Bukola Oriola, Author at Bukola Oriola

Many Many Thanks…

September 13, 2014 By Bukola Oriola

I will like to express my sincere gratitude to you all for your support during The Enitan Story’s 1^st Annual Taste for Hope fundraiser. It was a successful event. I couldn’t ask for more. You gave your support in every way possible, spiritually, financially, morally, emotionally, and materially. I am most thankful for your hearts towards a great cause. Indeed, you stand against human trafficking. I am mostly indebted to Pastors Bill Eaves, Cullen Tanner, and members of the United Methodist Church of Anoka – offering the space for free and allowing us to cook in the kitchen under the supervision of Kim Harris, the health licensed personnel for commercial kitchen. And, I can’t thank Kim enough for sacrificing her time to be of help.

The food was excellent. I am thankful to all the vendors that graced the occasion. In addition, volunteers sacrificed their time with family members to cook for The Enitan Story. We had people preparing and cooking food two days ahead of the time. My friend from Nigeria, owner of Dunas Party Planner, Ibukun Onasanya spent two days baking a custom cake for the event. Her cake business colleague here in Minnesota, LeeAnn was a great help in time of need. She was also available to support with tools and ingredients for the cake. Joined by Trisha Perez, Comfort Akpeari, and Andrea, Angela Okafor, one of our board members, was also there to cook for two days despite the fact that she had an eighteen month-old baby. In fact, Ibukun’s nephew, Samuel Durojaiye, who came from Chicago was our emergency babysitter. And, thanks to my sister, Anu Ogunmola of House of Fancy, for designing a lovely dress for me to match my son’s outfit.

The music was superb with Pastor Lyndy Zabel and his World Beat Connection’s music band. The live music provided the much needed joy in the atmosphere. And, our MC, Dr. Sherry Jordon of St. Thomas University was just perfect for the job. We were lucky to have another professor from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Abimbola Asojo, who is also our board member, volunteer as the photographer of the day.

Annette Brandner was another board member who was a hard worker. She was selling tickets, writing articles, connecting us with local resources, decorating, and running multiple errands until the end. She even stayed behind to clean. You will not believe that she is seventy years plus old. She even had her husband helping. Emily Wise, another board member suggested the idea of food tasting. She helped us secure the date and was available to help during the event. Our summer intern, Nora Kane, whom I really miss because she is now in Jordan for Study Abroad was both helpful behind the video camera and in the kitchen.

Alexandra House Staff were very supportive. I am grateful that they were there to offer expert advice and give directions during the preparation and at the event. In fact, Heidi Kopischke, one of our presenters was one of the advocates who were there when I was a client at Alexandra house few years ago. Marie was another advocate who came with her daughter to help buy and prepare a nice fruit bouquet. Thanks to Abigail Whelan who came to represent Representative Jim Abeler and Detective Tessa Villegas who represented the Anoka County Sheriff’s office and for sharing your thoughts.

I am very grateful to all the volunteers that came to help. Joanne, one of my friends from Anoka Ramsey was there slaving away in the kitchen cleaning. Beyond that, she coordinated other students to come and help. The vendors were exceptional – Damola’s Kitchen, Jamaican Cuisine, PizzaMan Anoka, Panda Garden, Angelic Angel Delicacies, Taste of Kenya, and Fruits by Marie. The sponsors are worth thanking with their support of various items – Anoka Hennepin Credit Union, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, Coon Rapids, Klein Bank, Coon Rapids, Sterling Trophy, Anoka Sports Shack, Bukola Braiding, Lowes, Coon Rapids, Cub Foods, Anoka, Target, Coon Rapids & Northtown, Walmart, Anoka and Sams Club, Fridley.

The community support was unbelievable. Anoka city advertised the event on the electronic board. ABC Newspapers and CTN Studio promoted the event in their print and electronic media. The guests were great. We received support before, during, and after the event. In fact, after the event, we still received donation towards the fundraiser. I want to really thank you all whether you were able to make it or not, your impact was felt. Thank you very much. In case I have not mentioned your name here, please pardon me for omission. I am very grateful. We raised a total amount of $3,129.19 after expenses.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form or simply comment below. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.

