#ClotheTheClothless2021
Do you know that a recent report by the World Poverty Clock rated Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world which brings us to a sad sad reality of about 41 per cent of Nigeria’s population living in extreme poverty, as in almost half of the Nigerian populace are in extreme want of basic necessities. The World Bank further defines “the extremely poor” as those living on less than $1.90 a day (N782.50). Pathetic, right?
Do you people know that these extremely poor families live in the same cities we do, but they, as opposed to many of us, can barely feed their children good meals neither can they clothe them properly. *deep sigh*
On a brighter note, I am thrilled to let you know that since 2018 till date, over 100 well-meaning individuals and businesses come together to ensure that a minimum of 250 less-privileged are reminded that they matter through the #ClothetheClothless project.
The efforts of you kind humans have ensured that every single year, less-privileged children in slums are reminded that their current living conditions should not limit them to the greatness they can achieve in future.
And so in October 2021, preparations were in full gear once again for #ClothetheClothless! In the past and through the food and brand-new clothes provided, Folabomi Foundation had given a sense of belonging to over 700 less-privileged children in Sogunro community, Mosafejo Community and Orisumibare community in December 2018, 2019 and 2020. In year 2021, we decided to spread this same hope and love to the underserved children living in Oko-Agbon community.
Just so you know, these children live in the poorest of conditions; they have poor education, they struggle to get food to eat, they survive on unclean water and they wear the same tattered clothes over and over again, all year long. I can imagine them looking at their current reality and thinking small of themselves. And this is why we at Folabomi Foundation have taken it upon ourselves, with the help of God, to bring to their awareness the fact that their current situation does not have to limit their future growth.
By November 2021, Folabomi House of Fashion had successfully procured hundreds of yards of fabric. For a whole month, tailors cut and sewed the dresses, shirts and joggers for these children. These 3 clothing brands (Desewar, NirahKlaesi and SophiaStitches) volunteered to assist Folabomi House of Fashion in making the beautiful dresses for the children. As cloth-production was going on, the Folabomi Foundation team had arranged for the preparation of food with our vendor and made necessary provision for healthy drinks.
In this regard, sponsors were sending in their monetary donations from different parts of the world and this greatly helped the team in the procurement of more fabric and aided production. Faidez Wear donated brand-new headwarmers, ‘Oduns fashion store’ even donated 25 pairs of new shoes for the children and ‘Accessories By Karen’ donated hair accessories for our girls. The support was massive and came in right on time.
Through all of this, Damilola Oyetayo had taken several trips to the Oko-Agbon community for the team to have a vivid understanding of what the age range of the children were and their needs.
December 4th couldn’t have come any faster. The volunteer-team converged at Folabomi store and all hands were on deck, moving the packaged clothes, food, shoes and drinks into the bus that would convey us to meet the children at Oko-Agbon community.
We prayed, set-out and in about an hour, we had gotten to Oko-Agbon. We were greeted by hundreds of children with stretched-out necks and hands, all longing for the essentials that you kind individuals provided.
Before we commenced distribution, three of the volunteers (Temitope, Banji and Laura) spoke to the children of Oko-Agbon, teaching them the importance of hard work and core values that are required for them to succeed in life.
Shortly after, we commenced distribution of the clothes to both boys and girls. The children were sooo excited to own new clothes, Christmas Clothes! They were adorned and a few of them even walked our make-shift Runway! Happy to note that there were some born-models amongst them.
The children were happy. And we? We felt blessed!
In about an hour all that we took to the community was exhausted and couldn’t even go round.
We look forward to a time when we would be able to clothe every single child in these communities. And sometime in the near future, Folabomi Foundation hopes to grow to a level in which the major basic amenities can be provided for thousands of these children on a daily basis, ensuring that they have access to a better life. But till then, we shall keep contributing our little quota, one-decent-meal and one-brand-new-clothing-piece at a time.
Thank you all for going all out to donate and support #ClotheTheClothless2021 …Thank you for being kind and thoughtful. Thank you for praying for us. May these children grow to be great men and women in future and may you be continually blessed!
