A small village in southern Nigeria is in the midst of building a school for its children and a local organization in Lethbridge is doing its part to help out.

Bridges of Hope begun the Ogan School Development Project in 2013 and is lead by Fola Soboyejo.

 Soboyejo grew up in Ibadan City, Nigeria and has strong ties to Ogan. His father was born in Ogan and as a family, would make frequent trips back to the village.

Soboyejo feels that it’s important to give back and offer the children of Ogan and the surrounding communities a proper education.

According to the Ogan school website, their previous school, the United Anglican School, consisted of three buildings with three classrooms in each building.

However, two of the three buildings collapsed due to aging infrastructure.

Soboyejo says it’s been a struggle dealing with the lack of space.

“After the building collapsed, the school was left with two classrooms for 200 students. It was, and still is, a severe problem,” he added.

The goal of the organization is to build six classrooms, a multi-purpose hall with a library, a computer room, a space for adult education and two water closet washrooms with it being completed in less than three years.

Soboyejo couldn’t be happier with the support he has received from the people of Lethbridge.

“They have been generous with supporting the project, we’ve been able to construct the foundation of the building including one completed classroom with a second classroom being almost complete. We have also provided the entire building with clean running water,” said Soboyejo. “Over 80 per cent of the funds we have raised so far are from Lethbridge.”

Bridges of Hope started in Lethbridge and has been around for almost 15 years.

According to its website, Bridges of Hope focuses on economic development, health, education and critical intervention for children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

Frank Allen, Marketing Director at Bridges of Hope, has been involved with the organization for just about 7 years and feels it’s a great way to make a difference.

“It’s about a passion to see change. It’s about creating opportunities for anybody on this planet who wants to make a difference and make this world a better place for everyone,” said Allen.

To raise awareness with the hope to increase funds for the project, a plan is in place for an Ogan School benefit concert.

Mary Lee Voort, music director for the project, is putting the line-up together and says the support has been great so far.

“Generosity is what makes Lethbridge such a wonderful place. I am very fortunate to know so many great musicians who are willing to offer their talents in support of a project like this,” said Voort.

The concert will be held on Jan. 22 at Southminister United Church. There will be performances by Gospel musicians, choirs and many more local artists with free admission.

For any other inquires on the event or questions about donating, check out www.thebridgesofhope.com