Bye for now, until next time.

Nigeria’s Gardening Style in America?

July 17, 2014 By Bukola Oriola

As an eight year-old, I remembered gardening with my mother at the back of our house in Lagos, Nigeria. Also, we had a little farm about two miles away from home. We planted green spinach, corn, okra, water leaf, bitter leaf, cassava, and other common vegetables that we cook for food. Cultivating the ground and planting was no big deal. Once we put the seeds in the ground, we just wait to see them sprout after few days. Some take up to a week or so. We did not have to water the garden or the farm. The soil was loamy and the rain provided the water needed to grow the vegetables.

Now in Minnesota, United States of America, I found myself like a sea fish but living in the pond. Gardening in Minnesota is obviously different from Lagos. The weather condition is a factor that I worry less about than the sandy/stony soil I had to plant tropical vegetables in. It took about three weeks or more for the seeds to sprout. Also, while planting, the seeds were sprinkled on the plot rather than, line them up to form a nice line as they grow.

The garden was created to help provide fresh ethnic vegetables to victims and survivors of human trafficking and domestic abuse. As a survivor, who had been in a situation where ethnic vegetable would have helped provide additional comfort during my healing process at the shelter, I thought it would be a great idea to provide that comfort to others with the help of The Enitan Story. It sounded interesting and I had no idea what kind of challenges, we would be facing as an organization with the project.

One of our board members, Angela provided her backyard for additional gardening space. One of our church

Angela sprinkling the seeds at her backyard

members at United Methodist Church of Anoka, Jim and Ann volunteered to rototill the space. Meanwhile, an instructor at the Horticulture department of the Anoka technical College, Amy Moberg had helped us to start two of our seeds – melon and fluted pumpkin from the indoor garden of the college. Unfortunately, the fluted pumpkin did not make it, but the melon survived. She also donated some tomatoes, thyme, cilantro and mixed spices. They all survived except the cilantro.

As for our ethnic vegetables, we planted jute leaves, green and red spinach, okra, and clove basil. All except the clove basil sprouted and are doing well, just not as fast as I had anticipated. Angela has been working hard on the garden behind her house and I have been taking trips to the Harmony garden in Anoka to take care of the vegetables. Luckily, we have had a Target staff come to volunteer through Volunteer Match, an online volunteering network for both nonprofits and individuals willing to volunteer their time. Another person, Trisha came to volunteer with her daughter and son. She even brought some vegetables to plant on the spot where the clove basil did not sprout.

I have had people who wanted to volunteer but had not been able to make it, so please, come, if you can, help us at the garden. I was at the garden today using hoe to weed around the edges. The garden was already shrinking as a result to the grass around the edges. It’s been a lot of patience and persistence keeping a garden without the best soil, but when I remember why I am doing it, I feel inspired to keep working at it. I put some fertilizer in the garden today and hopefully, that will help the vegetable to do better, so that we can actually make some food from it for those we want to help with it.

It has also been a learning experience. We will definitely be having a better garden in 2015. As for the garden at Angela’s backyard, some of the vegetables sprouted while others did not. We have also learned that we would need to till the soil with some compost before the next planting season to help the garden produce better.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.

Bye for now, until next time.

