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As ROTARY Club Of IKOYI’s Ambassador For POLIO
The name Carolyna Hutchings needs little introduction. She is easily one of the prettiest actresses to come from this side of the planet. And she’s very accomplished too. Caroline has been around for as long as many can remember. She first hit our consciousness when she stormed the movie industry in the early 2000s and she has remained a permanent feature in the entertainment sector ever since. Then, she was known as Caroline Ekanem. Then, on account of her first marriage, she became more popularly known as Caroline Danjuma. Presently, she is addressed as Carolyna Hutchings.
This gorgeous looking Scottish-Nigerian actress has evolved over the years from being a popular actress to becoming a film producer, interior designer, a business woman and a consumate philanthropist. Her very significant contributions to the upliftment of under privilged women, young but mentally unstable mothers, and interventions she made in the cases of the Ayeni conjoined twins have been well documented. Caroline has also offered fibroid surgeries to women and provided free Mammogram to about 200 women who badly needed it.
At the installation ceremony of Rotarian Emmanuel Ibukun Efuntayo as the 40th President of the Rotary Club of Ikoyi, Caroline Hutchings was unveiled as the Rotary Club’s Ambassador for Polio. The stunning beauty will assist the Rotary club in the fight against Polio and it’s otal eradication. It was a regal looking Carolyna Hutchings that stormed the venue of the investiture looking all glam and enchanting. To many, nothing much has physically changed about this beautiful talented lady, she still looks as cute as she looked several years ago when she first hit our television screens.
Her union with the Rotary Club of Ikoyi is indeed a partnership made in heaven. She has been known to be passionate about the plight of women and children. She founded her NGO when she was barely twenty years old. And she has gone on to undertake great philanthropic ventures ever since. The Rotary Club, on the other hand, is all aqbout selfless service to humanity.
A visibly delighted Carolyna spoke with City People Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) moments before the event drew to a close. She spoke about journey through philanthropy, her humaniarian efforts so far and why the Rotary Club of Ikoyi chose her to be their Ambassador for Polio eradication. Enjoy the conversation.
To begin with, Caroline, I must say quite a lot of people must’ve been surprised to find you being unveiled as the Rotary club of Ikoyi’s Ambassador for Polio. You’ve been an accomplished actress but not many know this part about you. Share with us, how did this humanitarian part of you evolve?
Oh, well, firstly, let me make a point of correction, no one would be surprised, no one except you because if you had been following me very well, you would know that I have been running an NGO called Hopeville Foundation since 2006. Even when I ran as Deputy Governor for Akwa Ibom, it was well known. All my fans, all my followers know that about me and so for me to be given this opportunity to represent Rotary Club as their Ambassador, it’s a feat that they know that I have carried so well over the years. My foundation, the Hopeville foundation is a foundation that I have been managing very well and running from my own profit, not that I didn’t want any assistance but I have this notion that your right hand shouldn’t know what your left hand is doing, but right now, I’m going to expand and ensure that other volunteers can come on board. So, its really nothing new, they have looked through my CV, they have looked through all that I have done for the less privileged as well and I passed the mark at the end of the day. So, its not new, its something that I’ve been doing since 2006.
So, how did this part of you evolve because its uncommon to find young accomplished actresses like you who are already thinking, what can I give back to society? Where did that part of you come from?
Well, I will give kudos to my grandmum whom I grew up with, she was a philanthropist. She was a level 16 teacher, a great educationist, though she’s late now, may her soul rest in peace. I grew up seeing young girls in our home where she brought them in from Akwa Ibom, trained them through the university, she sent some to fashion schools. She didn’t believe in house girl, Akwa Ibom girls coming to Lagos to become housemaids, she believed in taking them in and giving them the future that they’ve always wanted because my mum was the only child. And a lot of them became something in life at the end of the day. And because I grew up in that kind of environment, its become a culture already, its what I’m used to. In 2006, I was still a teenager and I had already started my journey, formed my own organisation. Right now I have partially adopted children because their mothers are mentally unstable so I can’t take the children away from the mothers because having the babies with them actually helps them.
I have done two successful IVFs through my doctor for two separate families. I helped with the Ayeni conjoined twins, it was a well known story. Bella Naija and other newspapers published that story where I fought to ensure that those children were separated in America, do you remember now? And then I have another one, Amina, she was also a conjoined twin in Kano, but that one we did it quietly. And then I’ve done a few fibroid surgeries. Last year I did free Mammogram for 100 women and it ended up to be 200 women because by the time we started, we realised that a lot of women needed the mammogram.
