BAKE FOR CHANGE: A cross section of Bake for Change partcipants after handing over their gifts at the Lagos State Correctional Centre for Boys in Oregun. First right is Mrs Karin Uwaje. Ashim Uwaje is next to her mum, while Nkem Uwaje is fourth from right.
In each of the facilities visited, the group donated many items including rice, Indomie as well as juice for the residents, among other things.
According to Uwaje, “I couldn’t sleep the night before the Bake for Change Xmas drive, I was so excited it was unreal. Like a little kid before Xmas Day I lay awake, hoping the day would go as perfect as I imagined it.
“We had baked for 6 hours _ 470 cookies, we had wrapped gifts for a total of 12 hours. We had a sack of rice and a carton of Indomie for each facility, as well as juice for the residents. Our little foyer looked like a warehouse and I am sure it was driving my parents crazy already
“The head warden of the Lagos State Correctional Centre for Boys gave us a warm welcome, talked to us about the facility and gave us a tour. Our volunteers came up with ideas of what can be done to help the kids on the spot”
At the Lagos State Old People’s Home in Yaba that caters to 30 senior citizens that were either found on the streets or placed there by their families, the group according to Nkemdilim visited each person in their rooms, disclosing that some of them were not able to walk and others are visually impaired.
After distributing the gifts, she said hat they were given a short historical overview of the home, which was built by missionaries after the 1st world war.
At their visit to the Lagos State Children’s Transit Home, Uwaje who is passionate about capacity building said that they were amazed by the drastic changes that had been done in the home, since their last visit. Bake for Change according to her, “wrote a letter to the Governor asking for immediate action, after we saw the home in a deplorable state during our last visit in October.
Things have really changed, the home is not overcrowded anymore, additional dorms have been built and a playroom has been created for the kids, as well as adequate educational facilities and adequately trained staff. It’s amazing – one letter – our first real change!
“The home was overcrowded and reeked beyond belief. Some of the kids had to sleep on the ground” she said.
The 4th and last facility was the Lagos State Correctional Centre for Girls, she commended the Social Workers and the principal of the facility that gave them warm welcome
According to her, they were given a little tour of the facility and once again the ideas started pouring out of the mouths of our volunteers.
“We visited the dorm of the girls and they jumped and hugged us, because they remembered us from our last visit. It was truly magical. The hugs were real bear hugs filled with so much joy” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment