LAKE FOREST, Ill. – During their goodwill trip to Nigeria last month, Bears defensive linemen Adewale Ogunleye and Israel Idonije met a four-year-old girl who needed a heart operation to save her life.

The Heart Gift Foundation in Austin, Texas, had already agreed to perform the surgery for free, but the little girl’s family couldn’t afford to fly her to the United States. That’s where Ogunleye and Idonije stepped in, splitting the cost of round-trip airline tickets for little Segun Ashman and her mom, Funmi. (View photos)

Israel Idonije (far left) and Adewale Ogunleye pose with 4-year-old Segun and her mother Friday at the Hilton Chicago.

“We were in Nigeria at one of the medical clinics that we were conducting and my aunt who is a congresswomen in the Nigerian senate brought this woman and her daughter over to me and explained their situation,” said Ogunleye. 

“The mother was very sad. She was crying. She basically got down on her hands and knees and was begging me to help out.

“Just looking at that little child, I was thinking, ‘What would I do if this was mine?’ Israel came to me and said, ‘Whatever the cost is to get them there, I want to [split] it with you.' Easily me or him could have taken care of the bill, but the fact that it was such a moving story, we both wanted to be a part of it.”

The surgery was a success, and Segun stopped in Chicago this past weekend with her mother to visit Ogunleye and Idonije before returning to Nigeria. The Bears defensive linemen took them to Soldier Field and Navy Pier, and the young girl and her mother stayed in a luxury suite donated by the Hilton Chicago.

“It was awesome,” Idonije said. “It was great to just be a part of something so big and positive like that. We’re now forever a part of this young girl’s life, and it’s going to be exciting to see how she grows into the person she becomes. For her now to be able to live a normal life is great.”

The Heart Gift Foundation brings children from around the world to Texas for free surgery to correct life-threatening heart defects. Dr. Karen Wright performed the operation on Segun.

“At the end of the day, we’re not the ones that really should get the kudos,” Idonije said. “You go to the heart foundation and just look at all the young lives that these doctors save every year.

“We bought a flight. We’re just happy to help; to be a part of something so big. What they do is big. I feel I’m fortunate to be a part of it. This girl had her heart repaired.”

On their nine-day mission to Nigeria, Ogunleye, Idonije and teammate Tommie Harris handed out 20 college scholarships and staged two youth football camps. They also brought supplies to restock medical centers as well as doctors and nurses to conduct free clinics in rural areas.

Idonije was born in Nigeria and grew up in Canada. Ogunleye was born in New York after his father Gabriel, a provincial king in Emure, Nigeria, emigrated to the United States in 1972 to pursue an education and the American dream. Both of Ogunleye’s parents earned graduate degrees and became social workers in New York City.

During a similar trip last year, Ogunleye, who is a provincial prince, delivered HIV test kits to university medical programs and helped dig fresh-water wells in his parents’ hometown.

This and that: In other news Tuesday, several Bears offensive linemen attended the Cubs-Giants game at Wrigley Field with Roberto Garza, Chris Williams and Tyler Reed singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. ... The Bears released running back Tyrell Fenroy, who had joined the team April 27 as an undrafted free agent from Louisiana-Lafayette. ... Former Bears safety Brandon McGowan, an unrestricted free agent, signed a two-year contract with the New England Patriots.