Library

Library and Community Center
Free primary Education was originally introduced in Aku in 1944. The ability to learn to read and write and progress to University education in Nigeria and abroad was enthusiastically embraced by the population. Under successive military governments, Education in Nigeria, especially in remote villages like Aku fell on hard times and deteriorated severely. A typical child in Aku would graduate high school without ever having held a book in his or her hand. The teacher would write notes on a chalkboard and this would be the sole means of information transfer in school. The existing schools simply were not given the means to fully educate the children. Our first project in Aku, a Lbrary and InformationCenter has provided access to the written word for both children and adults by making over 10,000 books available to be loaned to schools and individuals and another 7,500 books including Encyclopediae in the Library’s reference section. Our goal is to upgrade the education in the schools and improve the literacy and fund of knowledge of the general population. The Library and Information Center is intended to provide access to up to date information, modern technology and computer skills all of which are indispensable facets of learning in the 21st century and beyond.
This stunning building, in its first two years of existence has already become a continuous source of enrichment to the community! The Library, recently commissioned as a public facility by the Governor of Enugu State, provides a site for access not only to books and computers, but also has become a gathering place for people to discuss ideas, and a place that permits people to look beyond their village into a larger world of possibilities. In addition to the books and computers, the Center is the only place for miles around where children and adults can view educational films and see for themselves faraway places that can become a part of their reality.

Books
So far over 17,000 books have been donated. An additional 3000 books were added to the Library’s inventory in January of 2008. Under the supervision of our VP of Library Affairs,Janet Claassen, our Library staff in Aku are learning how to run a modern, state of the Art Library facility and serve the public better. Textbooks, children’s books, fiction, literature, science, health, and how-to books are now on the shelves and have been available to the community since the Library officially opened in June 2006. These books are essential to upgrading children’s and adult education in the region.
In the summer of 2007, we added a Mobile Library to the mix. It has already improved our ability to meet our objectives and has significantly widened the area that we can serve.

Computers
The Library has 40 computers. Many daily sessions of computer training are provided by our staff to adults and children at all levels of computer literacy. Our next objectives are to provide internet access and a mobile computer lab which will not only make computer sciences an integral part of learning in the local schools but also will broaden the source of the information that is transferred to the young minds. Our vision is that computers will perform the magical function of connecting the villagers in Aku to the World Wide Web of information and knowledge.

Education: A Legacy Reborn
Beginning over 50 years ago, Bernard Edoga made a commitment to education and learning for himself, his family and his community. As a Headmaster and educational leader in his region, he founded 27 free primary schools in and around Aku, spreading the importance of education through his values of respect and responsibility.
In the middle of the 20th century, education was reserved for those who could afford to pay for it. Bernard Edoga forwarded the concept that education should be accessible to all children, regardless of their parents’ means. He further implemented this by successfully convincing the Aku community to levy themselves a generous sum so that all children could attend school. This concept caught on in this region, so that even families without school-age children who would directly benefit, made contributions. As a result, Aku has the highest concentration of educated people in the whole of Igboland, which consists of about 20 million people. For over a half century, this concept has remained and flourished, so that even a person without a roof over their head recognizes the value of education.
The people of Aku have historically been independent and progressive in their thinking. They have valued political autonomy over short-term political or financial gains, in a country where politics is traditionally about who buys power. We expect that Aku will be an oasis of learning, information, and innovation, as it has always been. We are investing in a community that has long believed in education and progress, both social and political. We expect a large return on our investment—the Library, the School, and the water that we are bringing to Aku will have an impact beyond its own borders, serving as a model for other communities.
Not only did the children of Bernard Edoga succeed on their own terms, both in America and at home, but they are now embodying their father’s spirit by giving back to the community where their father’s social footprint is already etched in the land.
2005 was the 50-year commemoration of Bernard Edoga’s life and service to his community and to the lives of those he touched. Keeping in the spirit of his values, the Aku Project will build a structural mainstay for the community of Aku and for generations to come.
Rose Omade Edoga, Bernard’s wife, was widowed at age 26 with seven children to raise on her own, John being the eldest. She managed to insure her children’s academic success, as well as their physical survival, under conditions that were challenging, at best. Being a woman, there was no precedent in her culture for being powerful and independent. Still she managed to be both. By rising in the early morning hours, she prepared foods to carry to market, walking an hour each way. Even when she was not sure that she could provide food for the family table, she pushed her children to do well in school, making that the first priority. Later she earned a living by teaching newly married young women the arts of sewing, cooking, and being a wife. By example, she demonstrated that a woman could overcome seemingly overwhelming obstacles and achieve her goals.
After John had been in America and established himself as a surgeon, he brought his family to the US to live with his wife Delia and their children Sherifa, Miata, and Che. His sister Dympna Ugwu-Oju, his brothers Anthony and Ogbonna, and his cousins Rosita and Chinyere attended college in the US. Everyone in Aku calls Rose Omade Edoga Mama
she is regarded as the mother of the village, being someone that everyone relies upon for sound counsel and advice. Virginia, the eldest daughter, has managed purchasing all of the building supplies for the construction of the Library, working together with cousin Eddy Edoga, who serves as the President of the Nigerian branch of the foundation. The Aku Project is guided by the vision and dedication of both Bernard and Rose Edoga.

