Scottish Catholic Observer

Fr Tobias Okoro (above), parish priest at St Bride’s in Pitlochry, is hoping to raise £16,000 towards building a Learning Centre in Umualumaku, Nigeria, with the help of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Generous parishioners from Pitlochry Parish—encompassing St Brides, St Columba in Birnam and Our Lady of Mercy in Aberfeldy—assisted by those from nearby St John’s in Perth, have so far gathered almost £3,000 after a number of fundraising events.

Fr Okoro, who has been in Scotland for seven years, grew up in the Nigerian town and attended the primary school he now seeks to improve. He first appealed for the help of the Scottish Faithful after a heavy wind destroyed the school. Now, after rebuilding efforts, the Hilltop Model Primary School has six new classrooms, a library, an office for staff and a kitchen.

Fr Okoro said the aid of Scottish Catholics was needed and appreciated in the developing country.

“The situation in Nigeria is that there is a gap between the rich and the poor,” he said. “It is evident when you come to the village. It is very rural. You see real poor people living in thatch houses and people who cannot help themselves; they depend on help from outside. There is a lot of poverty in the area.”

Following the work building the new school, children from the village wrote letters back to Scotland thanking locals who contributed for giving them a comfortable place to study, and Fr Okoro is full of praise for his fundraising parishioners.

“The generosity they show is really amazing,” he said. “It’s not as if we don’t have a need here in Scotland but it shows the large heart of the people to reach out to the less privileged and the poor out there. It shows the generosity and magnanimity that they have.

“When I go home to my village because of what my friends are doing I have experienced the gratitude. They are really grateful to me for being the channel through which such help has come to the village.”

Pitlochry churchgoers have held quiz and bingo nights and a concert delivered in the town by Dundee’s Cecilian Choir all in aid of the Learning Centre. The building is now partially roofed and it is hoped it will soon have a room for computers, one where people can hold meetings, and a third, which will provide food and clothing to those in need.

Phyllis Ponsonby, a member of the Pitlochry parish council, first got involved in the project after hearing about how long the Nigerian villagers had been waiting to get some help with their building.

“I thought I could do something to get the work started again and give them a bit of hope, and also let them see they may be some distance from us but we are willing to try and help them,” she said. “This is a very worthwhile cause, and one that is very close to my heart.”

Mrs Ponsonby also had high praise for Fr Okoro, who she said visits villages in his homeland and leaves food and clothing for those in need. “When people hear that he is back, they flock to his parent’s home to speak with him, and they hope that in some way he can help them,” she said.

In Nigeria young people are given free primary education, but if they wish to go on to higher education then their parents have to fund it. The Learning Centre will give young people whose parents cannot afford further education a chance to learn basic computer skills.

Fr Okoro said the centre would be a great help to those living in the rural village, many of whom don’t have access to the internet, and resort to moving away from their families.

“This centre will keep a lot of them around home and give them something to engage themselves and develop themselves,” he said. “If it is as well equipped as we are planning it will give them hope for their future.”

[email protected]