Fatai Oyejobi lives near Lake Houston in Atascocita. Born in Nigeria, he moved to the United States when he was young and moved to Houston in 2009. He lived in Beaumont in 2005 when Hurricane Rita impacted the area. Oyejobi was working at a center for at-risk children that had taken in refugees from Hurricane Katrina, but the center had to close after Rita.
When he first heard about Harvey, he did not think it was going to impact him, so he did not make any preparations. His house did not flood, but much of his neighborhood did. Oyejobi had an SUV that could drive through the water, so he went around his neighborhood and helped those waiting for rescue. He says that after living through other hurricanes, being able to help others directly was refreshing. After the storm, Oyejobi realized he needed to have flood insurance in the event of another storm.
Interviewee: Fatai Oyejobi
Interview Date: October 19, 2019
Interview Location: Lyons Unity Missionary Baptist Church
Interviewer: Christian Small
INTERVIEWER: Today is October 19, 2019, and I am Christian Small here with Fatai Oyejobi at Lyons Unity Missionary Baptist Church to talk about Hurricane Harvey for the UH Center for Public History’s Resilient Houston: Documenting Hurricane Harvey project.
CL: To start, can you please tell me your full name?
FO: My name is Fatai Oyejobi.
CL: Okay, and what is your date of birth?
FO: March 21, 1952.
CL: Thank you. And can you tell me where you were born?
FO: I was born — actually born in Nigeria, yeah — in [unclear, 0:00:40] in Nigeria.
CL: Can you tell me a little bit about your early life?
FO: I was — I grew up in Nigeria and has been — aspiring to come to the United States for further studies — came in at the early age [0:01:00] and first arrived here at — in Chicago. And then I moved to Minnesota and actually went to school briefly. Then I moved from Minnesota because of the cold weather — moved to Texas and ended up at Lamar University and graduated from there. And I worked there for over 20 years before we moved to Houston. Because of the Hurricane Rita and Humberto [sic, 0:01:30], and the third one that hit in 2008, so we just decided to move to Houston area.
CL: So how old were you when you moved to Houston?
FO: I was like 56, 57.
CL: And how long ago was that?
FO: That was 10 years ago.
CL: And what about your adult life?
FO: I lived most of my adult life right in the United States. I lived in Beaumont for 30 years [0:02:00]. Like I said, I lived in Chicago for two years and moved to Houston in ’79 — then from Houston to Beaumont. And I was involved in many events — many activities in Beaumont. And that includes a whole lot of volunteer work. I actually had a non-profit center that tended to at-risk kids. I was also a member of a — volunteer for — a volunteer group for I Have a Dream program, which was actually initiated by Ben Rogers [unclear, 0:02:51] sister that — anyway, but I’ve been in Houston now for about 10 years, and I enjoy living here [0:03:00] better than anywhere else I’ve ever lived in the U.S.
CL: Me, too. Does your family live in Houston?
FO: Yes.
CL: What part of the city do they live in?
FO: Humble.
CL: Have you ever experienced any sort of weather emergencies prior to Harvey?
FO: Yes. Like I said, earlier, I had experienced Hurricane Rita. Actually, when I had that at-risk kids center, we welcomed the people from Louisiana because of Hurricane Katrina. And a month later, we were hit by Rita. And the assistance that we give to the Hurricane Katrina victims just went down. And we couldn’t get anyone to help us. So we had to close down the center.
CL: So now, we’re going to move into the Harvey questions [0:04:00]. What were your first impressions when you heard about the storm?
FO: Harvey? My first impression was that it’s not going to get here. So we never did any — make any plan to evacuate. We live very close to Lake Houston in Atascocita. And I realized that a home lot of homes were damaged very close to us, but we survived it. My impression was like always. It’s not going to be that bad. And I don’t think it was as bad as we were hearing about other — especially — is it Puerto Rico?
CL: Yeah, when they got hit by Maria.
