Thread by @Tunde_OD

I met the little boy in this video a couple of months ago on my way home from work. It was raining heavily.
I had just alighted at my bustop when i spotted him picking scrap from the floor into a sac.

He was undeterred by the downpour, i walked up to him and took him to a shed.

https://twitter.com/Tunde_OD/status/1362501579237187584

He was shivering terribly and spoke very incoherently.
He had very yellow eyes with a lot of facial scars which is quite disturbing for a boy that young. He couldn't have been more than 10 years old but he had the eyes of one who had been through the terrible rigours of life.

I asked if he was hungry and he nodded in the affirmative, so i got some food and took him to the community health centre where he was diagnosed with blood infection and malaria.
We got the required medication and
my friend took him home.
These pictures were taken on that day.

I couldn't stop thinking about him when i got home that night.
I had just recently moved to Ikorodu that month so i could be closer to a chess project we had running in the Majidun slum community, so i knew that was the reality of many children there.
I couldn't help everyone😟

I put up the picture i had taken on that day on my WhatsApp status and asked people to donate some money so we could get him new clothes and a sandal at the very least.
A few friends reached out and we got him new clothes and some really cool kicks to match.

We set out to where they lived to give the boy the new clothes and maybe even meet his Family.
We met the father who also wore very tattered clothes, my heart sunk.
They lived in one of the worst places i had ever seen in my life.

This was their home-A zinc container on a river.

It was a deplorable sight to say the least.
They had no furniture, save for a wooden mat and a little stove on the floor.
They had to bathe and defecate in the river.
We met the boy bathing in the river...

We sat on the floor to discuss with the boy's father when a little skinny girl walked in with a basket of fishes.
She had just returned from hawking fish the entire day, her name was Odunayo, she was the boy's elder sister.

The man explained in his yoruba dialect that he was a petty fisherman, he also sold firewood on the side as he only made very little money from his fish business.
It was hard to tell how old he was, he had very yellow eyes too and terrible wrinkles.

I asked about his wife...

His wife died three years ago from malaria. She was pregnant.
He had a three year old son who also died from malaria just the day before.
They both died in that zinc container because he didn't have enough money to take them to the hospital while they were sick.

I cried.

I couldn't help but think that both lives could have been saved with as little as 10,000 naira (20 dollars).
There was no one to help them, he didn't know what to do so he watched them die while trying to self medicate (out of ignorance) with herbal concoctions.

For them , going to the hospital was a luxury reserved only for the "rich people".
I could relate to this.
Throughout my entire childhood, we never went to a hospital, it didn't matter how sick we were, it was always herbal treatment or the local nurse who treated us.

The boy(Sunday) and his sister (Odunayo)were the only ones left with their father.
Sunday was nine years old but had never seen the four walls of a classroom before.
Odunayo(12 years had to drop out from primary one so she could help the family out by hawking fish on the street

The man complained bitterly about how he worked really hard but could only earn enough to feed himself and his children.
He desired for them to be educated.

I also observed that the man wasn't in the best mental state of mind.
He had been dealt the worst odds life had to offer.

We only thought to bring Sunday new clothes, but this was an even greater tragedy.
I knew this was a horrible crisis and the family needed sustainable help.
I had seen poverty and suffering before but i had never experienced it like this. You only hear stories like this in movies

I knew my own financial limitations and there was only very little i could do to help their situation.
So i drew up a plan on how best to help them and reached out to a couple of friends who could share the financial burden.
This was the summary:

The search for an apartment was a long and arduous task but we finally sorted it out and paid a year's rent.
Their new home is a Mini-flat in a very serene environment with good security and hygiene.
We're still trying to put more things in place before they move in next week.

I shared this family's story on radio a couple of weeks ago as a guest on @LEONigerians and a lot of kind hearted Nigerians reached out to support. We raised about a hundred thousand naira (200 dollars) to get food items for them.
Nigerians are amazing people😊❤.

Sunday has lived a tough life, he missed out on the innocence of being a child and had to grow up on the streets.
He is very notorious in the community for causing trouble.
He was badly beaten once for stealing a dog and selling it so he could buy food to eat.
Hence, the scars.

I visited them today to teach them how to play chess and prepare them for their first classroom experience as they'll be starting school next week Monday on a full ride scholarship courtesy @chessinslums
They were unfamiliar with letters of the alphabet at first but that's okay😊

For kids who have never been to school before, they showed great aptitude for chess today and I have no doubt that the future holds great promises for them.
Making up for the lost years would not be easy, but we will make sure their future isn’t one without imagination.

It was a beautiful day for so many reasons but one thing that stood out was how they found happiness in the very little things.
They never missed an opportunity to smile so cheerfully or laugh out loud😅.
It was cool to see their friends come cheer and learn with them too.

They’re not completely out of the woods yet, and they still need a lot of help and support to keep this going.

I have compiled a list of things they’ll need right now and in the nearest future.
Please send a DM if you wish to support this in any capacity.

I’m truly humbled by the reactions😊

If you’re in Nigeria, you can donate to this account: 0217876390 - Gtbank

If you’re not in Nigeria, you can donate to our Go fund me page and specify in what capacity it should be expended towards the family.

gofundme.com/f/chess-educat…