Isiaka Wakili
4 May 2008
Abuja — He is a teacher by profession. Much as he cherishes imparting knowledge on his fellow beings; this young man is extremely comfortable with rescuing humanity from the epidemic of diseases.
The dictum that 'health is wealth' holds water for him. His disposition is that the African continent in particular and the world in general must maximally benefit from this humanitarian service. All the way from his native country, Ghana, he is obsessed with the fight against malaria and HIV/AIDS here in Nigeria.
The above provides an insight into the enchanting story of 34-year-old Benjamin Larbi who is a Ghanaian.
After teaching English Language, Social Studies and Agricultural Science for three years at Ellen White Seventh Day Adventist Junior Secondary School Asokore-Koforidua, Ghana, Larbi decided to extend his humanitarian service beyond his native country. But this is from a different perspective.
Unlike many other African youths who would have loved to go to Europe for a greener pasture, Larbi chooses the African continent as his base of operation. He left for Swaziland near South Africa in 2001 before he later proceeded to Johannesburg in South Africa.
Touched by how hundreds of human beings were suffering from HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases in Swaziland, Larbi took up the gauntlet by establishing what he called Volu International in 2003 which in 2005 became Global Dream, an international voluntary organization. This, according to him, was also a product of his experience as a member of the Red Cross Philip Foundation and Rotaract Club in Ghana.
"When I entered Swaziland again in 2003, I was touched by the way so many people were suffering from diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and blood shortage. I had been a volunteer for many years in Ghana serving at Red Cross and other voluntary organizations. I normally recruited volunteers for Red Cross to work on how HIV/AID could be prevented.
"I was motivated by the need to ensure that people live a healthy life. I particularly want to see an environment where there will be no malaria because malaria has been a major health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. So, out of my passion for fellow human beings, I decided to establish Global Dream in December 2003", Larbi explained.
He added that the organization has thousands of volunteers in Ghana, Swaziland, South Africa and Nigeria. But what does Larbi set out to achieve with his Global Dream? He responded: "we assist other stakeholders to ensure that there is adequate safe blood in our hospitals and clinics for patients who need transfusion by recruiting voluntary blood donors, we also assist in the fight and campaign against HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections. We enlighten the youth on the danger in drug abuse; and also, apart from caring for the vulnerable in the community, we frequently organize youth exchange programmes for volunteers with other organizations abroad with a view to build self-confidence in them and exposing them to other cultures. But summarily, our major mission is to improve people's lives through voluntary services so that they can effectively contribute to the overall socio-economic development of their community or nation at large with the youth as our primary client".
Since he arrived Nigeria three months ago, Larbi has been preoccupied with efforts to mount enlightenment campaigns on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and malaria. He explored the world malaria that took place last month to showcase his mission for the country.
Larbi prides on the achievements of his organization so far: "Since the establishment of Global Dream, we have made some remarkable impacts among which include cleaning, painting and presentation of food items to the Dvokowalko Government Hospital in Swaziland in June 2003. We have visited so many schools and we have also recruited many volunteers. We have changed lives by enlightening the younger ones in those schools. We have also encouraged people to embrace volunteerism because it is only through volunteerism that Africa's problems can be solved.
"We have also executed some other projects one of which was operation-all-must-donate blood in Swaziland where we had several celebrities as participants in 2003 and such a thing happened for the first time in Swaziland. In March 2005, I led my volunteers in Kumasi, Ghana, to visit the Kumasi Children's Home where they spent the whole day with the children cleaning in and around the home. Our volunteers played all sorts of games with the orphans and the abandoned children and in the end; they presented food items and clothes to the children".
"In Nigeria here, our first programme took off with the first world malaria day this April. We were at the Stella Maris School, Area One, Garki, Abuja to enlighten children on how to prevent malaria epidemic. We made them understand why they should also join us in our efforts to blow whistle on malaria. We have told them that malaria is a major public health problem in more than 90 per cent countries in Sub-Saharan Africa of which Nigeria is one, and that it is estimated to kill a child every 30 seconds", he said.
Are there any medical experts assisting him in his humanitarian service? He answered in the affirmative, saying that "as a teacher who is now engaged in the health-related issue, I definitely cannot do it alone. In order to make things work properly, we have a lot of medical practitioners who are working with us by giving us professional advice especially on the need to screen donors' blood. Not only that, we also have many other volunteers who are working in health services".
Larbi's Global Dream discharges its humanitarian service free of charge. The reason for this, according to him, is that "those who are mostly affected by malaria and other diseases we are campaigning against are the masses, and we feel we can only really assist by not charging anything".
Corroborating this assertion further, Larbi said that all the programmes scheduled to mark the 5th anniversary of Global Dream will be organized in three states in Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory. This, he assured, will commence on 31st May, 2008 in Abuja where there will be adequate campaign against malaria, adding that "mosquito treated nets will be distributed free of charge to the needy, children and the less privileged people".
Lack of adequate funds is a major challenge confronting Larbi's Global Dream because "people always have a lukewarm attitude towards voluntary organizations in Africa generally. But I thank God that I have a track record. Our volunteers and the board of trustees usually come to our aid as regards funding".
Since he is no longer teaching, what does he do for living in Nigeria? Larbi reacted: "As a trained teacher, I organize private tutorials for people in Abuja and it is through this that I make both ends meet in Nigeria. Averagely, I make N50, 000 every month from these tutorials".
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