You May Call Me a Preacher

July 16, 2014 By Bukola Oriola

Inside LeTourneau book — Inside LeTourneau’s book

I cannot underestimate the place of God in my life. I am what I am today by His special grace. Since school is not in session and I don’t have deadlines for home work, I have the time to go to personal schooling. I have been reading various books from spiritual growth to business sense. While reading The Wisdom That Works by Dr. David Oyedepo, I came across several authors and successful businessmen and some of their books. A vision was also delivered into my hands, few weeks after. I will tell you about the vision in another article that I will be sharing some time soon. I went to the library to check out books. One of them was The Mover of Mountain and Men by R.G LeTourneau. LeTourneau, a French man born in Duluth, Minnesota, chronicled his life experiences from childhood until he became a very successful businessman. As a reader, the author took me through a rebellious childhood where he left home to milk cow for a widow two miles away for food and shelter and to stay warm from the Minnesota winter cold. After going back home at the end of Thanksgiving dinner with his extended family, Bob, as he was usually called mend his differences with his father and stayed home. As a mechanic who was always designing earth moving machines, LeTourneau never forgot to mention the hands of God in his achievements. He also used the book to show his shortcomings as a human being when it came to relating to God or giving God His rightful place in his life. He travelled around the world sharing the goodness of God upon his business. He usually starts his speech by saying, “I am just a mechanic whom the Lord has blessed, but I am in active relationship with God.” LeTourneau found out that he can be a business partner with God to promote the work and kingdom of God during one of his visits to his pastor, and that understanding has made him to survive every challenge that stung him like bees in his journey to success. He was quick to seek caution whenever things were not going right. He was a man full of faith when he highlighted the fact that when many of us pray, we do not leave our burden before God rather we take it back with us. More so, he pointed out the mistake that many of us make when we are serving God. For example, the man who gave ninety percent to God and took ten, said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” as it is written in Matthew 6:24. He did not mince words either when he said “I think a lot of people get mixed up that way too. They have just enough religion to make them miserable, and not enough to make them happy.” He concluded by adding, “They can’t enjoy serving the pleasures of sin because they know better, and they can’t enjoy serving the Lord because they are not willing to serve Him all the way.” So, my question is how are you serving the Lord? This is a question that we must answer as we go about our daily life and business. It is very important to put God first in everything we do and He will make sure that what we do will enjoy lasting success. Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates. Bye for now, until next time.

Why You Need To Support Taste For Hope

July 15, 2014 By Bukola Oriola

The Enitan Story is a nonprofit organization with a mission to advocate for victims and empower survivors of human trafficking and domestic abuse. As you may have known, if you have heard my story or read my book, I am a survivor who wants others to be free just like I am. When I put my face to my story for the first time in February 2009 at Winona State University, my main goal was to bring the message of hope to the hopeless. I remembered like yesterday, how I poured my heart out in front of the almost filled auditorium in the morning. I spoke after an immigration lawyer who drove me to the venue of the event had introduced me to the audience immediately after her speech.

At the end of that presentation, where we had driven two hours to get to, I waited patiently for the next presentation in the evening at a different auditorium at the college. Meanwhile, I was taken for lunch by the university staff before my next presentation. Many other countless presentations followed my presentations that day. I was just sharing my story to help others.

Things began to take a new turn when I began to receive calls from victims or someone who knows a victim or works with a victim of human trafficking or domestic abuse. I even received emails, phone calls, and Facebook messages from middle, high, and college students, who have papers to write on human trafficking. I have taken the time to answer their questions as much as I can, either one-on-one at my hair braiding shop, telephone, or email. Even, members of the media have also got my attention when they needed information on these topics.

As a journalist, I took a step further by producing a television show through Public Access, North Metro TV in Blaine.

My journalism background was rather in print than broadcast; therefore, it was like wrestling as I went through the pain of TV production. I will always be grateful for the help of various volunteers, who helped to produce the show. Despite the flaws of the show, many have cited it in their research works. Some of the guests, who have appeared on the show have made it to be a respected show by presenting it to their audience and supporters to show their efforts in combating human trafficking. I have been honored to host the Anoka County Sheriff, Sheriff James Stuart and County Attorney, Attorney Tony Palumbo more than once; In addition, other notable people in the community have graced the set of the show as guests. In fact, Imprisoned Show was documented by the department of state as one of president Obama’s success stories in combating human trafficking in 2014.

When weed took over the garden, my son, Sam helped.

In my journey to bring freedom and hope to victims and survivors of human trafficking and domestic abuse, I see a lot of gaps in the services provided. For example, a victim could get free legal help as a foreign-born, but may find it difficult to get medical help, such as that of a civil surgeon specified by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Such is a service that cannot be rendered at any of the regular clinics or hospitals because of the USCIS specifications. Another is for a victim not being able to get help because the crime was committed outside of the US. And for survivors, truly surviving is beyond having basic needs such as shelter and food, but becoming self-sufficient. The Enitan Story hopes to help them accomplish the goal of true self-sufficiency through education, further education, or business.

