By Daphne Visser
Undergraduate Philosophy, Childhood and Education Studies
This summer I was given the opportunity to travel to Nigeria to intern with Ripples USA. During my stay I have kept a dairy that i want to share with all of you. In this way I hope to be able to take you along on my journey and inspire all that want to help empower the African village women. This week I will be sharing my experiences in Ogidi. This is the third part of my story.
One moment that I will remember forever was getting stuck on Ogidi mountain with Ogidi youths and the Ripples Media Team in the middle of a tropical rainstorm!! It had been drizzling some time before we arrived on the foot of the mountain, but as a true Dutchman – we’re not gifted with mountains, but receive a lot of rain as consultation for that – I didn’t let a little rain stop me. Little did I know; Ogidi rain is definitely different.
We reached the summit easily and were in the middle of taking tons of pictures, when dark clouds started approaching. Before we knew it, a strong wind had started to blow and we had difficulty holding on, and avoiding being blown from the summit. Rain started pouring, and as we knew that the mountain side gets rather slippery when wet and none of us fancied being blown off the mountain, we took cover in a small crack in the rock. It was only a matter of time before the crack started to fill with water.
We all started getting soaked and we heard the thunder roaring. This was when we decided to try our luck on the mountain slope. Before descending, everyone took their shoes off and slowly our little group started walking down, accompanied by the sounds of thunder and lightning. It must have been a funny sight, youngsters of all kinds and shapes, bare footed, half running down a mountain. After half an hour of anxiously looking over our shoulders, we reached the foot of the mountain and we were safe!
Even though this was an adventure that will stay with me forever, the thing that was really remarkable to me was the fact that everyone seemed to be worried about me. Even when everyone was getting soaked and was trying to get off the mountain as soon as possible, people kept asking me if I was alright. I feel that this really illustrates the kindness and hospitality that I received during my stay in Ogidi. I want to thank everyone for looking out for me and making me feel welcome. I have lost my heart to your village and I have the feeling that I will see Ogidi and all of you again.
