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A group of kind-hearted students from Providence College -- a Catholic and Dominican higher education institute in Rhode Island -- have come together to help reunite their much-loved dorm guard with his family in Nigeria.
When the residents of Raymond Hall heard that their campus security guard James Mogaji, whom they affectionately call Unc, hadn't been to see his family in Nigeria for 11 years, they felt compelled to club together to make sure he could pay them a long-awaited visit.
"We take care of our own and we firmly believe that James is one of our own," shared freshman Brandon Reichert, as reported by ABC6.
The group of students set up a GoFundMe page in order to gather enough money to pay for the trip. Thanks to the contributions of students and friends, they quickly managed to reach their goal of $3,500 and were able to present Unc with the money for the trip, as you can see in this moving video shared on TikTok:
“You’re Unc. You’re the GOAT,” a student named Danny said to Mogaji before handing him the envelope, explaining: “You’re part of the family so our gift to you is a trip to Nigeria.”
The gift of gratitude
Understandably Mogaji was completely overwhelmed by the students' incredible gesture and said after recovering from the shock:
How do I deserve you?... I pray from the bottom of my heart that God will continue to protect you guys... "
However, as is often the case with acts of kindness, the fundraiser developed into something bigger, with proceeds reaching over $30,000. The money will be used to ensure Mogaji doesn't have to go that long without seeing with his loved ones again.
As one donor on GoFundMe quite rightly shared: "No one should be separated from his/her family for such a long time!"
Another donor pointed out: "These kids that organised this for you James are tomorrow’s world leaders of kindness. So much love."
And that is the real beauty of the story: by showing their gratitude, these thoughtful and loving students have inspired others to follow their lead. And of course, Mogaji gets to see his family.
