'Band-Aids for Benin' raises funds for African Hospital in need
By Phil Glynn
News Editor

Students know when they pass through the door that leads from the Benson University Center to Hearn Plaza, they have the same chance of passing a fund-raising poster or petition drive as they do of passing Pizza Hut.

While some passersby lapse into tunnel vision, this doesn't keep members of the Band-Aids For Benin project, a collection effort of medical supplies for an African community, from trying to snag every donation they can. Sophomore Rosita Najmi, a coordinator of the project, tries to reel in prospective donors while striking up casual conversation with those already pledging their Deacon Dollars for the cause.

But the group offers students something in return that can always come in handy, a Band-Aid.

When each student makes a donation of or more, a Band-Aid bearing their name is placed on a large poster.

The money raised will be used to buy medical supplies for Pobe Hospital in Benin, West Africa, where Najmi and others spent the summer studying economics. Junior Brett Bechtel who was also on the trip to Benin, said he and the others wanted to do something to make an impact on the community they studied. Najmi stressed the urgency of relief efforts of this type.

"This is a perfect example in the developing world of a transition period where things will either fall apart or be successful," she said.

Najmi referred to the funding Pobe was receiving from the international nongovernmental organization, Africare. That funding has been cut, leaving the hospital, which Najmi said has a well-developed infrastructure and well-trained staff, without a basic but vital resource ­ money.T

Despite the obvious need, the students feel an extra connection to Pobe hospital. They were introduced to it by Sylvain Boko, an assistant professor of economics and leader of the summer economics program in Benin. Boko, a native of Benin, was born at that hospital.

Boko said his connection to the area made him all the more eager to return with a group of students.

"Part of it was to show them where I was from," he said. "It basically means that if you give someone a chance, then they can make it."

Boko cited his own life as an illustration.

Born in the village, he later came to the United States where he studied at Grinnell College, got his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, taught briefly at the University of Memphis and then came here.

Najmi said she hopes the Band-Aid initiative will be a stepping stone for students to organize a more service-oriented trip to accompany the economic study. Though there is no university service program in Benin presently, Najmi, Bechtel and Boko see it as a real possibility. Boko said the students' long term vision is "not only a possibility, we hope that it will be the case."

Boko said other groups had organized service efforts but nothing of this scale or with this project's potential for longevity. This echoed the students' feeling that they owed something to Benin.

He said that although the country is poor, local officials made no requests of the group for funding, and that the group was met with real hospitality by local residents.

"We've been learning from these people. It will be good to give something back," he said.

For more information about the Band-Aids For Benin project, call Rosita Najmi at Ext. 1488.