Singing our version of Agadoo, now called Amadu as a tribute
It was a real rush to get to St. Louis’s College on time. The students were officially on holiday but 16 of them had given up their free time to meet us. We didn’t want to be late. We were greeted by the Vice Principal, Miss Celia their class teacher and Paul the geography teacher. The girls sat together and chatted whilst we dealt with technical problems concerning generators and electricity supplies. These problems occur on a daily basis and people just cope with them. Whilst we were setting up a very elegant gentleman entered the Hall, resplendent in national dress in wonderful shades of brown. I thought this has to be a very important person and it was. It was Amadu our friend, guardian and extraordinary driver. Amadu was the driver for St. Louis’s for more than 20 years and he is much loved by the staff and all of the students. He had dressed especially for this occasion. The fact that we were to meet with the senior students and share experiences was very special linking his past work at St Louis’s with his current work for CAFOD. It was a very special moment when he arrived.
Singing our version of Agadoo, now called Amadu as a tribute
We gave our presentations to the audience. Alex was able to join us and it was the first time that he had seen the work that the girls had done. I must say he was very impressed. The students from St Louis’s were not keen to ask questions, I think this was because our experience is so far removed from any context they are familiar with, it was hard for them to relate to us immediately. I knew one thing for certain, we would find a link through music, and it seems to me that everyone in Africa can sing. I told the students that we had made a song for Amadu based on that well known classic!! “Agadoo”. We had never performed this in public and we never will again, so count your blessings; however we had a go and amused everyone. I said, “I am certain you ladies can do far better than us” and we were treated to an impromptu performance of their school song and a song they used to sing to Amadu on the school bus. The St. Louis’s girls had gained their confidence now and some questions and discussions followed. I asked them if they knew about CAFOD, they didn’t so we made a deal that they would find the offices, (only a 5 minute walk from their school). They collect things and raise money for charity every year, so they promised to consider CAFOD in their future fund raising.
Unfortunately, the Archbishop of Jos was not able to join us at St. Louis’s. We gave the students and their teachers gifts of pens and badges from our centenary and left to return to the Retreat Centre at about 6.00pm.
We were thinking that our ironed outfits could be saved for the following evening but the need for “posh” was still required. On our arrival back “home” we were told that we had to be ready for 7.00pm as the Archbishop had arranged a celebration dinner for us at the Retreat Centre. Everyone was invited, all of the CAFOD staff from the Jos office, all the girls and staff from St. Louis’s, the members of the organisation of Catholic Women, including several branch presidents and the head of the organisation in Nigeria was also expected. Everyone seemed to be fully aware of the arrangements except us! Anyway, as the generosity of the Nigerian people knows no bounds we had to get the glad rags on and join the celebration. When we entered the Conference Hall it had been decked out for a major event, we couldn’t believe that all of this was for us. We were the guests of honour, so more speeches and two sets of tribal dancers. One group played pipes and drums whilst dancing. It was an amazing show and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The tiredness left us and the girls from St. Louis’s were much more relaxed and talkative. We were pleased that they received this reward for giving up a day of their holiday. At 11.00pm people began to say their farewells and we made our way back to our rooms via the Refectory. There we were met by the President of the Catholic Women’s Organisation who with her entourage was most distressed as they had been held up on the roads and had missed the event. Food and drinks were brought from the banquet, and the girls in spite of exhaustion gave their Presentation to the ladies and then sat for an hour discussing the pack for Mums and Babies and answering questions. Yet again they were prepared to do anything possible to spread their message and to please our hosts. They were amazing in their graciousness and their dedication. We were joined by some of the CAFOD staff and it was good to spend time with them in a less formal situation. Weary but elated we reached our beds by about 1.00am.
It had been an incredible day and it felt as though 3 weeks had passed since we had set off at 7.00am the previous day.
Page 10 - Last full day
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