By Ufuoma E-Ashogbon | Project Leader/CEO
We all know that popular expression. I first heard it whille watching Sound of Music when I was a child. It is so true, and so very encouraging. The basic message is don't give up hope, because God does everything for a reason. When it seems God has slammed a door in your face, sometimes it is to change your direction, sometimes it is to cause you to pause for something that you might miss, and sometimes it is to prevent you from doing harm to yourself or others.
But there are also times He changes your perspective of the room...and can turn a sad situation into an opportunity to bless, or a frustrating circumstance into an opportunity to reinvent!
Last year, a friend of ours lost his dear wife, just months after their marriage. On the anniversary of his loss, Damilola Famakinwa decided to celebrate life by giving to those less fortunate, through our work at Fair Life Africa Foundation. By so doing, he turned an awful memory into a joyous occassion, and made her legacy to last in the hearts of our children!
Damilola came with his friends and family, and Tosin's family too, to honour her memory on the 15th of June 2016. They brought food and household provisions for our children, and also gave a generous cash donation towards the replacement of our generator engine, which just died on Monday the 13th!
That was another way his decision to change his perspective on his situation, answered our prayer for provision! We were really at a loss on how we would fix the generator, and for lack of funds, we had not been able to fix our other generator when it had died, so from having two generators, we now had none! And the electricity supply in Nigeria has not much improved, so it would have been a great hindrance to our work.
But that wasn't the best part. Last April, two of our children who were among the first to be enrolled in our programme in October 2014, Dami and Peace, were promised the support of two well-meaning friends, to complete their education. However, for reasons unknown to us, their sponsors were unable to keep up their pledge, and so we recently had to accept the fact that they didn't have sponsors and we needed to once again campaign on their behalf.
Well, we were delighted when Damilola informed us of his decision to pick up the baton, and support both girls to continue their education...as a living legacy for his late wife's love for children!
This is so touching for us because it is unusual. Most people come to celebrate Birthdays or Christmas or Easter..but few see the great wisdom in turning loss to joy, the way Damilola did. We thank God for Damilola and all who came with him to bless our children and remember Tosin in the best way. May her soul continue to rest in peace, and may God continue to grant grace to Damilola and guide him in wisdom.
God bless you all for your support. All our children are doing well. They enjoyed the Easter party we organised for them at the end of March. We now have 22 on the waiting list for sponsors on our website, and are adding more following our assesments each week. We hope you will consider being among our amazing child sponsors too!
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