Olu's 40th Birthday Fundraiser
Donation protected
Dear Friends,
I am turning 40 this December 7. And for my birthday I would love for you to join me in expanding the capacity of the Free School we started in Kuje, Abuja last year. Consider sending what you would have sent for my birthday gift as donations towards this project.
Donation Info:
If you are reading this and you are in:
1. Canada, you can give directly through Tithe.ly. Choose Overcomers Assembly HO (add Kuje School for description).
2. Nigeria, you may want to give directly in Naira to the Bank Account:
Zenith Bank Plc. Account Number 1013622610 Overcomers Fellowship International
3. America, England and everywhere else pls use this gofundme platform
Kindly send me a note if you make your donations outside of this gofundme page or if you have questions concerning the project. Use my email: [email redacted].
HISTORY:
Giving back to Africa:
A bit of the background for anyone reading this that doesn't know me or my family. My name is Olu Sobanjo. My hubby, Ade and I planted the very first branch of a church called Overcomers Assembly in Montreal, Canada in July of 2005 and then 2 other branches in Quebec and Ontario after that.
Serving God this way and walking with Him daily gave us an understanding of the abundance we already have in Christ. And living in a rich country like Canada also created a culture in us to not only think about ourselves and our family's needs alone but find ways to give back. In Canada, the government and many great organizations set up so many systems that make the country one of the best places in the world. That's why in 2013 we began to sense a need to give back to our other nation; Nigeria. We weren't sure exactly how that would be. The first thing we thought was to find some reputable organizations already on grounds to support financially and prayerfully. That year, I was turning 35 so I decided to have a fundraiser celebration. A few friends joined us to cut my birthday cake, have light refreshments and added to the funds we wanted to send to Africa. At that even we raised $1000 in donations and sent to 3 reputable organizations in Nigeria and Uganda.
It was so fulfilling for us and our friends, to be helping people that need the little we had. It always feels great knowing that you can help others in little ways like this.
Move to Nigeria.
Just a little later, we began to sense that not only did God want us to send aids to Africa, we also needed to move there and build from scratch all over again. This definitely was not an easy decision for me, especially with the Boko-Haram strikes in the news and also knowing God wasn't leading us to go to the big cities with all the amenities. However, God indeed has a way of opening our eyes, as needed, and I really thank God for the growth in my personal walk with the Lord since I decided to trust and obey. I also praise God for amazing family and friends that came together to help us achieve this and a loving Church family that chose to gift their Senior pastors and the family to the mission field.
So in October of 2014, we packed all our things and moved to a community called Kuje, its about 45 mins drive from the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.
Assessing The Needs
In the beginning, we needed to study the community to determine which of the many needs we could meet and strategically build a lasting system for, asides building a vibrant Church family of course. I remember the first thing I was intrigued by was the fact that very young Children could walk miles to church; without adult supervision, many of whom came without shoes. That's why the first drive we did here was to buy shoes for children our first Christmas here. The way we do all our drive is to start with what we have, call others to join us and that way we do more.
Each Christmas, we have done a giveaway for families with young children in the neighborhood. We give away non-perishable food items to help families celebrate a nice Christmas and every year it gets better.
All these we have done with the constant help of a handful of faithful friends and family member all over the world, Mostly in England, the US, Canada and some in Nigeria (and the Kuje Church family as well).
The Free School Started
Last year, we decided to jump in and start out implementing a program that had always been on our mind, an idea that we had been strategizing about for months. We decided to start small and not wait any longer.
Prior to that, we would help pay the school fees for some of the Children. But then there were so many other Children around our community who didn’t go to school either because their Parents couldn't afford or didn't prioritize formal education.
In our Kuje Church family, we had a family of smart young adults, who were homeschooled by their parents and were proficient in the ACE Christian curriculum. We studied the program and decided to start using it to teach 5 of the Children in our community that were home. We hired 2 of this young adults and have also been in touch with ACE to set up a proper structure for the school. Pending that, we have been able to pick up some of the materials whenever we are in Canada to use in Kuje. And have hired a few more hands to help administer this school.