So, that’s something I’ve been doing personally as part of my company CSR and as part of my own way of helping the society. My grandmother adopted three children, they are still with us. One is in the University, another is in secondary school while the last one has Autism. So, it’s something that’s embedded in us literally in my family and my grandmum passed it on to me. Showing empathy, showing kindness, showing love to people no matter how little you have, that little goes a long way. You know, if you have little money, for instance, and you share it with people that are in need, it goes a long way for them and gives them hope at the end of the day. This is something that I love doing. I love humanitarian activities, I love moving from place to place helping people so it’s what I enjoy doing. That’s why I was so happy when I was called upon, I said, wow, this is God calling again, so, I’m so happy that I can do this, and I can even do more than Polio. I want to help women who are going through specific challenges. My foundation, Hopeville Foundation is about taking care of children going through child bearing issues and children with birth defects as well from the ages of one to five and I wish to do so much more, even up to Akwa Ibom, the northern areas of Nigeria and not just in Lagos alone. So, I guess when they looked at my portfolio, they just realised this is who I am. And whether I am young or not, I was brought up in that environment to show empathy to the less privileged.
I am sure that you will agree with me that it can be challenging sometimes especially when you consider that the foundation is funded wholly by you….
Oh, yes, it can be challenging because it is only when I make profit that I take out of my profit, share, pay my tithe. I also have my personal responsibilities, I have my brothers and I have others and I still have to take care of the adopted children. Every month, a certain amount of money is taken out from my personal account. So, it can be so very challenging because sometimes you really want to do so much more but you’re limited by your funds, but with the fact that I’ve been called upon to be an Ambassador by the Rotary Club, its going to give me the opportunity to work on a bigger scale and show all that I can do and what I am all about at the end of the day. So, I’m really happy that this platform has been given to me and I will be able to evolve. It’s something that I’ve been praying for, that God should give me a platform that I can really show much more than I can do, and so, being with this new Rotary family, I know the sky is literally my starting point and I know that I can reach out not just in Nigeria but also in Africa, but who knows, it could even extend to Europe or anywhere. But I really want to do so much for the under privileged.
I am wondering, is there a deliberate reason why you decided to run your NGO all alone, all by yourself, without seeking outside support because with your name and reputation, you could very easily have attracted tons of corporate support if you reached out to them? And do you think the Rotary platform could enable you have that sort of mileage that you’ve been hoping for?
Okay, I would say that was a mistake on my part because I was brought up in a very disciplined Christian family and I was taught not to allow my right hand to know what my left hand is giving. So, after a while, I realised that I can’t give all on my own. A few of my friends lectured me that I need to bring in people, volunteers who are willing to help with funds and with foot soldiers, man power as well. A lot of people were ready to walk the walk with me and from that moment, I decided I can’t do this alone. This is the first partnership I’ll be working with literally. This is the first platform I will be engaged as their ambassador, it has always been about my foundation. So, when I prayed, God said this is it and I was so super excited because this is what I’ve always wanted for myself. When I ran for deputy governorship, the whole idea was to use that position to add value to the lives of women and children in Akwa Ibom. I wanted to use the position to uplift and transform the less privilged women of Akwa Ibom. You know, that was my first time of contesting and I knew for a fact that this is politics and it was going to be a learning curve for me. God knew my heart, He knew what I wanted to do and He gave me this platform and I intend to use it to the best of my ability and in anyway just showcase myself at the end of the day that I just want to help those in need.
Rotary club is one platform that’s known for its very intense selfless humanitarian services and with your experience with your foundation, when you got that call from them, what were the first thoughts that raced through your mind?
The first thought that came to my mind was, first of all, I wan’t afraid. I am never afraid of any challenge, especially helping those in need. But the only thing that came to my mind was, its such a perilous time in Nigeria, even though I know that everything is going to be fine soon, but it could be a bit more difficult to convince a few corporate organisations that we need to do this and maybe, if they were going to give a certain amount of money before, it might reduce by 50%. But whatever happens though, I’m not gonna lose hope, I know that there’s going to be a brighter tomorrow, a brighter Nigeria. These underprivileged need our help so I’m not going to give up. I have a positive mindset about all these and that’s why I accepted the role, so, it’s not a problem for me.
Finally, on a lighter note, how has Caroline kept her gorgeous look after all these years? I have known you for ages and you’ve always looked like this, I’m sure a lot of ladies would like you to share your beauty secret with them..
(Smiles) You will be probaly the 1000th person that will be telling me this. I’m a human being like everyone but I try to pick my battles and I don’t let a lot of things stress me. And I’m a very positive minded person, so when there’s a lot of noise I block it, zone out, pray about it and look at the brighter side of life. So, whatever you see here is not about cream or anything, I rest, I sleep, I enjoy my me time. I like to eat, I enjoy myself, I take good care of myself, I love myself. So, that’s the reason why I am the way I am, really, its just peace of mind that I’m giving myself.
