“Have you had your rice today?”-Ancient Chinese greeting.

Words: Ralph Dixon
Pictures: Adrian Constantinescu


Most expatriates were surprised to learn they were to be included in the Christmas bonus scheme whereby all local employees were to receive a 50kg bag of rice and 12 bottles of cooking oil. The general line of thought was to simply give the rice and oil to our drivers or maids. It was only when told of a refugee camp here in Lagos by Vidya (wife of Ramji Sankarakrishnan) that the call went out for expats to donate their issue to the camps Liberian refugees who certainly had more need of a 50kg bag of rice than any expatriate! It was agreed by all concerned to concentrate all efforts on helping the camps pregnant women as well as the many children.
When Vidya told me about the camp I must admit my reply was the same as most other expats who work here in Nigeria……‘You’re kidding right? Refugees? Here? Lagos?’
So the email was sent to all expats…..give us your rice! The response was fantastic and almost 800kg of rice was collected. The spirit continued to be positive when Sidd Bhowmick donated 4 cartons of water on behalf of the workshop. When Ramji donated 4 cartons of biscuits and 6 soccer balls we were sure we were on the right track!!
When Adrian Constantinescu heard about the plan to collect rice he had already given his issue to his driver but still graciously donated 5,000 Naira to buy anything else that may be needed, this money was added to the 6,300 Naira the Port HR Department donated and 18 tins of milk powder were purchased.



Last Saturday (2nd Feb.) was a beautiful Lagos morning (aren’t they all?) when Ryan, Adrian, Jonas and I met at Osborne Estate to load the rice and oil for delivery to the camp.
Leaving Lagos to cross into Ogun State I must admit to wondering what the camp would be like. Would people be friendly? Was it dangerous? Any such concerns were soon dispelled upon arrival when we were met by a crowd of children who enthusiastically greeted us with a series of beautiful songs. Their beaming smiles made all of us feel that the trip was certainly worthwhile, even if the Lagos traffic had been up to its usual stop/start snails pace!
We met with various representatives from different countries such as Liberia, Somalia, Ivory Coast and Eritrea to name but a few. These people demonstrated that however dire a person’s situation the will to provide for ones children was unbreakable. The fact that so many different ethnic groups lived in such close proximity sharing such an obviously harmonious relationship was also certainly a humbling experience.

The children seemed rightfully proud of their camp schoolroom where we listened to them sing yet more beautiful songs and show us their dance moves. It was unanimously decided we as a group would refrain from both singing and dancing so as to avoid definite embarrassment (Ours!)
The short time we spent there will be something I am sure will live in our memories forever. A small gesture on our part was received with gratitude and a quiet grace that affected us all. Certainly the decision to help the children in the future with further donations such as school supplies and more food was not a hard one.
Let’s be honest with ourselves, we do very well out of Nigeria……..isn’t it only right to give something back?


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