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ROGER MILLSRoman Oben donates money and his formidable presence to help children in his native Cameroon.
TAMPA - Throughout his eight-year NFL career, Bucs left tackle Roman Oben has acknowledged the importance of becoming a positive influence wherever he was playing. Whether in New York (Giants), Cleveland (Browns) or Tampa Bay (Bucs), community involvement always has been rewarding.
But the time had come to do something he always wanted to do. In mid March, while the Bucs were on a pilgrimage to add 21 players to the roster, Oben was on a quest of his own, one with a bit more significance and a lot more reward.
Born in Cameroon, on Africa's west coast, Oben returned home for a seven-day visit. It was his first time back since a brief visit in February 1997. Only this time he didn't go empty-handed.
Determined to make a difference in impoverished areas of Cameroon, Oben donated $10,000 to finance the tuition, books and renovations of two small elementary schools and a center for orphaned and disabled children.
"Anyone from a third-world country can appreciate this," Oben said. "It's the way of life, the dirt roads, the way people live, the things that we here in America really, really take for granted. I wasn't worried about my cell phone bill or who got kicked off The Apprentice when I was over there. I was thinking about what I needed to do and how people are living like this."
His trip years in the planning, Oben said career (playing for three teams), personal (getting married and starting a family) and other logistical barriers prevented him from taking his program to Africa until this year.
Most important, Oben said he wanted to work in conjunction with a reputable international charity foundation that would ensure his donations were legitimately used. He found one in LINK-UP Charity Foundations, which had a program in Cameroon.
"I was waiting for the right organization, one that I could trust," Oben said. "If you send $10,000 to get something built, you don't want it swallowed up by some government worker."
On March 11, Oben, 31, began an 18-hour journey from Tampa to Detroit to Amsterdam to Equatorial New Guinea to Cameroon.
There were long rides on bumpy roads, extremely hot temperatures and no air conditioning, customs officers who wanted payoffs, mosquitoes, big lizards and even bigger rats.
"The rodent and lizard population is something else," Oben said. "I'm sitting there and being queasy, but the people there are cool with it. The little kids were laughing at me because I had my feet up."
Roland Musi, a LINK-UP representative who was Oben's contact in Cameroon, said the player's visit and generosity were memorable.
"His trip to Cameroon has created an overwhelming impression on these children, and especially on those who had very little hopes of going through (elementary) education," Musi told the Times via e-mail from Cameroon. "He is considered a saint in the eyes of these children."
But Oben, who immigrated to America when he was 5 and became an American citizen when he was in high school, sees it differently.
"I'm looking at these 5- and 6-year-old kids, with no socks and dirty shoes, and I'm thinking that was me in 1977," Oben said. "That's when it hit me. I was one of those kids. When I go to places here and do speaking engagements, I know deep down in the back of my mind that I was never that kid. But when I went to Africa and went to the schools, I was that kid with the dusty shoes and dusty school uniform."
Oben seemed particularly moved by the visit to the orphanage.
"To live in a third-world country and face extreme poverty is one thing," he said. "To live in a third-world country and face extreme poverty, and be in an orphanage and be handicapped? You're 0-for-3. ... "I haven't been the same since I left. I felt more gratified from doing it than however happy they felt to see me. It felt so good to be able to do something for kids and to know that it will make an impact on their lives. They will be grateful for years. Ten years from now they'll say, "I remember the American guy who came here.' "
That was another discovery.
"I wasn't the tallest guy, but I was the biggest guy," said the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder. "They know you're American. They see your watch, your shoes, your clothes. They know. Here in the States, when I was in first grade, I always had an accent. I spoke differently, and even now my diction isn't the typical urban diction. So here, I'm seen as a different person. Then I go back to Africa and they look at me as an American. It's funny how it works."
Due to make $3.3-million over the next three seasons under his current contract, Oben said he would like to make the trip a routine event.
"What can I do more for next year?" he said. "How can I build on this stuff and get more people involved, people who maybe wouldn't want to take that flight and live in those conditions, but would want to contribute? A couple of (teammates) have talked to me about the possibility of donating if I do it again next year. People want to do stuff, but they don't trust a lot of these charities."
Linebacker Shelton Quarles said he plans to join Oben's mission and travel with him to Africa the next time he goes.
"What impressed me was the fact that he was so passionate about giving back to where he came from," Quarles said. "Let's face it, (many of us) are supposed to be from that part of the world anyway. I look forward to doing my part and hopefully I can go over there with him the next time."
That is music to Musi's ears.
"It would be extremely wonderful to have some of his teammates to visit us," Musi said. "This will go a long way to create more awareness of the sufferings of disadvantaged children and their families."