HOPE Worldwide visit www.hopeww.org.
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