This story is the fourth and last installment of The Hands That Built Us series. We hope to see you on October 8th where we’ll share how these stories come together.

From patient to practitioner

When Ada, the second child of five children, was a young girl she was prone to falling sick. Her dad, a salesman and servicer of fire extinguishers, and mom, a fashion designer, had to take her to the hospital every so often. During these visits, she came in contact with a variety of medical personnel. They helped her get well time after time. This sparked Ada’s interest in medicine. This spark did not fade, but grew throughout the years. After graduating from secondary school, she decided to continue her education in the medical field at the University of Benin so she too could save lives.

During Ada’s second year at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, her family faced a terrible accident that burned down her father’s business. This caused her dad’s health to decline and was a great stress on her family. Eventually Ada’s dad passed away from health complications, and she found herself on the verge of dropping out of school. That is when her pastor introduced her to the Access to Success Scholars Program.

This program helped Ada continue her studies. However, she eventually found herself unable to keep up with her program fees on top of her life expenses. Ada was still struggling financially to make ends meet outside of school. She decided to write a letter to the Founder, Andrew Lovedale to explain her story and request his help for additional relief to get through her last year. Ada sealed the letter and intended on giving it to Sister Thecla where she was preaching that day in hopes she would pass it on to the Founder. When she handed it to Sister Thecla she told her, “Give it to him yourself.” Ada was surprised to learn that the Founder was not only in the same country, but in the same room at that moment. Ada walked over and gave the sealed letter to Andrew. He thanked her for the letter and Ada walked away. It was not until later that Andrew opened the letter and was touched to learn that Ada sees him as a father because of his work with A2S. Still to this day Andrew keeps Ada’s letter in his office.

A2S helped Ada pay for the rest of her expenses and she was able to complete her final year successfully. Ada’s experience being an A2S scholar was inspiring and life changing, exposing her to opportunities and perspectives beyond just providing a scholarship.

This year A2S hired Ada to be the health personnel in the Youth Center. Ada says, “One of my greatest worries as a graduate was the problem of unemployment that is prominent in Nigeria. It is not all about getting the job, it is about getting the job that fits your values the way Access to Success’ core values suits mine.” She explains that A2S is working hard to bridge the gap between the unemployed, the unemployable Nigerian youth and the labor market by introducing programs that will enhance their skill set.

Ada is A2S’s health personnel and provides people at the Youth Center with basic health services and care plans. Ada believes the Youth Center is a dream come true for everyone and a positive force that every community needs. She is sure that the Youth Center will serve the children, their parents and the youth, which are the building blocks for a better community. “With the Youth Center, the children will learn skills like arts and crafts, technology and marketing and this will help them to be innovative.”

Ada expressed, “I am really grateful to A2S for giving me the opportunity to serve and to all the donors that make our programs possible. I promised to put in my best. Thank you, I love you!”