Mercy Johnson Okojie turned 29 years yesterday, the 28th of August
2013 and here is a message from the mother of one to her fans…
Today, I thought of many things I would love to have
as birthday gifts and the many dreams I am still pursuing. In all of
this I’m not losing sight of the fact that if not for God I might have
ended up on the street like the many kids and young adults begging for
food and some prostitüting to make ends meet. If we know the
circumstances that force some of these people on the street, we would
spare a thought for them. I am where I am today purely by the grace of
God and the grace of people who believed in me from the word go.
Recently, I was at the Boys Reform Home, Oregun, Lagos, the
discussion I had with the principal Mr. Kotun and much later with the
Special Adviser in charge of allremand homes in Lagos set me thinking
about the boys and girls on the street. They have dreams too. Can they
fulfill those dreams on the street? The answer will likely be no;
because I won’t be where I am today if I ended up on the street.
For this reason, Mercy Johnson Foundation will be doing a lot to get
kids off the street. We are not asking people for money or donation, I
will do all I can with the resources God has given me, and with the
support of my husband to help get these kids off the street and set them
on the path where they can begin to pursue their dreams. I want to
plead with people, fans, friends and colleagues to spare a thought for
the children on the street. We can begin by educating people around us,
parents, the children and people in charge of children (Oga-house help
relationship, teacher-student relationship, and others) on the need to
treat every child like the future of Nigeria depends on it. And truth be
told, our future will not be all that enjoyable if we let the scourge
of ‘street-children’ fester. By then, the rich will begin to cry. I
learnt Lagos State Government has 11 homes where most children picked
from the streets are kept, reformed and reunited with their families
after counseling
.
That is an initiative Mercy Johnson Foundation will be supporting and
beyond that we will be going to different states to help spread the
message-Get kids off the street, save the future. From tomorrow, I will
begin to replay some of the lessons I learnt at the boys’ reform home
and we all can contribute to getting the kids off the street.
I am grateful to everyone that has sent in a birthday message, tweet and gifts. Thank you and God bless you.
Mercy Johnson Okojie
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