For the last 20 years, Cochranite Gus Yepiz has been travelling to Nigeria for work. Every second month he takes to the airways, spends about 30 days working as a mechanic and then returns homes. “I was brought over for my HVAC and electrical experience and then from there, of course, you know how life works - they just have you doing everything,” he said. His wife, Audrey is one of his colleagues who accompanies her husband overseas. It isn’t just their practical skills that they bring to the African country, it’s also their hearts that lead the way as the couple is actively involved in supporting orphaned and abandoned children in the area for the last several years. On their most recent trip, they brought over a dozen plush toys with the help of local non-profit, the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area (BGCCA). “We got a donation of plush (dogs) from PetSmart and they said we could give them to our families,” explained Anneliese Kelly, human resource worker with the BGCCA. “But we still had a whole bunch left over so we just put a post on Facebook.” Audrey reached out to the organization and asked for about 20 of the toys. “They made us a sign and everything to thank us it was a really heartwarming surprise that they made their way all the way there and really, it started with a donation to us that we were able to pass along and the staff member that thought to put it out to the community.” Gus said they wanted to help with more than just the toys. “Of course you just can’t only bring the stuffies. I mean that’s good, they like it but we supplement it with food. We brought a couple bags of rice, a couple bags of beans and food and supplied that along with the stuffies,” he said. Due to recent policies which force the Yepizes and their colleagues to remain within a compound while in Nigeria, they were not permitted to go to the orphanage to deliver it themselves. “We got locked down a few years back. Before that we were allowed around but now we rely on people who work with us – one girl in particular, Mary George, whose our main contact, liaison with the community,” Gus said. “She went out there and said they are extremely excited the kids were happy for the toys and the workers and owners were happy for the food.” Gus said selecting this orphanage in particular was not a coincidence – it happened to be one of the few that isn’t funded by the Nigerian government or other large oil companies, it’s run privately. “The people that started this are basically on their own trying to find funds,” he said. “Basically I went looking for that orphanage.” It also isn’t the first orphanage they’ve been involved with. Years ago the couple and their two colleagues started their own orphanage but the Nigerian government took it over. “That was a real heartbreaker,” said Gus. “After the government took over our larger orphanage we wanted another orphanage to start helping out. There was a motherless orphanage in this area just outside of town so we started looking after that,” Gus said. While they try to keep a low profile – there is no official webpage for the orphanage – the team of expats hold parties for Christmas in Easter where local children who do not have parents working in oil companies or that are not from larger, government or privately-funded orphanages are invited to attend. “(It’s) basically for Nigerian families that don’t have work who are struggling to get along,” Gus said. “We get about 30 to 40 kids at our Christmas party and 30 to 40 kids at our Easter party...we help them out with food and all that.” “Usually we bring out toys throughout the year to target this. So when the boys and girls club said they had these stuffies, it was kind of a one-off.” Gus said it only costs about $300 Canadian to run the orphanage each month. Those interested in donating clothing or funds can reach Gus at (403) 932-7592.
