Today is Nollywood actress and mum of one Mercy Johnson
Okojie's 29th birthday.
And here's a message from her heart she just released to her
fans.
Today, I thought of many things I would love to have as
birthday gifts and the many dreams I'm
still pursuing.
In all of this I’m not losing sight of the fact that if not
for God I might have ended
up on the street like the many kids and young adults begging
for food and some prostituting to make
ends meet.
If we know the circumstances that force some of these people
on the street
we would spare a thought for them. I am where I am today
purely by the grace of God and the grace of the people who believed in me from
the word go. Continue...
Recently, I was at the Boys Reform Oregun,Lagos,the
discussion I had with the principal Mr. Kotun and much later with the Special
Adviser in charge of all remand homes in Lagos set me thinking about the boys
and girls on the street.
They have dreams too. Can they fulfill those dreams on the
street? The answer will likely be no because I won't be where I am today if I
had ended up on the street.
For this reason, Mercy Johnson Foundation will be doing a
lot to get kids off the street. We are not asking people for funds. I will do
all I can with the resources God has given me, and with the support of my
husband to help get these kids off the street and set them on the path where
they can begin to pursue their dreams.
I want to plead with people, fans, friends and colleagues to
spare a thought for the
children on the street.
We can begin by educating people around us, parents, the
children and people
people in charge of children (Oga-house help relationship,
teacher-student relationship, and others) on the need to treat every child like
the future of Nigeria depends on it.
And truth be told,our future will not be all that enjoyable
if we let the scourge of ‘street-children’ fester. By then, the rich will begin
to cry.
I learnt Lagos State Government has 11 homes where most
children picked from the streets are kept, reformed and reunited with their
families after counseling.
That is an initiative Mercy Johnson Foundation will be
supporting and beyond that we will be going to different states to help spread
the message - Get kids off the street, save the future.
From tomorrow, I will begin to replay some of the lessons I
learnt at the boys’ reform home and we all can contribute to getting the kids
off the street.
I am grateful to everyone that has sent in a birthday
message tweet and gifts. When I get
back, let’s have twitter party. Thank you and God bless you.
Mercy Johnson Okojie.
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