I
have never met Raphael James in real life. Our paths have never crossed. I
doubt if he is a rich man in terms of material wealth. I am not certain he has
access to corridors of powers. Yet, Raphael James is a man that I respect.
Raphael
is a man with a burning passion to change the society through selfless
contribution and altruistic commitment. He is a man of ideas. He is a man of integrity. He is a man of sacrifice.
Raphael
is the founder of the Centre for Research, Information Management and Media
Development located in Lagos. The Centre operates a free Public Library
and it is actually free. Many residents
of Ikotun, Idimu, Eijgbo, Isolo and Okota have benefitted and are still
benefiting from the presence of the library in their area.
I
understand that he conceived the idea of the Free Public Library as an avenue
to keep the minds of the youths active and to provide a platform for them to
constructively develop their intellects. In an age where information is power,
a free library is a like a blank cheque. It is a bottomless well from which a
thirsty traveller could continue to assuage his thirst.
Recently,
the Library as part of its community outreach project organised a daily
interactive session with students preparing for JAMB Examination. The
programme ran daily! It was free! Such
was the impact of RJ’s inspiring efforts that in April, the Library was host to
117 students who wanted to make use of library facilities that could only
accommodate 14 students!
Raphael’s
life is a practical demonstration of the fact that you don’t need a public
office to impact your community. His activities are simple, yet so impactful.
To ensure that youths of his area maximize their talents and gifts, Raphael
through his CRIMMD also organizes weekly Free Music Class. Yes, free Music
Class. It holds every Friday and it is open to all, especially the youths who
have passion and interest in getting into music. What constituency development project
is better than this?
That’s
not all. Raphael’s CRIMMD also operates Free Skill Acquisition Centre for
Women. And it is also free. It is open to the public. Participants are equipped
with professional skill sets to enable them set up small-scale cottage
industries. The centre offers practical training in dressmaking, bead making,
catering, soap production, ankara bag making and a host of other useful
vocations. At no cost. Yes, as in FREE!
One
of the things I have discovered is that people with the least give the most. If
anything, Raphael James is generous. On regular basis, he donates books from
his library to others who are desirous of setting up their own free library! This
is one of the things he does to ensure that reading culture does not die in our
country.
Raphael
is a lover of knowledge. He lives his life for books. In one picture I source
from his Facebook, Raphael is seeing burrowing into archives the way an
engineer drills for crude oil.
He
is also an author and a publisher. He is the publisher of National Biographer – a
magazine that documents the life and times of notable personalities in the
society. The magazine has featured Pastor Bilewu Joseph Oschoffa, Mrs. HID
Awolowo, Chief Alex Akinyele, Prof. Dora Akunyili, Abiodun Opanubi, and a host
of others.
In a
nation where material wealth and political connections are the indices for
measuring success, Raphael stands out as a unique character. If there is a
gentleman that deserves a national honour, it is no other than Raphael James.
If a nation is looking Heroes and Role Models for her youth, Raphael James is
the ideal candidate.
Please
if there is anything you can do to assist the vision of Raphael James, please
contact him via his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/drraphael.james.
If you know of any honour or office that he is
deserving of, please nominate him. Let us celebrate people of value! Let us
celebrate people of ideas!
Let
us celebrate Raphael James.
Thank
you.
Onigegewura©
Images sourced from Dr. Raphael James' Facebook page
Unfortunately there are no comments on RJ,I say why?
ReplyDeleteIs it because nobody finds this story sexy?if so,it would be most disheartening to me.
Thanks Onigegewura and thank you Mr.James for your selfless service to our community.I personally commend and honor you sir.
R.Olusegun Ogunmowo
You're right sir...."people with the least give the most" - particularly in this part of the world.
ReplyDeleteQuite pathetic, that is how we are wired.
If not, why should the best graduating medical student in one of our varsities get a reward of N10,000 sum When the winner of Big Brother 9ija smiled home with millions of Naira?
May God help us.
Thanks for the great job sir.
Please let's rebroadcast this guy so he make more impact in the society.
ReplyDeleteKudos to this wonderful citizen. An example to be emulated
ReplyDeleteI would like to gather books and various resources from my locality here in the US and send in contribution to this great man's work. Kindly advise.
ReplyDeleteI would like to gather books and other resources in contribution to Mr James' great effort. Kindly advise.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. Please contact Dr Raphael James via his Facebook page at:https://www.facebook.com/drraphael.james
DeleteI have a great amount of my children’s past textbooks I would like to donate. I will contact him and do the needful. Kudos for profiling him here
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your kind gesture. Please let me know when you do that.
Delete