In the morning we were greeted by Mrs. Marion Sikuade, a founder of the voluntary, non-profit-making charitable association devoted to the care and protection of children and young persons on the streets of Lagos. She spent time explaining to us the beginnings of the charity, what it is they do now and their hopes for the future. We were then put in the very capable hands of Ms. Rose Swan, the charity's administrator, and we made our way down the Ikorodu road towards Ibeshe. Rose gave us an insight into how the centre is run on a day to day basis; who is involved in supporting the nineteen boys between the ages of 9 and 17 who currently reside there; and that, in a city ruled mainly by a desire for material acquisition, she works for a charity because she genuinely believes in the work the organisation does.
Finally after the bumpy ride down the Ibeshe path we arrive at our destination; a two acre piece of open, grassy land in which sits the boys' dormitory, the kitchen and dining-hall block, two staff bungalows and a temporary vocational workshop for basketry and carpentry. When we arrived the boys were mostly playing table tennis or engaged in some recreational activity. As we entered the room hushed and were were introduced by the House Master and they we told that we wanted to spend some time talking to them individually. I could see the eager curiosity in the faces of the
younger ones and in the older boys too, although they naturally tried to mask it underneath a cool exterior.
Being very much as noisy and exuberant as young boys are, there were displays of bravado with some of the boys bravely marching up to us without waiting to be asked. We were as glad of the support of Rose as much as the boys were! However when sitting with them one-to-one, all the bravado disappeared and they became like shy children. Despite this intense shyness, the boys were very open; telling us about their relationships with their family; exactly how they came to be in the centre, what they had been doing previously; why they did not want to leave the centre and how much they would like satellite tv. The told us about their favourite subjects in school and what the wanted to be when they grew up; the usual from children with any aspiration: doctor; lawyer; engineer; teacher; bank manager; actor; artist! It was very clear in all the boys that a better life was made possible for them by being in the centre. They were safe and cared for, and not only were they able to go to school but
they also pursued extra-curricular activities of their choice; print making; sewing; carpentry; acting and of course football. These were the boys who once taken off the streets had not run back because the grabbed onto the life-line thrown to them.
As we were leaving we asked if we could take pictures, and suddenly all the shyness disappeared; posing and posing some more; insisting on more photos and eventually asking for our email addresses which we gladly exchanged.
The visit to Ibeshe, I feel, gave CREATIV its second wind. After struggling with such limited time and resources it was rejuvenating to see exactly what our effort was for and satisfying to see that our initial donation would directly impact the live of nineteen people who deserve it.
Kunmi