For these reasons, and many more, was why I was compelled to take another step further by forming a nonprofit organization called The Enitan Story. Please, take a look at the short video about the organization below.

I hope that you will be compelled to support Taste For Hope in whatever way you can join me to help these people

You can support by buying this “dream” Editing Suite for Imprisoned Show.

who may turn around to help others in the future. The event will hold on Saturday, August 16, 2014 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the United Methodist Church of Anoka, 850 South Street, Anoka, MN 55303. It will be a night of music and food tasting. You can buy tickets online at www.enitan.org. If you will like to be a vendor at the event providing finger foods for tasting, please, contact The Enitan Story at info@enitan.org.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.

Bye for now, until next time.

What Had Happened

June 1, 2014 By Bukola Oriola

Since my last post, The Power of Your Tongue about my visit to Grand Rapids, a lot had happened. I promised a sequel, but I will not take too much of your time to tell you everything, however, I interviewed some of the organizers and one of the speakers in a video that was published on Imprisoned Show. You can click on this link to hear from them.

About six weeks ago, some school girls were kidnapped from school by a terrorist group called Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria. Mind you, I went to a boarding secondary school just like those girls. Perhaps, you have seen rallies being organized in the news and the foreign help to find those girls. Nothing has happened since in terms of the girls’ whereabouts. I participated in a rally here in the Twin Cities at the State capitol. You can watch the rally on Imprisoned Show website. I pray and hope that those girls are rescued safely.

I had written in one of my past blogs that I met with the president of my college, Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC), Kent Hanson to talk about presenting to the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Well, President Hanson drove me to the presentation and I must say that I was not only impressed by the board of trustees, but even more so with the president of my college, who cares about students’ well-being and success on campus.

One of the things that impressed me with the board was my introduction. Rather than focusing on my victim story,

President Kent hanson holding the placard “Bring Back Our Girls.”

they focused on my success and accomplishments and even showed how proud they were with me as one of their students. And, Trustee Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who read my bio to introduce me encouraged her fellow trustees to support my efforts and non-profit, The Enitan Story. Furthermore, I was pleasantly surprised when the Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Dr. John O’Brien sent me a thank you email that reads, “Bukola, It was such a pleasure to meet you today and celebrate your story and your great work. Please keep in touch – I’d love to hear about your continuing work.” He ended the email with his signature.

The Enitan Story, the nonprofit I founded less than a year ago, has now received its Tax Exempt Determination Letter is now planning its first annual fundraiser in celebration of its first year anniversary. The fundraiser is tagged Taste For Hope, where vendors will get free tables to promote their businesses, by providing free samples of their menu of choice to the guests. Tickets are on sale to guests online for $25 per person or $160 for a group of eight. The event will take place on Saturday, August 16 from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Guests will enjoy tasting food and Live Music from World Beat Connection during this event. You can find out more at www.enitan.org.

I encourage you to support my effort to give help to others. You can donate to, or sponsor the event. If you want to help in kind, please fill out the contact form to learn how you can.

As I write also, I have planted seeds and plants with the help of one of The Enitan Story’s board member and an

The Enitan Story board member, Annette Brander (in the middle in white blouse) with family and friends visiting the garden

Anoka Technical College professor at the organization’s community garden to supply fresh ethnic produce to victims and survivors of human trafficking and domestic abuse. You can view pictures on The Enitan Story’s Facebook page.

In addition, we will be hosting a fundraising booth at the Andover Family Funfest in on July 12 from 10:00 Am until dusk. Join me to help victims and survivors of human trafficking by donating or braiding your hair in blue extensions at the fun fest.

I will not go without giving tribute to two legendary women – Barbara Walters of the View, who retired recently and Maya Angelou who passed away few days ago. I hope that Walters enjoys her retirement in good health and pray that Angelou rests in peace.

Bye for now, until next time.

Many Many Thanks…

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Nigeria’s Gardening Style in America?

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You May Call Me a Preacher

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Why You Need To Support Taste For Hope

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What Had Happened

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