Popular philanthropist and ‘Chess in Slum’ convener, Tunde Onakoya, has shared the transformation of a young fish hawker he rescued from a slum in Ikorodu, Lagos state, and enrolled in school.
Taking to Twitter, Tunde narrated how he met the young girl having fish on the streets two years ago and decided to give her a chance at a better life.
He said he adopted her as his child, put her through three months therapy because she had been sexually abused by a 40-year-old man, and enrolled her in a school.
Tunde shared pictures of the young girl whom he identified as Odunayo and wrote,
“Today makes it exactly two years since I met Odunayo hawking fish on the streets of majidun Ikorodu with her little brother.
A lot has happened since then, but two weeks ago, she completed her first year of school and passed her examinations😊
This was the first time Shedrach brought both of them to my house😊.
God bless you Shedrach, a lot of this would have been impossible without your kind efforts.
I remember how I would always go to their house for the first few weeks to teach them chess and basic literacy. She had been a victim of sexual abuse from a 40year old pedophile in that community.
It was on this day I swore to be a part of lives and keep them safe forever.
Odunayo had been through such a turbulent childhood that we had to put her through 3 months of therapy and counseling before she could trust/talk to anyone again.
She’s now growing into a young confident Lady who loves to play chess and video games.
She’s also very interested in the Arts and is an active member of the cultural dance club in her school and church.
Her dream is to be a performer and she once told me that Lateef Adedimeji (Ayinla)was her favorite actor.
So i invited him to come tell her those dreams are valid😊
Odunayo and her brother lived with me for the first one year since I adopted both of them, but after sometime I realized she needed motherly care that I couldn’t give. My Mum took on that responsibility and she has lived with my parents in Ibadan ever since then.
Back in January, she was involved in a terrible Car accident on her way back from school and was in ICU for weeks.
This moment broke me and my parents.
It was a scary time for all of us,as an act of kindness could have easily become a dark story of regret if she had lost her life”
See his tweet below,
Today makes it exactly two years since I met Odunayo hawking fish on the streets of majidun Ikorodu with her little brother.
A lot has happened since then, but two weeks ago, she completed her first year of school and passed her examinations😊A thread… pic.twitter.com/4FuC9iVknd
— Tunde Onakoya (@Tunde_OD) August 19, 2022