September 2017 was the first school year and we started with 5 pupils. These children had either dropped out of school or had never been due to inadequate funds in their family. They were all at various school levels but the common thing was that they couldn’t read, recognize colors nor solve maths problems. After just 1 term many of the kids had improved so much.
We 've had people coming from far and near to make inquiries. Due to the fact that we wanted to understand the procedure and take it as it is, we decided to only take a few. For this new school year of September 2018, we increased our capacity from 5 to 13 pupils. And we still have a long waiting list.
It's such a fulfilling thing to see the improvements in the Educational strength of each of the pupil. A few friends have heard about this school and have sent donations and many have been asking how they can help in an ongoing basis. We are still in the developmental stage at the moment and would soon come up with the exact cost for sponsoring a child per term.
Development of The Transparency & Accounting Structure
Many, who knew about this school project have been asking to be more involved but my hubby and I have been a bit reluctant due to the fact that we haven't been able to develop a solid structure and foundation on which this project can comfortably rest. This is because you can only do so much; with our tight schedule at Overcomers and also our own individual (Ade & Olu's) business endeavors and our lack of skills in developing structures like this. That's why we have been doing this mainly on what we can do, refraining from raising funds publicly. In March though, we hired another teacher/administrator for the school; to help structure things so we can focus on other things and she is still working on making things run well. (Let me also say here that we will be glad to have volunteers for this purpose from anywhere in the world. If you are skilled in school setup and admin, pls send me a personal message)
A quick fix, for now, is that we have assigned an unused Overcomers Zenith bank account strictly for the school. This way, it can be maintained independently from the church. Also, all the money raised on this platform will be sent directly to that Zenith Bank Account, where it will then be clearly accounted for and disbursed for the expansion project.
40th Birthday Fundraiser Target ($10,000) - Increase In School Capacity
As I turn 40 this year, my desire is to help more of those on the waiting list by increasing the capacity of the school. We thought of building a new structure for the school but quickly dropped that plan for now so as to handle immediate needs. So here is what we want to do: to create new classroom by having dividers made to convert the Church auditorium into classes (during the week), make new uniforms, hire more teachers and structure the school in a much better way to enable us to help more children. After which we can now create a system on a per child bases for those who want to choose children to personally support.
In the past, we have asked a few close friends to join us for our annual Christmas giveaways and I usually asked for a minimum of $20 but being my 40th I thought of asking friends to give $40 each, which would have been my birthday gift from you, redirected. However, I know many of you would love to give more.
Pls, consider joining us, to help more children...
I am looking for donors at different levels:
$1000 Platinum
$500 Diamond
$250 Gold
$100 Ruby
$40 Silver
Of course, you can give more or less as God leads-no pressure!
Golden donors and up will get a special shout out/interview & special recognition on my weekly podcast. You get to share your God-given gift or message with people in my audience (of course in ways that align with my values).
Anyone who gives at all will receive for FREE a soft copy of my newest Amazon Bestseller; Join the Dots; 10 Steps to Finding Fulfilling Work That Aligns to Your Uniqueness and Christian Values.
Thank you and God bless!
Here is a picture of my boys; Demi & Damilola with some of the kids from our free school:
Aren't they all cute?
Pls, give as much as you can and share with your friends as well.
Donation Guide:
1. For Canadians, you can give directly through Tithe.ly. Choose Overcomers Assembly HO (add Kuje School for description).
2. In Nigeria, you may want to give directly in Naira to the Bank Account:
Zenith Bank Plc. Account Number 1013622610 Overcomers Fellowship International
3. For Others, pls use this gofundme platform
Pls leave me a message here or send to [email redacted] for any questions.
Oh! I almost forgot, here is the face of the soon to be 40yr old me and my darling hubby ;-)
Picture was taken in kuje.
