If the past few years have taught us anything — here in Alberta at Unison and the world over — it’s that people need other people.
It’s beyond important. Humans are social animals and there’s nothing more heart-shattering than the feeling of being completely, utterly alone.
Frankly, we hate the idea of anyone being alone, especially during the hardest and most difficult times in their lives. Which is why Unison started its Wellness Connection Centre.
It aims to support and connect seniors from all walks of life to set them up for success. It offers everything from peer counselling to grief group support, and it’s all headed by Coordinator, Lola Fariyibi.
Lola is a delight here at Unison’s Kerby Centre. Her smile and laugh could brighten up the darkest of rooms. It makes sense that she’s so good at making connections and helping others to do the same: it comes with the territory in the sort of household in which she was raised.
Lola was born in Ibadan, Nigeria; her father was a colonel in the military and her mother was a successful businesswoman. With her mother’s connections and charismatic nature — plus being a middle child in a family with five other brothers and sisters — her house was always filled to the brim.
“The house was never empty, our house was always the go-to,” Lola says. “When your house is the place people come to, you can’t frown! You have to smile.”
With her parents disparate professions, Lola and her family spent time broken up between a home in Lagos with mom and moving all over with Dad. Her favourite place she ever lived over her childhood, however, was Jos, a city in the central-north of Nigeria.
Jos is known for it’s unique hailstorms, and Lola adored the more temperate weather there — it would be good practice for when she would eventually come to Canada.
When she finished University, she did work with the Youth Corps, and worked for Chevron’s international division in Nigeria. At the very last day of her time there, a serendipitous moment would find her speaking to the man who would eventually become her husband.
“He said he was always wanting to meet me, but I was always with friends,” Lola recalls. But she rebuffed his advance at that time! It wasn’t until later that he tried again, ringing Lola up to chat.
“He said ‘I’ll never see you again if you don’t call me’,” she says. Twenty-five years later, they are still married.
Another moment of serendipity is what brought them to Canada; both had dreams of living, working or doing education abroad and it was a Canadian immigration ad in a newspaper that caught Lola’s eye. IT advertised that they could bring their family along and that was exactly what they were looking for. Although, it took over three years to materialize!
“We almost gave up! We were saving money and after three years, we had just bought a car, [when we finally got the offer].”
It was serendipity that brought Lola to Calgary and we’re so lucky to be able to have her at the Wellness Connection Centre. She says she understands how vital the centre is to folks.
“It’s about connections all the adults make with other older adults,” she says. “The most important thing are the lived experiences they can share with each other, and to know they aren’t alone.”
“The most important thing is knowing you’re not alone.”
With Lola around, we won’t ever have to worry about a day going by without laughter, happiness and cheer here at Kerby Centre.