#ClotheTheClothless2021 Volunteers
1. Segun Oluwaseun
2. Blessing Aro
3. Kafayat Adamson
4. Temitope Odunsi
5. Goodness Gabriel
6. Comfort Emmanuel
7. Ayodeji Akintomide
8. David Ogunjimi
9. Bori Alabi
10. Dammy Oyetayo
11. David Oladehinde
12. Ebenezer Odunsi
13. Caleb Oladipo
14. Eniola Soladoye
15. Titi Shonibare
16. Simi Abraham
17. Oluchi Efobi
18. Laura Otiti
19. Rachael Babatunde
20. Nifemi Aro
21. Temitope Agbolagorite
22. Deborah Olushanu
23. Titilayo Adeliyi
24. Crystal Eyeh
25. Mariam Obaro
26. Toyosi Oke
27. Tomisin Odunsi
28. Banji Sonubi
29. Queenette Dairo
30. Yinka Omotosho
31. Ayobami Ogunsiji
32.
33. Toluwaleye
Virtual Volunteer
1. Olaolu Oyedokun (worked on all our graphics)
Profound Gratitude to our donors (To respect their privacy, we will be putting up just the first name of Individual-Donors)
1. Tejumade
2. Christy
3. David
4. Olaoluwa
5. Olufemi
6. Jonathan
7. Ayoolu
8. Hope
9. Eniola
10. Mabel
11. Omolara
12. Anonymous
13. Temitope
14. Grace
15. Crystal
16. Ife
17. Funmi
18. Business Always Limited
19. Bukola
20. Sophias
21. Tolu
22. Bamidele
23. Joel
24. Susan
25. Christiana
26. Iretioluwa
27. Tolu
28. Jeremiah
29. Ebenezer
30. Bidemi & Feyikemi
31. Ruth
32. Oluwafunmbi
33. Charles
34. Eniola
35. Ayodeji
36. Koded Signature
37. Adetutu
38. Aanu
39. Temitope
40. Tobi
41. Sewa
42. Deborah
43. Damilola
44. Busola
45. Peter
46. Fiyin
47. Mercybrooks Design
48. Simi
49. Victoria
50. Faidez Wear
51. Abigail
52. Olugbenga
53. Olajumoke
54. Blessing
55. Bamise
56. Regal Estilo
57. Deborah
58. Ifeoluwa
59. Ifunanya
60. Gbenga
61. Osawe
62. Oladele
63. Juliet
64. Faidez Wear
65. Dunsi Collection
66. Sophia Stiches
67. Nirrah Klasie
68. Rachael Babatunde
69. Lara
70. Samuel
71. Titi
72. Sumbo
73. Tinuola
74. Olubukola
75. Eden and Zion
76. William Folashade
77. Blessings
78. Spunky Travels
79. Ilelaboye
80. Rimdan
81. Deborah
God bless you all and replenish your pockets. Amen
Special Shoutout to our Volunteer Photographers
Victor Oluwaseun Photography
David Ogunjimi Photography
TIXELS
Been amazing seeing these radiant faces. Go ahead Folabomi and team.
Thank you so much for your kind words !
It’s always an emotional eye-opener seeing the conditions the kids live in, on the flip side it’s a wonderful feeling being the purveyer of happiness and hope.
Kudos to the Folabomi Foundation for this wonderful initiative. May you continue to grow in leaps and bounds.
You get it! Amen to your prayers! Thank you Dammy for being such a powerful instrument in bringing this change.
It is always an opportunity and a great honor to participate in this yearly event. Thank you for all you do, more grace from God to keep up the good work
Amennn! Thank youuu David 🤗
Seeing the smile on the face of these children melts my heart and I’m here saying a special prayer for everyone supporting #clothetheclotheless . May God beautify your lives and continue to put smiles on your faces too.
Long live Folabomi !!!!!
Big Amennnn!
Thank you so so much for your support.
God bless you