Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbAZeaI8iH8 Starts at: 03:16:30 (jump to 03:16:30)
Lydia - Nigerian Front-Line COVID Experience and Humanitarian Work
[03:16:30] Next we have [03:16:32] Coming to the stage [03:16:34] My Nigerian sister [03:16:36] Lydia [03:16:38] Hey give it up for Lydia [03:16:40] Y’all [03:16:42] Woo [03:16:44] Good evening everyone [03:16:46] Good evening [03:16:48] Give the mic [03:16:50] It’s yours [03:16:52] I thought I was very loud [03:16:56] Because we Nigerians [03:16:58] When we speak our language [03:17:00] We are Nigerians [03:17:02] We are Nigerians [03:17:04] We are Nigerians [03:17:06] We are Nigerians [03:17:08] We are Nigerians [03:17:10] We are Nigerians [03:17:12] We are Nigerians [03:17:14] with friends, sometimes they have squeevers. And then everybody’s like, are you sure we [03:17:19] won’t call the police? But tonight, my voice has to speak. And today, I’m speaking out [03:17:27] because I have been in the front line in the last one year, and I speak from the point [03:17:35] of experience. Okay, my name is Lydia, as I’ve been introduced already. And my career [03:17:48] pattern from Nigeria spans for over 15 years in customer engagement. I can describe myself [03:17:54] as an expert in service delivery. After several years in telecoms, I have transitioned to [03:18:02] insurance, still dealing with service delivery. And I’ve been in the front line for about [03:18:05] 15 years in delivery. And passion for social work pushed me into looking out for education [03:18:13] of out-of-school children in Africa, starting from the grassroots, where farmers and less [03:18:21] privileged children are out of school. So that passion led me into, you know, beginning [03:18:26] to work with grassroots women and children to ensure that out-of-school children get [03:18:31] education. [03:18:33] So, my story. [03:18:35] Today, I will speak consigning my personal experience during the COVID pandemic. I came [03:18:42] in here for a conference, and I was caught up in the web of the COVID pandemic. I couldn’t [03:18:49] return home. The first three months, I was in an enclosure where I thought the world [03:18:55] had ended. I will not see my family again. And I cried most of the time. The reality [03:19:02] of mental issues came to me. [03:19:05] Yes, truly. For all those number of months, I was enclosed not with any information, but [03:19:18] because of what I do, and my passion for humanity, I spoke to myself, What are you [03:19:22] going to do when you cannot be strong enough to get information, so you can help others? [03:19:30] I decided to read a bit. I did an online certification, and understood a bit of how [03:19:35] the pandemic was because a lot of information were flying in here and there a lot of people [03:19:41] thought the world was ending people said do this do that and all that was coming to me big time [03:19:47] because all i thought about was what about the people who look up to you what about the women [03:19:51] you so love what about the widows out there in africa that you’re supporting what about the [03:19:56] children that are out of school is this how you want to carry them along and yours truly it dawned [03:20:01] on me that i needed to do something very quickly i braced myself with just little information that [03:20:07] pushed me to the level where i started gathering support online on whatsapp pages i was there [03:20:13] telling people you need to gather yourselves together practice hand washing practice this [03:20:20] practice that and by the way you can survive it and of course from home everybody thought i was [03:20:26] in the pandemic itself people were dying so what are you going to do you [03:20:31] can’t even go anywhere if it catches up with you that’s the end well i say it’s not going to catch [03:20:36] up with me but even if it does i have to be alive first of all to help people who are alive so the [03:20:43] story being caught short i want to tell you today i decided there and then that i have to be a [03:20:48] support system wherever i find myself and that is what i am and will continue to be i picked up the [03:20:55] passion that i have always had for humanity and told myself if you want to help women in africa [03:21:00] and which you are doing [03:21:01] with or without money what do you have with you i’m a good christian and it reminded me of the [03:21:07] story of the red sea to cross the road what is that in your hand you have nothing but you have [03:21:13] your passion you have the help you can give to women and because my organization deals with women [03:21:19] and children i looked in ways what is going on with the elderly a lot of more women are involved [03:21:25] with disability especially with health issues and i decided i would work at the cna [03:21:30] while the pandemic lasted [03:21:31] that is what brought me the humanitarian aspect of service pushed me into home care we started at [03:21:41] you know i mean with people with with disability the disability i was serving them at that point [03:21:47] volunteering to work with them from that base so i got exposure to people who also had mental [03:21:55] health issues at the point i was also breaking down i’m like oh sometimes i cry when i see people who [03:22:01] are challenging this uh i see them they are they’re all strong but when the crisis come upon [03:22:07] them or the time when they have their triggers i’m like but he’s all good what is wrong what can i do [03:22:13] differently and then i see myself breaking down even when i want to give so much support [03:22:19] but then i realized that the smaller entrepreneurs who own this organization especially um the [03:22:25] nursing homes the in-house services for for disabled people or for people with their behavioral [03:22:31] uh issues they didn’t really have a support system for the front liners and so i had discussions [03:22:39] with a few of them but they couldn’t support us and it kept on and on like people are supporting [03:22:46] people who need help yet they can’t support themselves can you really give what you don’t have [03:22:53] who is looking at the people who are giving this support [03:22:56] america is supposed to be the place where we learn the rest of the world will learn [03:23:01] there needs to be a strong system that can support frontliners especially people dealing [03:23:07] with people with behavioral issues mental disorders bipolar schizophrenia and all all [03:23:13] the others as my friend kim will say the names are endless the acronyms are endless [03:23:19] but who has taken time to give the support that is required [03:23:23] who and who is willing to give that support it’s only when we speak out my able brother [03:23:29] and the coordinators of this program [03:23:32] i want to use this medium to say a big thank you to you we must continue to speak up we must [03:23:37] continue to speak our truth and the truth will set everyone here free and many other people who [03:23:44] are passing through this only the truth can set us free and i want to encourage us all to keep [03:23:49] doing this if as long as i’m here i want to openly declare my support for this program and i tell you [03:23:58] i’ll be willing to volunteer at any point in time when i’m called upon [03:24:02] because that is my calling i want to discover and i have discovered the purpose for my life [03:24:06] which is supporting others i want to thank you all for turning up and i believe that today has [03:24:12] touched you as much as it has touched me thank you so much and god bless you all