2014 was a life-changing year for me, I had my first child, my sunshine daughter - Teniola fondly known as TeniB :) Jan 7th and my world as I knew it was never the same in a good way, she is such a joy to our family and we are so blessed to call her our own.
This post is supposed to be about my 3rd project which was an immense success, if you follow me on instagram - BolaKrafts ( where I usually keep things up to date) you would have followed the journey of the project, but in my tradition I felt it was important for me to also update here and write as everything unfolded as I did with my past projects so here goes~
I had been brainstorming for a little while as to what my next project would be, I really enjoyed how with the Take 2 project, I was able to auction off some items and have the funds go towards a project in Nigeria, so I knew I wanted to do something similar this year, I just wasn't sure how to go about it yet. Then shortly before thanksgiving I stumbled upon arm knitting, made a scarf for my husband, shared the picture on instagram and the response to it was really nice. I decided that since the adults are always asking me to consider and make something for them, I could use this as an opportunity to tie it with my project.
One of my passions is Education and I really wanted the project I worked on this go to make an impact in fostering a better learning environment and improving the education of children, so I just had to find the school to assist, which in itself was not hard. God had laid on my heart to work with Whanyinna Nursery and Primary School in Makoko, Lagos, Nigeria. Whanyinna is located in the floating village of structures on stilts in Lagos and can be seen from the 3rd Mainland bridge when driving. Whanyinna, which means love, is the only nursery and prinary school set up by the community and run by Noah Shemede, young hardworking man who has given his heart and soul to ensure that the children of the community have a place to be educated. There are currently 239 children and they attend for free.
The second part of my project was not difficult for me also, I had been wanting for a long time to donate hats to children with cancer going through chemo, and reached out to an organization called Knots of Love that focuses solely on this, so it was all sorted out.
The Project was tagged Bola Krafts Cares 30 for 30 Thanksgiving to Christmas Edition. The deal was to make 20 infinity arm knitted Scarves for 20 adults - sold at $35 each, 100% of the proceeds went to Whanyinna and 10 hats for 10 children donated to Knots of Love.
I usually do a heart check before I embark on any project because at the end of the day, God has to take all the glory, it's a project for His people and with the outcome it was clear that His hand certainly was in and all over it. I started of wanting to raise $,1000, when I created the donations page I upped the fundraiser to $1,500 and by the end of first day I had raised $1,497, Imagine that!! my heart was bursting with the love and support...this was just day one and I had 20 plus days to go. The donations kept pouring in and I myself got to work, making the scarves one night at a time and working on the hats also. Not too long afterwards I had crossed the $3,000 this is now 3 times what I initially thought I would raised and at the end of the projected $4,061, I was completely BLOWN, God took total control actually He just took over, I was simply a vessel he used to create a link between people who were willing to help and the school.
I also received a beautiful call from Knots of Love letting me know where they sent the hats to, one went to a 4 year old girl in NJ and the other 9 went to Children's Cancer Centers in Los Angeles, CA, Fort Wortg ,TX and Orange, CA. Thank GOD!
Here is the list of items I initially wanted to support Whanyinna with
-Uniform - $5 per child
-Textbooks - $5 per book
-Teachers Salary - $60 per teacher per month
At the end of the project we helped get
-Uniform Material and Tailoring for 100 Students
-Math and English Textbooks for all 239 Students
-1 Computer and Printer Set
-Sand Filling of the School's Premises
-9 Standing Fans and 2 wall fans for all classrooms and the school Library
-3 Months of Salary for 9 Teachers
All I can say is God is too much, to think just how much can go a very long way. It was a blessing for me to be part of this, I thank every single one of you for your financial and emotional support and encouragement, I got some heavenly helpers along the way, you know yourselves, God bless you abundantly for all that you did to make this a success, Noah, the teachers and students express their heartfelt gratitude and are praying for us all daily.
Most importantly I am looking forward to future projects, partnering with God and you all, best believe I am brainstorming already and I'm excited for what my future holds through Bola Krafts Cares.
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| 20 Scarves for 20 Adults |
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| 10 Hats for 10 Kids |
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| 1st day of the project and the finish line :) |
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| Noah Shemede - Principal and Director, Whanyinna Nursery and Primary School |
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| Moved me to tears |
~Psalm 46 v 5 - God is within her, She will not Fall ~