December 2005 Dedication Ceremony: John Edoga’s Tribute
I was 10 years old when my father died. Even though that was 51 years ago and I am now 61 years old, I still cannot speak of him publicly and maintain my composure.
I am Bernard Oyigbo Edoga’s eldest child, a position I assumed by default when my older brother Charles died before I was born. I had my father for the first 10 years of my life and even though that was woefully short by any standards, his presence in my life has been enormous. He taught me to be:

Responsible: To accept that I have a role to play in every situation and that with an honest effort, I can make a difference.
Resourceful: That once I have accepted this responsibility, it will then be my duty to find a way to achieve the objective.
. Resolute: To understand that obstacles and disappointments are facts of life and that I must persist and press on in the face of adversity.
.Resilient: That the eventual winner is not necessarily the one that delivers the first blow but the one who when knocked down is able to get up off the mat and has the courage to fight on.
. Reliable: That my word is truly my bond and my success will be predicated on the fact that people always know that I will not mislead or deceive them.
Reserved: That I must not attempt to portray myself as anything more than what I really am, which is simply a link in the chain of destiny.
Respectful: That respect for others is at the very center of the circle of life.

Even though he left this life 51 years ago, he has remained in me and with me. I still see and hear him in my dreams. I have received and heeded his counsel in my work as a surgeon. I have heard his encouragement in times of trouble and felt his consolation in difficult times in my life.
I saw my father’s courage in my first-born daughter Sherifa Omade Edoga. Like her grandfather, she came up like the sun. She blazed a trail that exceeded our wildest imagination. She was here on earth for only 23 years before succumbing to a heart problem she was born with. In that short time, she graduated with honors from Stanford University and impacted the lives and the thinking many in her generation. She had the courage to look adversity in the eye and never once blinked. To honor her memory, we have established a scholarship in her name at her alma mater and we have named the library and information center at the school in Aku for her.
I see his spirit in all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren who all appear to have inherited his drive for high achievement, have excelled in their chosen fields, and have clearly demonstrated that they will meet their obligation to lead. We, the older generation, have a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to. The internationalization of this family represents my father’s global way of thinking and bodes very well for his immortal dream.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize all of you who have worked to keep my father’s memory alive and the flame of his vision burning. I am forever indebted to all of you. I do not have to call you by name. You know who you are. You looked after us when we were weak and destitute. You supported us as we found our way out of the material poverty that we found ourselves in 51 years ago. The list is long, and even though I will not name all of you individually, your names are seared into my memory and you will always occupy a special place in my heart. My mother Rose Omade Edoga, whose support enabled my father to have accomplished as much as he did in what was a very short life deserves recognition as well. She is a survivor who through years of desperate poverty, never once wavered in her faith in a better tomorrow. Her humility is disarming. Her generosity is boundless. She is as resilient as Mother Nature herself and her ability to bounce back from adversity is a source of encouragement to me whenever conditions are bleak.
This family has had the good fortune of several Mrs. Edogas all of whom seem to be cut out of the same cloth. I would also like to recognize my wife, Delia Virginia Edoga, who has been by my side rain or shine, and who became an active parent for my younger siblings in the United States while raising our 3 children virtually single handedly while also pursuing a career as a lawyer. She was born in Panama, and grew up in the US, yet her vision for this family, which extends to all of the people in our lives--empowerment through education--has amazingly paralleled that of her late father in-law whom she never met. The idea to build this school was born from a collaborative effort and commonality of purpose between 2 Mrs. Edogas, my mother and my wife.
The list of Mrs. Edogas is extensive, has assumed an international flavor and each and every one of them is a star in her own right.
I would like to acknowledge my siblings. Despite the fact that some of you were born months after our father died, never knew him and missed the guidance of that bright star, you have all grown up to be superb human beings, outstanding citizens and shining tributes to the legacy of your father. His genes and his spirit live in all of you and will guide you to your destiny if you always pay attention to your instincts.
I do not wish to go on forever. I must however take this opportunity to thank the elders of this town and village who made the land available for this venture. With help, we will bring this project home. It is going to be a tough goal to accomplish as our target is set quite high. But in the spirit of the man we honor today and for whom this school will be named, the BERNARD OYIGBO EDOGA MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL will soon be a reality.
We must all remember those who provided us with the opportunity to move forward in life. We succeeded because giants permitted us to stand on their shoulders. As Christ said to his disciples upon giving them the power to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out evil spirits, “At no cost to you, you have been given. You must now give, at no cost, to others.” We have accepted this charge in all of its aspects. We will do everything that is within our power to afford anyone who is willing the opportunity to realize his or her full potential.
Thank you all and may God bless all of you.
A native son,
John Edozie Edoga