Close to 300 people gathered inside the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School’s gym and cafeteria, 288 East Jefferson Ave. in Hampshire, on Saturday night to enjoy Taste of Nigeria and raise funds for the Seat of Wisdom Library Project in Abatete, Nigeria.
“Thanks to all who made the Taste of Nigeria night an enjoyable one,” said the Rev. Sylvester Nnaso, church pastor. “It was filled with excitement from authentic Nigerian music, fashion show, food, dancing, 50/50 raffle, live auction and lots of friendship. We did something outstanding and offered selfless-service in order to change people’s lives.”
The Hampshire and McHenry Councils of the Knights of Columbus, parish staff and parishioners helped at the event along with Nigerian nuns who serve the Illinois orders of Daughters of Divine Love in Highwood; Immaculate Heart of Mary in Freeport, and Sisters of Jesus the Savior in Rockford.
Attendees enjoyed Nigerian dishes catered by VeeVee African Restaurant on Broadway in Chicago along with American cuisine from Hampshire restaurants and desserts made by parishioners. Nnaso, who hails from Abatete, donned a Nigerian robe and participated in the fashion show along with others in African attire.
Susan Wiland of Hampshire won the $326 grand prize of the 50/50 raffle and immediately gave it back to the church for the library project.
Frank Polizzi, 94, of Crystal Lake gave the first $20 donation that started the project in 2007. The total cost of the project is around $300,000. Earlier this month, Nnaso said that he still needed $25,000 to reach that amount.
On Sunday, Nnaso said that the funds raised by the Taste of Nigeria will be counted and announced next week.
The Seat of Wisdom Library building is 7,000 square feet, which is about the same size as the Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library in Hampshire.
Abatete is a town in Nigeria that is bordered by Uke, Ogidi, Abacha, Oraukwu, Alor and Ideani. It is in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
According to the library project’s website, the building is complete with enough space for a reception area, children’s area, gift store, computer area, conference room, restrooms and storage area. A wall was built to surround and protect the facility.
Since there is no running water in the area, a well was built that will serve both the library and the community. A solar energy power supply source will be needed since there is no steady electricity in Abatete.
The website noted that “aid to Africa is often given through donations of clothing or food. Although these gifts are a blessing for many, the benefit is only temporary. There is a cycle of poverty and ignorance that plagues many African communities. People are merely surviving, not thriving. The variety of effective educational resources and access to modern technology that we take for granted in our Western communities is only a dream to many in Africa.”
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“The Seat of Wisdom Library will be more than just a town library,” said Nnaso. “It will serve 10 towns. For some kids, it will be the first time that they will touch a computer. We will offer free computer training for the first two months.”
Nnaso said the library already has 15 computers. The goal on Saturday was to raise enough money to buy 35 more computers so that the new library could have a total of 50 computers.
Emma Onva, the disc jockey at the Taste of Nigeria, said that the people who attended the event have “the vision of training young minds over 6,000 miles away. What we are doing in Hampshire will touch so many lives.”
For more information, contact www.seatofwisdomlibrary.org.
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.