Christmas With A Smile for 1,000 Lagos Families

CWS 2025 GlobalGiving Project Report

Bringing Christmas Joy to Young People in Correctional Care

This festive season, Christmas with A Smile is preparing to reach some of Lagos's most overlooked young people: children and adolescents in correctional facilities who rarely receive visitors or gifts during the holidays. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are on track to deliver age-appropriate care packages to residents of the Special Correctional Centre for Boys in Oregun and the Lagos State Children Correctional Centre for Girls on 27th December 2025.

What We've Achieved So Far

Your support has helped us build the foundation for a meaningful December delivery. We have raised USD 450 through local fundraising, mobilised 30 trained volunteers, and secured partnerships with Bakersfield Bakery, Abiboy Foundation, AOK Children Initiative, and the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development. We have also obtained health testing kits to ensure safe engagement at both facilities. Engagements will run from 19th to 27th December, culminating in our main distribution event.

Why This Matters

For many young people in correctional settings, the festive period is a painful reminder of separation from family and community. One facility staff member shared that residents often feel forgotten during Christmas while the outside world celebrates. Our care packages, which include staple foods, hygiene items, school supplies, and small treats, send a powerful message: you are seen, you are valued, and you matter.

Looking Ahead

With your continued support, we aim to expand our reach in future years whilst maintaining the dignity and quality that define CWS distributions. Thank you for making it possible to bring a smile to young people who need it most this Christmas.

Our next update will follow the December distributions with photos and stories from the events.

• Christmas_with_a_Smile_Update_2025.pdf (PDF)
  

From Planning to Action: Your Impact Takes Shape

When Christmas with a Smile Project Lead Modupe relocated to the United States last year, your continued support enabled Bushroh Olatunji to step into leadership and transform a potential crisis into remarkable progress. Through July's strategic planning sessions, we've developed our Community Resilience and Empowerment Initiative, extending your December generosity into year-round transformation. By August, we secured partnerships with three suppliers offering 20% discounts on bulk purchases, recruited 45 trained volunteers, and confirmed distribution agreements with Ojota Community Centre and two youth correctional facilities. Your donations have already secured educational materials for 150 children and nutritional supplies for 75 families, with procurement continuing through November.

Meet Adunni: One Child's Story

Seven-year-old Adunni (name changed) from Badagry exemplifies why your support matters. When our team visited her family in July, her mother shared how last year's care package provided school supplies that kept Adunni in education when family finances collapsed. “That notebook and pencil set meant she didn't miss a single day,” her mother explained, showing us Adunni's improved marks. This December, Adunni and 499 other children will receive age-appropriate packages, educational toys and nutritious snacks for younger children, school supplies and dignity items for teenagers. We've specifically sourced menstrual products for 200 adolescent girls, ensuring no young woman misses school due to period poverty.

Your Continued Impact

Since our last report, we have:

1. Completed plans for volunteer recruitment and safeguarding training for 45 community members
2. Established secure storage facilities for December distributions
3. initiated preliminary family assessments, identifying 200 households requiring support.
4.  Our correctional facility partnerships now include tailored vocational training materials, providing incarcerated youth with skills development opportunities alongside holiday celebrations.

The September permissions process begins, followed by final beneficiary registration in October, and packing sessions in November will prepare 700 individual packages. Distribution runs December 9th-20th across four sites, with January evaluation sessions planned to capture learnings and measure impact.

Looking Forward

Your investment transforms December from a season of scarcity into one of hope for Lagos's most vulnerable families. Each $15 donation provides a complete child's package; $75 supports an entire family through the holiday period. As we approach our December distribution, we're just $8,019 short of our new goal. Thank you for making dignity, education, and nutrition possible for children who might otherwise be forgotten. Together, we're not just delivering packages, we're building futures.

• Report (PDF)