THE NATION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015
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CAMPUS LIFE
Pushing Out
Strangers’ touch
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IFE in our country can be chaotic and busy, we hustle from one place to another, engrossed either in our electronic devices – for those who have them, or we struggle to “make ends meet.” Most of us aren’t awake for the sunrise and are not truly present at important (or even ordinary) daily happenings. We miss life as it passes us by and wonder what we did with the daylight. We continue on this treadmill, this sprint, this exercise in getting it all done – but seem to have little to show for it. Time is, however, all we have on this earth. Politics, economy, football, friends, lovers, money, and experiences all come and go, leaving only memories – if you are lucky enough to remember. The good, the bad, the remembered, the forgotten, the happy, the sad, the ordinary, the extraordinary makes us as individuals. As a Nigerian, I was caught up in the intrigues that led to the postponement of the February 14 and 28 elections and wondered why we always shy away from putting our best foot forward. While I couldn’t make sense of the whole drama, three stories that happened outside our shores caught my attention in the last two weeks. They are human angle stories that touches the heart and bring to the fore our humanity. The first was a story from Detroit, United States of America where a 56-yearold man, James Robertson, whose 21-mile walk to work daily inspired a $350,000 pledge which enabled him move to a temporary home. More than $350,000 was pledged for Robertson through a crowdfunding campaign launched by Evan Leedy, a 19-yearold college student who read the story in a local newspaper, the Detroit Free Press, and wanted to help a stranger in need. According to the paper, Robertson has yet to see any of the money raised and is expected to meet with financial advisers to discuss how the donations will be managed. The newspaper first broke the news about how Robertson walks 21 miles daily
to get to work. But after receiving news of his new found fortune, he decided he did not feel safe in his old neighbourhood anymore! He approached the police and requested to be moved to a temporary home after consulting with local law enforcement officials. with The newspaper quoted Detroit Police Capt. Aric Tosqui who said “We had a meeting with him and 08116759750 he expressed interest that he did (SMS only) not feel safe…people were actually asking him for money.” On •aagboa@gmail.com why he took such measures even though he had not been given the money, Robertson said: “I wanted to get it years, Bedwei used computers leading to a over with. There were so many factors in- passion for technology. volved.” Featured in CNN’s “African Voices,” It turned out that in December 2014, an Farida said disability doesn’t mean disad86-year-old Detroit man went missing af- vantage. Born in 1979, Bedwei was diagter reportedly winning $20,000 in a lottery nosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one game. The police said he was found stabbed - cerebral palsy is an incurable neurologito death and a 20-year-old was charged with cal disorder that affects body movement his murder. and muscle coordination but does not in“Robertson knew about that story,” terfere with the ability to learn. Tosqui said. “And I also know about an inBedwei steadfastly refused to let her discident in the 1st Precinct where a gentle- ability affect her career trajectory. Today, man was killed after he allegedly won as the co-founder and chief technical ofsome money. In those two examples, no ficer of software company Logiciel, she is one approached the department. But if considered one of the most powerful somebody won the lottery tomorrow and women in financial technology on the concontacted us, we would look at the situa- tinent. In 2013, South Africa’s CEO Magation in the same way and see what we could zine named Bedwei the most influential do,” he said. woman in business and government in AfRobertson told the paper he plans to stay rica for the financial sector. in the temporary residence until he finds a How did this beautiful and remarkable permanent home, possibly closer to his lady rise above her disability? Her great$10.55-an-hour factory job in Rochester est achievement, Bedwei says, is the develHills. “Don’t get me wrong,” Robertson opment of a cloud software platform that who has lived in Detroit for more than 15 is being used by 130 micro-finance compayears was quoted as saying, “It’ll be hard nies nationwide. These institutions adminto leave the city that I love.” ister loans to their customers by sending a The story did not end there. A week after code to their mobile phones via SMS. That the money was pledged, Robertson - who code can be exchanged for money at any said he was unable to afford to replace his branch, making small loans available imcar after it broke down more than a decade mediately. ago - was surprised with a new $35,000 Ford Because of the challenges of Cerebral Taurus that was donated by a suburban car Palsy, Bedwei was home schooled until the dealership. On his new car he told Reuters, age of 12, and then continued her educa“I don’t like it, I love it.” tion at a government school where she was The next inspiring story that made my able to socialise with other children. Her week was the amazing story CNN cap- family noticed her passion for computers, tioned: “Inspirational tech guru who’s own- so it was decided for Bedwei to skip senior ing cerebral palsy like a boss.” It is the high school and enroll in a one-year comstory of Farida Bedwei, a software engi- puter course at the St. Michael information neer from Ghana. Diagnosed with cerebral technology center. At 15 years old, she was palsy at one, she has refused to let her dis- one of the youngest in the class. A chalability hold her back. Throughout teen lenge we may think? But one she took in