I am turning 40 this December 7. And for my birthday I would love for you to join me in expanding the capacity of the Free School we started in Kuje, Abuja last year. Consider sending what you would have sent for my birthday gift as donations towards this project.
Donation Info:
If you are reading this and you are in:
1. Canada, you can give directly through Tithe.ly. Choose Overcomers Assembly HO (add Kuje School for description).
2. Nigeria, you may want to give directly in Naira to the Bank Account:
Zenith Bank Plc. Account Number 1013622610 Overcomers Fellowship International
3. America, England and everywhere else pls use this gofundme platform
Kindly send me a note if you make your donations outside of this gofundme page or if you have questions concerning the project. Use my email: [email redacted].
HISTORY:
Giving back to Africa:
A bit of the background for anyone reading this that doesn't know me or my family. My name is Olu Sobanjo. My hubby, Ade and I planted the very first branch of a church called Overcomers Assembly in Montreal, Canada in July of 2005 and then 2 other branches in Quebec and Ontario after that.
Serving God this way and walking with Him daily gave us an understanding of the abundance we already have in Christ. And living in a rich country like Canada also created a culture in us to not only think about ourselves and our family's needs alone but find ways to give back. In Canada, the government and many great organizations set up so many systems that make the country one of the best places in the world. That's why in 2013 we began to sense a need to give back to our other nation; Nigeria. We weren't sure exactly how that would be. The first thing we thought was to find some reputable organizations already on grounds to support financially and prayerfully. That year, I was turning 35 so I decided to have a fundraiser celebration. A few friends joined us to cut my birthday cake, have light refreshments and added to the funds we wanted to send to Africa. At that even we raised $1000 in donations and sent to 3 reputable organizations in Nigeria and Uganda.
It was so fulfilling for us and our friends, to be helping people that need the little we had. It always feels great knowing that you can help others in little ways like this.
Move to Nigeria.
Just a little later, we began to sense that not only did God want us to send aids to Africa, we also needed to move there and build from scratch all over again. This definitely was not an easy decision for me, especially with the Boko-Haram strikes in the news and also knowing God wasn't leading us to go to the big cities with all the amenities. However, God indeed has a way of opening our eyes, as needed, and I really thank God for the growth in my personal walk with the Lord since I decided to trust and obey. I also praise God for amazing family and friends that came together to help us achieve this and a loving Church family that chose to gift their Senior pastors and the family to the mission field.
So in October of 2014, we packed all our things and moved to a community called Kuje, its about 45 mins drive from the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.
Assessing The Needs
In the beginning, we needed to study the community to determine which of the many needs we could meet and strategically build a lasting system for, asides building a vibrant Church family of course. I remember the first thing I was intrigued by was the fact that very young Children could walk miles to church; without adult supervision, many of whom came without shoes. That's why the first drive we did here was to buy shoes for children our first Christmas here. The way we do all our drive is to start with what we have, call others to join us and that way we do more.
Each Christmas, we have done a giveaway for families with young children in the neighborhood. We give away non-perishable food items to help families celebrate a nice Christmas and every year it gets better.
All these we have done with the constant help of a handful of faithful friends and family member all over the world, Mostly in England, the US, Canada and some in Nigeria (and the Kuje Church family as well).
The Free School Started
Last year, we decided to jump in and start out implementing a program that had always been on our mind, an idea that we had been strategizing about for months. We decided to start small and not wait any longer.
Prior to that, we would help pay the school fees for some of the Children. But then there were so many other Children around our community who didn’t go to school either because their Parents couldn't afford or didn't prioritize formal education.
In our Kuje Church family, we had a family of smart young adults, who were homeschooled by their parents and were proficient in the ACE Christian curriculum. We studied the program and decided to start using it to teach 5 of the Children in our community that were home. We hired 2 of this young adults and have also been in touch with ACE to set up a proper structure for the school. Pending that, we have been able to pick up some of the materials whenever we are in Canada to use in Kuje. And have hired a few more hands to help administer this school.
