Lesson From My 5-year Old Neighbor

You know that kind of feeling you have when something bad happens. And you really want to help but there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. That was the kind of feeling I had some few months back when Matthew’s (not original name) parents were murdered.

When I was asked to write this article, I was scared. I was scared because I felt something bad (like the Aluu4) was about to happen to me. I was scared because this article would re-open old wounds and made them fresh again.

I was scared because I felt I could have done more than crying after the incident (like send the kid overseas to study). I felt guilty.

Matthew’s parents left home for a party function in the northern part of the country and never returned home. 

News reached us that they were butchered like animals by the dreaded “Boko Haram” sect. It was crazy when the news got to us. I felt like shooting everyone around me.

I was mad. Mad not because two people were murdered but because of what the 5 year old kid’s fate would be without his parents.

There are so many kids on the street born “hopeless”. Matthew wasn't. He attended the best school around, wore the best clothes and even had the best smile. He was indeed the envy of his peers.

But before you could say GEJ, all these things disappeared. His aunt moved in, He stopped school and started hawking sachet water, all in the space of 3 months. 3 months! He wasn't that happy kid that everyone wanted to be around anymore.

I didn't really know how it got that bad because I left home few weeks after the incident. But one thing I knew for sure was that nobody cared. Everybody seems to have continued with life. Because we all felt it was none of our business.

Matthew’s story is just one out of many out there. We have more than hundreds of thousands of the helpless kids on the streets. But all we do is pass bye and chant words such as- “e no concern me”, “no be my fault”.

But there are some institutions that have made it their duty to give these kids hope. Hope that they can become whatever they wanna. Hope that they can be the president of this country someday. Hope that they might invent something cool people would live to talk about.

Even if we do not have the time or money to set up such institutions, we can still make things happen. We don’t have to wait till we have all the money in the world before we  do something. 

Look at our spiritual teachers, Jesus, Mohammed, and Gandhi. They all made little things count.

We all can do the same this festive period by supporting NYA (National Youth Alliance)- a youth initiative set up to educate youths on how to make where we live a better  place by acting positively.

Red Cross Orphanage home is one of those institutions that are trying their best to restore hope to kids like Matthew. And NYA has decided to pay them a visit on the 21^st of December 2013 to show them some love and do the little they could to support them. But they can’t do this on their own. NYA needs your support. NYA needs volunteers. And they need your money too *smiles*. There are list of things (not only the cash) that these kids need.

If you are interested in showing some support, send; “HOW CAN I HELP” to nationalyouthsallaiance@yahoo.com.

You can start by sharing this article to your friends via facebook, twitter; e.t.c. by hitting the share button below.

 Let us help the “Matthew’s” in the streets live their dreams. You could also follow NYA on twitter @NatYouthAllianc

Let us make little things count. Who knows maybe the ripple effect of our actions might change those around us and even the nation as a whole.

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Wishing you extreme success,

Sadiq Daniel

@sadiq_daniel