Be A Helper To These Children - AllHeartAlways

Two years ago, I discovered a school in the heart of Maryland, Lagos and it turned my life around. It was a nursery and primary school and it was literally falling apart. The roof was crumbling and leaking, they had not had water and light in about two years. The lack of water meant the children could not use the toilet facilities and often had to be sent home if they needed to do number 2! Sadly, the school is built round a bend and often, when the wee ones tried to cross the road while rushing home to do their business, they got into the way of oncoming vehicles. It was heartbreaking.

Even worse for me was the fact that the day I went there, there was a very young boy in a tattered uniform. Apparently the tailor had told the father the worn-out uniform was beyond redemption after numerous trips to be stitched in the past, and warned him not to bring it back for mending. The father was beside himself with worry over getting the boy a new set of uniform, even as he spun the poor boy around, sort of mentally willing the the holes to magically sew themselves up . I was gutted and I immediately paid for two new pairs of uniforms for him. Fortunately, the organization I work with  was able to provide the school with water and light as a part of the annual CSR project, which the school still enjoys till date.

Water and soap for the students to guard against Ebola.

A few weeks ago, one of my advertisers Cake Mayor got the kids a big and absolutely delicious vanilla and chocolate sponge cake. :) No thanks to traffic and what not, the school had closed by the time we arrived but the principal asked that I come over the next day in order to take a few pictures with the kids.

Cake by CakeMayor

Cutiefuls

Adorables

Myself (second from right) and some members of staff

Sadly, the roof of the school is still undone although the children have been relocated temporarily to a recently renovated block nearby belonging to the primary school students. They have to share the limited space and it is so cramped and uncomfortable. A kindhearted donor has offered the school roofing sheets worth about a million Naira but the school needs about N500,000 to get the old roof off, the weak wood replaced and the new roof fixed. They clearly cannot afford this cost and their previous appeals to the authorities have gone unanswered so far. 

I am therefore using this medium to try to help them raise the funds needed to get the roof fixed and the kids back in class. There's a whole lot to be done like painting and getting the children and their teachers the right chairs and desks but I know the roof is a priority for now.

Pictures of the ceiling in a classroom

Damaged ceilings of another classroom

Dilapidated roof. :(

The letter written to the company that donated the roofing sheets. Bless.

We cannot turn a blind eye to what's going on around us or wait around till the government gets around to fixing this up. The little children should be our main concern here because they are the victims here. The onus lies on you and I to help them and their fully dedicated teachers and principal realize their dream of classrooms that are leak-free and not water-logged. We can do this and we will. If you are willing to be a part of this #AllHeartsAlways #LetsRoof campaign, please donate into the account below:

Bank: WEMA Bank
Account Number: 0122330603
Account Name: Community Primary School Wasimi

I will be monitoring the process and will give constant feedback as to the progress of the project. Nothing is to small because every little donation you give will help and go a long way in achieving this dream.

Thank you so very much. Let's do this. :)