September 2017 was the first school year and we started with 5 pupils. These children had either dropped out of school or had never been due to inadequate funds in their family. They were all at various school levels but the common thing was that they couldn’t read, recognize colors nor solve maths problems. After just 1 term many of the kids had improved so much.
We 've had people coming from far and near to make inquiries. Due to the fact that we wanted to understand the procedure and take it as it is, we decided to only take a few. For this new school year of September 2018, we increased our capacity from 5 to 13 pupils. And we still have a long waiting list.
It's such a fulfilling thing to see the improvements in the Educational strength of each of the pupil. A few friends have heard about this school and have sent donations and many have been asking how they can help in an ongoing basis. We are still in the developmental stage at the moment and would soon come up with the exact cost for sponsoring a child per term.
Development of The Transparency & Accounting Structure
Many, who knew about this school project have been asking to be more involved but my hubby and I have been a bit reluctant due to the fact that we haven't been able to develop a solid structure and foundation on which this project can comfortably rest. This is because you can only do so much; with our tight schedule at Overcomers and also our own individual (Ade & Olu's) business endeavors and our lack of skills in developing structures like this. That's why we have been doing this mainly on what we can do, refraining from raising funds publicly. In March though, we hired another teacher/administrator for the school; to help structure things so we can focus on other things and she is still working on making things run well. (Let me also say here that we will be glad to have volunteers for this purpose from anywhere in the world. If you are skilled in school setup and admin, pls send me a personal message)
A quick fix, for now, is that we have assigned an unused Overcomers Zenith bank account strictly for the school. This way, it can be maintained independently from the church. Also, all the money raised on this platform will be sent directly to that Zenith Bank Account, where it will then be clearly accounted for and disbursed for the expansion project.
40th Birthday Fundraiser Target ($10,000) - Increase In School Capacity
As I turn 40 this year, my desire is to help more of those on the waiting list by increasing the capacity of the school. We thought of building a new structure for the school but quickly dropped that plan for now so as to handle immediate needs. So here is what we want to do: to create new classroom by having dividers made to convert the Church auditorium into classes (during the week), make new uniforms, hire more teachers and structure the school in a much better way to enable us to help more children. After which we can now create a system on a per child bases for those who want to choose children to personally support.
In the past, we have asked a few close friends to join us for our annual Christmas giveaways and I usually asked for a minimum of $20 but being my 40th I thought of asking friends to give $40 each, which would have been my birthday gift from you, redirected. However, I know many of you would love to give more.
Pls, consider joining us, to help more children...
I am looking for donors at different levels:
$1000 Platinum
$500 Diamond
$250 Gold
$100 Ruby
$40 Silver
Of course, you can give more or less as God leads-no pressure!
Golden donors and up will get a special shout out/interview & special recognition on my weekly podcast. You get to share your God-given gift or message with people in my audience (of course in ways that align with my values).
Anyone who gives at all will receive for FREE a soft copy of my newest Amazon Bestseller; Join the Dots; 10 Steps to Finding Fulfilling Work That Aligns to Your Uniqueness and Christian Values.
Thank you and God bless!
Here is a picture of my boys; Demi & Damilola with some of the kids from our free school:
Aren't they all cute?
Pls, give as much as you can and share with your friends as well.
Donation Guide:
1. For Canadians, you can give directly through Tithe.ly. Choose Overcomers Assembly HO (add Kuje School for description).
2. In Nigeria, you may want to give directly in Naira to the Bank Account:
Zenith Bank Plc. Account Number 1013622610 Overcomers Fellowship International
3. For Others, pls use this gofundme platform
Pls leave me a message here or send to [email redacted] for any questions.
Oh! I almost forgot, here is the face of the soon to be 40yr old me and my darling hubby ;-)
Picture was taken in kuje.
Fundraising team: Olu @ 40 Team (3)
Olu Sobanjo
Organizer
Cornwall, ON
Ade Sobanjo
Team member
Shawla Sobanjo Adebajo
Team member
