The Oyiza Home of Love Orphanage in Nigeria is home to forty children ranging in age from two to twenty. These children are homeless and do not have legal guardians to take care of them. They are considered vulnerable youth, and have been taken in by the home to ensure that their basic needs are met and that these children are provided with the things that they need to succeed in life. With such a wide age range, the needs that the orphanage has are vast and varied. The orphanage has a goal of helping to instill love and hope in the lives of orphans and vulnerable children who have been affected by poverty, socio-economic, and environmental crises in Nigeria. Through educational programs, emotional, physical, and cognitive therapy, and programs that will help children gain life skills that they can use to better their position, the charity is making huge changes in the lives of the children that it serves. Established in 2005, the organization is being run by the son and daughter of the late founder Mrs. Oyiza Janet Adenuga. Their passion for improving the lives of the children in need is great, but so is the need that the charity faces. From simple things to clothes and toys to crucial necessities like food and shelter, the Oyiza Home of Love Orphanage depends on the donations and efforts of volunteers to help keep it afloat.
AfrikRising has partnered with the Oyiza Home of Love, providing them with new, clean bed sheets and linens for the children who live there. While this sounds like a small development, providing fresh, clean bed sheets is actually a huge deal. Having access to clean sheets can help keep the children from becoming ill, and can cut down on re-using unclean sheets that are in need of washing or should be replaced due to stains, holes and tears. It also provides the children with a more comfortable place to sleep, helping to ensure that they get the good night’s rest that they need to grow and maintain good overall health. The change from old, tattered bed clothes to brand new, clean linens is uplifting, and helps to provide a higher quality of life for these children day in and day out. Photos from this endeavor can be seen on afrikrising.com. You can also view other projects that AfrikRising is working on, as well as see more of the needs that the children at Oyiza Home of Love have.
The partnership between AfrikRising and the orphanage is a strong one; Oyiza Home of Love was the first organization that the charity worked with, installing mosquito nets and secure windows. Malaria is a disease that kills thousands of children in Africa each day, and is spread by mosquitoes. The spread of malaria is one of the things that organizations like Oyiza Home of Love have to combat, and keeping the children mosquito free and protected while they sleep is a crucial step in that fight. The same as with the new sheets, the installation of protective nets and windows give the inhabitants of the home a cleaner, more comfortable living and studying environment, increase their quality of life, and help to boost their morale and maintain a positive living environment.
AfrikRising hopes to continue to provide aid to Oyiza Home of Love Orphanage and other such organizations that aim to serve the needs of underprivileged children and families all throughout Africa. With more trips planned for the future, and the urge to help strong, AfrikRising has the vision and the passion that Oyiza Home of Love and other organizations need to spark change in their communities. The real issue, as with any charitable foundation, becomes funding. AfrikRising runs entirely on donations from individuals and corporations to carry out the projects and programs that they envision. To learn more about Oyiza Home of Love, AfrikRising, and what you can do to help, visit the AfrikRising website, follow their pages on Instagram and Facebook, and sign up for their newsletter to stay on top of all of the projects that are being planned and to see how you can help make sure that those plans become reality to improve the lives of those less fortunate.
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