When we first met Jeffrey, our everyday interaction was a, "Hello, how are you?" and other simple pleasantries. But as time has gone by, we have begun to establish a genuine friendship with the inspirational Nigerian man. It all started last summer when one day Ali and I were walking down Chicago Avenue and heard a man yell, "Jackie! Ali! Wait!" When we turned around, it was Jeffrey, standing on the corner halted by the crosswalk. He was so excited to see our familiar faces and asked us many questions about our summer, school, and the YMCA. After this run in, we began to think of Jeffrey in a new way. He became an international man of mystery to our group, and we wanted to get to know him on a more personal level. Our goal was to reciprocate the level of interest he showed in us as individuals.
We had one pivotal conversation that opened the door to our new friendship and new everyday interactions. One day we worked up the courage to bluntly ask him, “What is your name?” We all knew his American name was Jeffrey, but his given name was something else. Instead of Jeffrey saying, “What do you mean, it’s Jeffrey.” He simply smiled and said, “Ola.” Which we later found out was short for Oladmeji. We stopped with this simple question for that day, and saved our many others for the future. Because of this day, each member of our crew greets him with at least a handshake, if not a hug and many of us refer to him as Ola out of respect for his culture.
We had been planning to interview Ola for some time yet we had not built up the courage to do so this year. Recently when returning from one of our weekly VIA meetings I entered the train at around nine o’clock to head home, and saw our friend riding the train. I was greeted with a big smile and hug as I entered the car and immediately we began discussing what he was doing. He explained that he was just heading home from his work day. This was utterly shocking as in order to take public transit from the Kelly Y to his house near Loyola University it would take one and half hours on a good day. We began discussing our love of the community that is in place at the Y and how important it is for the children to be there. You could tell this man had a wealth of knowledge and strong beliefs yet we only had two train stops to speak. I left him that evening with a hug and a, “We will have to talk about this more soon.” I left that night feeling utterly inspired and had a desire to spread this man’s beliefs and life story.
That next day of service, we made a conscious effort to speak to Ola. What we learned about this man was to this day incredible. Ola was born in Edo State, Nigeria as one of seven children. His father is the village chief and a man of power. Ola came to the United States in hope of finding new opportunity and a better life for his children. He came alone, leaving his children with his 56 year old mother. He has 15 year old twin daughters, Taye and Kenhinde. His youngest child is his 9 year old son, named Kayode. Ola expressed that jobs were hard to find in Nigeria, even as a man with an education. Ola graduated from University of Benin City, located in Edo State.
This struggle to find work with an education is where Ola found his belief in the importance of education. Ola expressed that although it was difficult to leave his children, he knew it was the only thing left to do in order to guarantee them a better future. He explained to us, “Education is everything.” He sees America as a promise land, and an opportunity. Ola explained to us that his children, will never get the same kind of education in Nigeria as they could here. His clear end goal, is for his children to one day be students in the US. However, he doesn’t want them to come to the US before they learn their African roots. He wants them to want to learn, and to understand how fortunate they are for a great education. Ola feels that his children will learn this in Nigeria, as they may not in the US. He says this because he feels that too many children take advantage of these opportunities. He said to us, “These children have no reason not to succeed or finish school. They are handed everything, they need someone to guide them however.” By this he means that these students should be able to accomplish anything, yet it takes a parent or role model to exemplify that wanting it is necessary in order to achieve it.
Ola spoke a lot about the African mentality and working with our own hands. When he spoke of this his face lit up, it brought tears to our eyes as we watched him reminisce and miss his children and family back home. He expressed that everything can be done if you are determined, and that everything can be made with the hard work of our own hands. Ola explained to us that we can do anything as long as we stay passionate and keep our eyes forward. Our goal is to do exactly this, and continue this beautiful, budding friendship. He is truly an inspiration to the both of us, and we hope that he inspires the rest of you. Our question for this week is what is the African mentality to you? And, can you build it and make it your own with your own two hands?
Please think about what we wrote, and pass this story beyond the blog. We want this story to touch the hearts of many, as we believe it can inspire and create change in anyone.
With love and hope,
Sam & Jackie
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