Renovation of a high school
The project was done by Temi, Xavier, and Timi (all 12 years old)
Imagine studying in a school where the doors and windows were always broken, chairs weren’t strong enough to hold the smallest of children, where you sat, every day, hoping that the ceiling wouldn’t collapse and bury you in a pile of concrete. This is what the pupils at Ipakodo Grammar School, Lagos, had to face every day, and it happens to so many more children around the world too.
The thought to fundraise for the school came as a great idea, so we planned to carry out a charity walk during the winter period.
How one of the classrooms looked
Imagine learning in one of these classrooms
We raised awareness by making presentations about our cause to people, churches, and organisations. We then planned to carry out a 10k charity walk and asked friends and families to donate to the cause. Both fundraising methods were very challenging and hard to accomplish.
Firstly, the presentations were very challenging as not everyone wanted to listen to what we wanted to say. Also, speaking in front of crowds isn’t my strong point as I normally get very nervous when I’m about to speak. I find it hard to concentrate when I have 50 pairs of eyes staring at me! But, after we finished the various presentations, I was very happy when people came to ask more about what we were doing. It gave me reassurance that they understood what we were doing and its cause.
My friends, Timi and Xavier, and I presented to Pastor Steve, the Senior Pastor of Bridge Community Church in Leeds, UK
I was presenting to the congregation of the Redeemed Christian Church of God
The 10K walk was even harder. First, we had to get a lot of people to do it, which wasn’t that much of a problem, as we had friends and our siblings, who wanted to do it, as well as all our parents. In total, we had almost 30 people join us for the winter walk. We wrote letters to churches, prominent people, and key family members to support our cause. We chose a date and time for the 10km walk and asked the church, Bridge Community Church, if we could use the building as our meeting point.
On the 4th of January 2020, the councillor of our local area, Mrs. Abigail Marshall Katung joined us before we commenced the walk. She led the exercise routine making us fit and ready for the 10km walk ahead of us. We had a risk assessment session done to talk about the safety precautions to take while on the road. Some of these include getting fully kitted for the weather, having a drink to keep us hydrated, and taking frequent breaks. Above all, to have fun.
We walked from Bridge Community Church (BCC) to the John Charles Sports Centre and back, which was about 10km overall. Though we were all pumped up and ready to go, some of us dropped out part-way through and went into one of the cars for a quick rest. After a few hours, we finally got back to BCC. We simply love the idea that the fitness walk we did will be helping others in need. We finished the walk safely. Yay!!!
Everyone doing stretches before embarking on our 10k walk
Beginning our walk from Bridge Community Church
Our walk continues...
We did it! Arrived at John Charles Sports Centre
The Leeds Councillor celebrating with us
Altogether, we raised over £5,600 for the cause, which went to FoodClique Charity. The charity organization executed the project by hiring builders to renovate the school, using lots of paint and wood. The senior section as well as the inclusive section, which is for the speech impaired, blind and deaf children, of the school were renovated. The Leaders of the school, the Local community, and FoodClique charity were extremely grateful to us for what was accomplished. Compared to what it was before, the school looked amazing. We did it. Amazing. The happy smiles on all the faces of students meant a lot to us.
Check out the transformation of the renovated high school
We got approval from the Lagos State Government to commission the renovated school. In November 2021, we got invited to attend the commissioning of the renovated Ipakodo Grammar school. It was a huge ceremony as our schools in the UK participated as well. We read our speeches during the commissioning event and talked about how this opportunity meant a lot to us. A lot of people and dignitaries attended the event including my grandfather.
It was wonderful to see how delightful the students were about the renovation of their school
There are so many places like Ipakodo Grammar school which need support. You can support projects like this too. We've listed different ways you can get involved.
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