FO: Yeah, okay. So we didn’t have that much of a thought of the fact that it’s going to hit us until it started [0:05:00].
CL: So how did you prepare for Hurricane Harvey? Did you prepare for Hurricane Harvey?
FO: No.
CL: Not at all?
FO: Not at all. When it hit, we were just seeing water coming into the home, especially in the back yard — then on the side street, not knowing that was the residue from the lake — not also knowing there had been a lot of damages done to those houses very close.
CL: So what made you decide to volunteer? And how did you make time?
FO: I realized that a lot of people needed assistance getting out of their home. Because I had an SUV that is a little high up, I thought I could help people get out of that area quickly, especially those who live close to the lake.
CL: Did you sustain any [0:06:00] damage from the storm personally?
FO: No.
CL: Can you describe what volunteer work you did during or after the storm?
FO: I was just helping people to evacuate — move them closer to where they can a boat right to a safe zone.
CL: How did you locate people in need of help?
FO: You mean how did I locate them?
CL: Uh-huh.
FO: Oh, I was driving through the neighborhood, and those who cannot — especially the kids, I had to [unclear, 0:06:37] on my back just to walk around the high water to get them into the vehicle.
CL: How did you communicate with people that needed help?
FO: I just asked them if they needed help, and some said yes. Some said they already were waiting for assistance.
CL: How did this whole experience of Harvey and volunteering [0:07:00] impact you?
FO: It’s quite refreshing to be able to help other people, because I had been through Hurricane — two hurricanes in the past. And I thought that the experience was really nerve-racking somehow. So I — some of these people never experienced some kind of disaster before. So I thought being able to be there is something that, you know, I needed to do and help them survive it.
CL: Yes, I’m sure everyone you helped was extremely grateful for that.
FO: Yes.
CL: How did the volunteer efforts impact those you helped?
FO: Well, they are safe.
CL: Yes.
FO: That’s the most important thing. Some of them complain about the properties left behind [0:08:00] — you know, damaged. But the most important thing is that they still have their life and they can be able to recover a few things. And they’re able to go back home after everything was over.
CL: Have you done similar volunteer work since Harvey?
FO: Yeah, but it’s not disaster recovery. I did volunteer to nursing home when I first moved to Beaumont as a student. I worked with some older people who were in nursing homes — you know, play BINGO with them and stuff and help them with whatever they needed from the store. Then I also mentored a few kids in that program that I mentioned earlier, the Ben Rogers’ I Have a Dream program — and also, some other volunteer work in Beaumont area. I haven’t been able to [0:09:00] do any in Houston yet.
CL: Did you do any efforts during Imelda?
FO: During what?
CL: Imelda, Tropical Storm Imelda.
FO: What did that happen?
CL: A month ago now, I think.
FO: A month? No, no, I did not.
CL: Since Harvey and everything you went through, do you prepare more now when you hear of a storm coming?
FO: Yes. Actually, we didn’t have flood insurance. And that was an eyeopener. And I realized that this is something we may need to have. That’s one of our preparations. Secondly, we have the backyard actually lifted a little bit. We have a canopy there, and we want to make sure that if there’s any water high up, it’s not going to get to the house.
CL: Did any of your family that was in Houston experience [0:10:00] any flooding or damage during Harvey?
FO: Yes, a lot of friends did. They live in southwest. And much of the damages were in their homes, especially their furniture. Yeah, they are — just about everything that is in the lower part of the houses.
CL: So you said your family lives in Humble. Is that far from where you live?
FO: You mean? Where? My friends are?
CL: Yes.
FO: Yeah, everyone is far away from me. I live in Atascocita.
CL: So when Harvey hit, did that worry you? Were you worried about them?
FO: I worry about them, but it’s actually nothing I could do. Because they won’t let us go that far away, you know, to help.
CL: Because of all the flooding?
FO: Uh-huh.
CL: Was there anything that I haven’t asked that you would like to discuss?
FO: No.
CL: Alright, well, thank you. [0:10:55]