Agbo Agbo
her stride. She told CNN she was “sure most of my classmates were wondering what I was doing with them,” stressing that was how she started her career as a software engineer “because through that course I realised what aspect of IT I was going to specialise in. I loved the idea of solving problems and creating things,” she says. Next is the story of Ashley McIntyre and Danny Robinson. Ashley McIntyre, a 26year old Kentucky lady did not expect her act of kindness to blossom into romance. She was inspired to help a fellow human being after hearing about Danny Robinson’s struggle with kidney disease which necessitates regular dialysis. But what happened thereafter reads like a story from a fairy tale romance novel. Robinson, 26, had been diagnosed with Berger’s disease at 16. He reportedly spent two years on a transplant waiting list because none of his family members who were willing to donate a kidney matched. McIntyre’s mother told her about Robinson’s plight after hearing about it on local WHAS radio show “Terry Meiners & Co.” The next day, Ashley reached out to Meiners on Facebook and soon got in touch with the transplant program at the University of Kentucky’s Center for Transplantation and Organ Failure to offer up her kidney, according to a Louisville paper. She held off on meeting the Robinsons until doctors concluded that they could move forward with the donation, so as not to disappoint Danny. Once the operations were nearly locked in, the soon-to-be couple and their families reportedly met at a nearby Cheesecake Factory. Thereafter, Ashley McIntyre and Danny Robinson’s loved ones set up a fundraiser to help raise money for the transplant. An elated Ashley told the Courier-Journal that, “we all clicked immediately, and they told me I would always be a part of their family.” Ashley and Danny spoke on the phone and texted often, leading up to the April 17, 2014, operation. They say they started a romantic relationship after a Memorial Day barbecue, and it got serious pretty quickly. They got engaged on Christmas Day 2014. Ashley later became pregnant with a baby girl they will name Berkli, who is due on June 9, 2015. These were the strangers’ touch that made my week.
Students kick as Open Pavilion goes •Continued from page 25
were excavating the Open Pavilion. I was surprised because there was no prior notice from the management that such a work was coming up. And you know the pavilion is a place the students love so much because of its multi-purpose nature. “I have met with the VC to raise that issue. I expressed students’ disapproval of the project to him, especially the fact that the union was not informed. The VC apologised for such lapses and said the development plan, which he submitted to the Federal Government years ago, had just been approved. The VC said the construction work had to start after money was released for the project.” Chris Udoh, a student in Faculty of Education, said: “The Open Pavilion was a place we relax after academic engagements. There is no other place where we can unwind again.” Some welcomed the project, urging the management to create another space for leisure, which should not be far from the academic area. After the completion of the car park, Christian Anyanwu, a Science student, said the management should make it mandatory that it is cleared
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•Emmanuel
•The Open Pavilion being used for SUG elections before the development
of vehicles before 6pm for students’ activities. This may not be; but the school is considering other options. Emmanuel, who unveiled the school’s plan, said: “We have been holding meetings with the management. We have reached an agreement that they will build three recreation centres for the students. The VC said we should go round the campus and recommend choice places for the management to build recreation cen-
tres. We have recommended an area close to second gate, another open field close to the staff quarters and a field behind Hall 6. These places have not been used for anything for years; so we want the management to develop them for sports and relaxation.” Solomon Okon, an Arts student, said having a car park is good, urging the management to ensure the project achieves its goal.
Josephine Nwankwo, a 300-Level Management Science student, said the car park would make the academic area to become busy. She said management would need to prepare for the vehicular traffic that may arise and improve security in the car park. A professor of Social Science, who did not want his name in print, urged students to embrace the change, noting that the car park would bring
orderliness. He said: “The car park would bring sanity back to the campus. Everything will be organised. I applaud the Vice-Chancellor for coming up with the initiative to make the school look good.” The SUG president urged students to remain calm, saying the VC would not renege on his promise to build recreation centres on the campus. He said: “Prof Epoke cannot disappoint us. The agreement is that the areas chosen by students for the recreation centres would be constructed before the car park project is completed. I will make sure I hold the university on this promise. I want to assure the VC that we are strongly in support of him.”