Evans Nwankwo sent the 14-year-olds, Noble and Evan, to Mea Mater Elizabeth High School in Enugu, Enugu State, to spend their 7th grade. There, the day starts with 5 am exercise and prayer, and continues with a 12-subject course load. There’s no
help from mum on homework or washing clothes, either. .
“Adversity is important in somebody’s development in life, as far as I’m concerned, because there comes a time when the storm is going to hit you, and if you never had that to fall back on you’re just going to fall apart,” the father, said. Nwankwo was born and raised in Nigeria. He was one of 13 children. The family was well off.
Then, the Nigerian civil war broke out and they were running for safety and scrambling for food, and his father was killed. He eventually made it to the U.S. and built a business. His construction company is the go-to contractor in Cincinnati. Recounting his experience in Nigeria, one of the twins, Noble said: “It was kind of eye-opening to see how much you actually have to work to get a simple bucket of water, and how you actually have to use your own strength to carry it back and forth.”
The other one, Evan, said: “And it’s actually pretty tough to hand-wash your clothes with that amount of water. You have to really manage it. You have to be trekking all over the school just to get water to bathe with. Here you can just turn on the tap and there’ll be water flowing like it’s nothing. There, you’ll, be struggling for it. Sometimes we would go without water for a couple of days.” Since returning, their dad said he’s already seen a change in his boys.
Noble added that: “I appreciate the washing machine. I appreciate the running water. I appreciate the shower, so I don’t have to use a bucket of water in a bowl. I appreciate my electronics. I appreciate my parents a lot more because I realize how much – especially my dad – I really realize how much he had to do to get here.”….. he truly started from d bottom…..
