They live in a Mini flat now and their Bedroom has gotten a proper face lift too😅❤️
The transition for them hasn’t exactly been easy but I know it will all come together eventually 😊 and they’ll get more comfortable with their new reality.
Finally handed Odunayo and Sunday over to a qualified private tutor who will teach them for the next three months before we can integrate them into the formal education system.
It’s been the most beautiful 3 weeks with them and I couldn’t hold back writing this letter.
It is clear that Sunday wields the mind of a genius and holds so much potential for greatness.
Their lives just became intertwined with mine and however this journey progresses from here, I’ll never give up on them.
The world is rooting strongly for them too.
From the donations we’ve gotten for them so far, I have set apart 2 Million naira into a @PiggyBankNG account to help cater for their education in the coming years.
Will eventually transfer this to a trust fund for them as soon as we can.
Bless the hearts of everyone who gave❤️
There are millions of children like Odunayo and Sunday out there who might never get a chance like this sadly, this is why we must do better as society to fight to save as many as we can.
This experience has taught me that there’s nothing love cannot change.
Happy to be a conduit😊
None of this would have been possible without the @chessinslums team members (Shedrach, Gideon,Wale, Ademola and Solomon) who worked tirelessly to help set up everything for the family.
Happy Mother’s Day to the valiant women who hold our world together with love.
In loving memory of the beautiful mother in this picture who gave her life for the sake of her children, It is important to share her story with the world.
A thread...
November 2018, I met a boy(Ayomide), he was exceptional during our chess training sessions. I wanted to meet his parents and tell them how amazing their son was.
He took me to a dusty shed where a woman sat calmly in a plastic chair...
He hugged her and said that was his mum.
She had such a beautiful smile, I remembered seeing the same smile on her son’s face whenever he won a chess game😊
I introduced myself as her son’s chess coach.
She went on to explain how she had always wanted to come thank us for the impact on her son’s life...
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.
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.
Happy #InternationalChessDay!
To me,chess is so much more than just a game,it is the very foundation upon which my life's purpose was built on.
It was love at first sight some 15 years ago and it has only grown stronger ever since.
Thread...
As a way to celebrate Chess today,the world governing body of chess @FIDE_chess ,is asking chess players to teach people who do not know how to play yet.
There's a general misconception about chess being a boring game reserved only for a few intellectuals.
This is not accurate😅,playing Chess is one of the most fascinating life experiences and this is why it has lived through several centuries and is still relevant to this day.
Happy birthday to the little girl whose smile changed my entire world.
It all started about two years ago when i walked into the slums of majidun ikorodu lagos with a chess board and a pocket full of dreams.
A Thread...
I wanted to introduce chess to vulnerable children living in slum communities as a way to promote learning and enhance intellectual development. It was my own way of giving them a new kinda leverage as most of them couldn't afford to go to school.
It was on this day i met Basirat- a five year old girl who kept tugging at my trousers to give her a chess piece to hold on to.
We introduced the kids to the game of kings and queens and took memorable pictures.