This past December, Tinuola Dada of Eastside Catholic spent her holiday break delivering locally-donated clothing and supplies to an orphanage in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Motherless Babies Home at Lion Village in Lekki, Lagos received $1,800 in new baby clothes and another $2,000 in cash from Dada’s efforts, which were achieved through her non-profit, “From Us To You.” Dada started the organization two years ago in partnership with the ARAS Foundation in order to assist people, primarily children, in poor and developing countries.

While in eighth grade, Dada said she went to a conference where “really amazing kids” gave speeches about what they had done to help people all over the world, “and I realized I wanted to do something to help.” Dada said. “I wanted to be a part of it.”

One of the main focuses of the organization is education, Dada said.

“In a lot of nonprofits they give temporary assistance, but don’t help people in the long run,” Dad said. “If they don’t have certain things, like clothes or toothpaste, really simple things, it makes it more difficult for them to do better in school. It makes their lives better in the long term.”

And Nigeria is close to Dada’s heart – her dad was born there and her mother moved there at age five. Dada’s first trip to Nigeria was in Feb. 2010 when she went on a family trip to visit relatives and learn more about her culture.

Dada said that the area has developed a lot over the three years, but there are still struggles. When asked how the orphanages responded to the donations, Dada said they were extremely appreciative and thankful.

“It was really cool to see,” she said. “Especially the younger kids because they’re so excited to just have visitors, interact and have fun with you.”

The items that Dada brought included clothing, bags, thermometers, medicine and books. Many of the items were provided by people from Eastside Catholic. However the baby clothes were donated from a company called ‘Green-line’ Trade in Bellevue and the books were donated by the Bellevue Library.

Dada’s family friend is attending school in Nigeria so she decided to initiate a pen pal program between Eastside Catholic and the Greensprings School in Lagos. Thirty-two students from Eastside Catholic wrote letters to their Nigerian counterparts, which Dada delivered on Christmas.

In spring of 2013, Dada started a bike drive in partnership with the ARAS Foundation and traveled to Ghana to deliver them. Dada also has traveled to Jamaica and Puerto Vallarta to deliver supplies to orphanages. She is on the Eastside Catholic debate team and is serving on Rep. Dave Reichert’s Youth Advisory Board for the 2013-2014 term. She also received a 2013 Sammi Award for Youth Spirit.

Kelly Montgomery can be reached at 425-391-0363.