Nigerian Students Join Letter Exchange
On Wednesday, October 13, Francis Abayomi visited the Oru Refugee Camp in Ijebu-Ode. Abayomi's purpose was to collect letters from refugee students of the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission (JDPC) Refugee Vocational School Oru Camp there, with the intention of initiating the RESPECT pen pal exchange program. One week and one day later, the letters had been sent through the Nigerian postal service and were on their way to RESPECT headquarters in Canada.
Abayomi is RESPECT's country coordinator for Nigeria. He has visited Oru Camp regularly, but what made this trip special was the purpose behind it.
"RESPECT Nigeria intends to participate in the refugee educational program very soon," Abayomi said. "We are using this opportunity to meet with all the stakeholders [of] the camp and also the refugees."
On this particular trip, Abayomi was able to meet with stakeholder Aladesua Felicia. Felicia is the field officer for the Caritas Desk of the JDPC of Ogun State, Nigeria. Her job is to make sure the vocational school in Oru Camp is functioning, and that all students and instructors are well. Abayomi also met with the assistant camp commander, Mrs. Odetola, who authorized the letter exchange program.
Oru Refugee Camp provides refugees and displaced persons a place to live. Refugees come from Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Ghana, and the Cote d'Ivoire have all found a place to stay there. The JDPC-run vocational school, established in 1991, ensures that the refugees can learn various job skills, such as tailoring, catering, tie-dye, hairdressing, and secretariat studies.
"So many refugees here are skeptical participating in the exchange," Abayomi said. However, he also said, "More letters will be sent upon receiving responses [to] the pen pal letters [already] sent."