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USC Marshall Donates 50 Computer Systems to Nigerian School
Alumna's Persistence Overcomes Red Tape, Shipping Delays
Former USC Marshall student Pamela Harris was sitting in Professor Douglas Shook's database class in October 2004, only three months shy of graduation, when Shook mentioned that the business school was about to recycle 50 complete, functional HP computer systems. Harris had an idea: Why not donate them to Nigeria?
Harris' church had been assisting Livingstone Academy, a school for orphaned Nigerian children in Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria. A new computer represents more than a year's salary for a Nigerian, where the average GDP per capita is under $1,000 and where 80 percent of the 130 million Nigerians live below the poverty line. The school had no computers. Shook quickly agreed with Harris' idea.
In October 2004, the school's headmaster, Samuel Ochenjele, happened to be in the U.S. for his annual trip. Harris contacted Ochenjele, and on October 23 the three -- Shook, Harris and Ochenjele -- met on the USC campus and decided to move forward with the donation.
Livingstone Academy was a labor of love for Ochenjele, a former fighter in the Biafra rebellion during the 1960s who became a preacher after he was discharged from the service. Between 1985 and 1995 he noticed an increasing number of AIDS orphans in his congregation who were looking to his church for sustenance. It was then that he toyed with the idea of creating an orphanage, but instead decided to create a school that could offer the youths a future by providing basic learning and vocational training.
In 2000, Livingstone Academy became a reality. Ochenjele started with fewer than 50 students and in five years expanded the school to 450 students and 17 teachers. Students range in age from 11 to 18, and the school's curriculum spans the 7th to the 12th grades. The first graduating class is scheduled for July 2007. Computer-literate graduates can be employed as computer instructors and attendants in schools and in public business centers, which are a fast-growing business in Nigeria.
In early 2005, Shook's team went into action. A letter of intent was finalized, and customs details, paperwork and shipping plans unfolded. Costs escalated and frustrations mounted. At one point Shook said he was willing to pay for the shipment personally if that's what it would take. In late July 2005, after a great deal of logistical learning, the computers were ready to ship. On August 18 the truck finally pulled up in front of USC Marshall's Hoffman Hall and the computers were on their way to the Port of Los Angeles. Anticipated delivery to the Port of Lagos was four to six weeks, after which the computers would be trucked inland to the school.
Actually, it would be another seven months before the computers arrived at the school, thanks to numerous shipping delays and customs inspections. On March 6, 2006, the computers finally arrived at Livingstone Academy -- a full year-and-a-half after Harris, Shook and Ochenjele came to their agreement.
When the computers were safely at his campus, Ochenjele sent Shook photos and an email that said, 'It is with real gratitude and pleasure from the depths of our hearts that we send these pictures to you. We have taken delivery of the computer donation to the Livingstone Academy. The entire staff and the student body are full of gratitude and appreciation for this noble gesture of love from your institution.'
Shook credits the persistence of Harris, who single-handedly made the contacts and provided much of the legwork.
'I think it makes a strong statement regarding the altruism and concern of our USC Marshall business students. Pamela Harris initiated this project while she was a student in my undergraduate class, but even after her graduation, she continued to help us move the project along. Her sustained efforts speak to the quality of USC Marshall alumni.'
About USC Marshall School of Business
USC's Marshall School of Business provides the foundation for a process of lifetime learning and business practice. Both U.S. News & World Report and BusinessWeek rank Marshall's programs among the top 30. For more than 80 years, Marshall has provided world-class research and scholarship, preparing students for the future of business. Marshall, with its many research centers and the Leventhal School of Accounting, focuses on a core set of skills and on strengthening its position as a global center of business education and research at the graduate, undergraduate and executive levels.