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...See the letter after the cut
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
prostituting 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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