K.J. Wright, Seahawks help with medical mission to Nigeria

Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright talks with fans at an autograph signing in May. Wright was in Moses Lake to help raise money for the Moses Lake Medical Team.

by Rodney Harwood
| October 19, 2016 2:12 PM

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Medical Team is doing its part to make the world a better place and the Seattle Seahawks and their fans are helping fund those efforts.

Well, they helped fund this effort anyway. The Moses Lake Medical Team is leaving on Thursday for its eighth trip to Nigeria to bring necessary medical supplies and attention to an area in need. The trip is being funded with the $11,000 raised through the efforts of Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright.

Wright was in Moses Lake to sign autographs in May and The 12s were out in droves. The money raised will fund the medical team's two-week mission to the state of Kebbi in northwestern Nigeria.

“Anywhere in the world where help is needed, that's what I signed up for. That is my objective to help wherever I can,” said Lateef Olaniyan, Pharm.D., president of the Moses Lake Medical Team. “One day you see people who are in pain and they come back the following day, and they are happy and relieved. For me, that's what keeps me going,”

This trip will include a contingent of 45, including four surgeons, a pediatric surgeon, an optometrist, nurses and support staff. The mission is a volunteer effort, in which members are responsible for their own travel expenses. The supplies and equipment are provided through fundraising efforts.

“It would have been almost impossible for this to happen without the money we raised from K.J. Wright's involvement,” Olaniyan said. “When we get there I will be sending text messages and photos to K.J. Wright and the Seahawks to let them know we appreciate what they did for us and the impact they are making.”

This mission to Kebbi is in a different region from the previous seven trips to Nigeria and will present a different set of challenges, said Olaniyan, who grew up in Nigeria and moved to the United States in 1981.

“The area we are going to, we've never been there before. I don't even speak the language,” he said. “What's unique about this trip is that the governor of the state of Kebbi is actively involved in this mission. They are really preparing for our visit, making sure that travel is efficient and secure. Before we were treating government officials, but this time we will treat the common people.”

Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjQ5qZHjc4U to watch a video of Wright's last visit to Moses Lake.