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Moments after Greens Farms Academy defeated Brunswick School during a boys basketball game last month, Sean Obi ran to the bleachers to find Steve and Bobbi Eggers. Their son, Hunter, Sean's teammate, had to pull Obi back to the court to shake hands with the opponents. It wasn't malicious or contrived, but for Obi, an unplanned expression toward the Greenwich couple with whom he lives.
As easily as Obi, a native of Nigeria, has made the transition to the United States, the Eggers and their children have been quick to assimilate Sean into their family. "Sean has fit right in,'' Steve says. "He's just a part of the family now."
Steve says Sean's situation is not similar to the book and movie "Blindside,'' in which a family takes in a student from an inner-city neighborhood. "This is a family that cares very much about their son and giving him the best opportunities,'' Steve says. "This is not a down-and-out situation."
Obi has thrived on the basketball court and the classroom. While the young man has made the most of the experience, the Eggers have also enjoyed it. "Like the corny line in the movie, people might say what a great thing you're doing,'' Steve says. "Well, it's a great thing for us. Sean comes from a very ambitious family. This is a completely different situation."
Eggers' children at home, Hunter and 18-year-old Maddie, also like having Sean in their home. "When people find out I go to Greens Farms they're like, 'Oh, do you know Sean?''' Hunter says. Adds Maddie, "All my friends love Sean. They're obsessed with him."
Sean calls the Eggers "Mom and Dad." The whole dynamic has been a positive for the young man from Nigeria and the host family from Greenwich, a classic win-win from the moment Obi came to them last summer.
"When you're a civil war refugee at the age of 5, you learn how to be incredibly flexible and adaptive,'' says Sean's coach Doug Scott. "It's just a different mentality and skill set. I don't think it could have gone more perfectly in terms of the host family and the school."
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