On children’s day we took 20 kids from a slum community in Jos, Plateau State, to see the beauty around them.
The tour started by giving the kids new t-shirts for the day, as some had earlier requested new clothes.
The idea of this initiative is to give less privileged children from age 4 to 18 the opportunity to see the beauty outside their immediate environment to help them dream more and want more.
Our first attraction of the tour was the Jos National Museum and Zoological Garden. The kids were privileged to learn more about history, culture, and evolution while immersing themselves in the arts and wondering how the craft has come to be.
They were later chaperoned into the zoological garden to see different species of animals, which was delightful to see the kids having fun.
We moved to the playground, danced, had music, and had fun while some who had requested to ride a horse went on their horseback rides. Santa Claus was in town, and we sure are.
Our next attraction was one of the best attractions in Jos, “The 10 Commandments.” This monument is a sight to behold when visiting Jos. The kids were mesmerized by seeing this gigantic rock, which made them feel smaller than they already are. We went ahead to read the commandments out loud, and we remembered to recite the most important commandment of the Bible, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
We took a quick stop to dine and laugh at a restaurant where the kids got served a delicious meal while we volunteered to watch and wish. Not really; the kids had already maxed out the food, so we had to watch and pray.
We proceeded with our fun and headed towards Rayfield Resort to have a kayaking and boat cruise experience. Some of the kids had requested this, and our only job is to make their wishes come true. We went on to paddle boats in groups, raced one another, laughed, and screamed at the top of our voices.
Miss Omotoke, our founder, made some kids lose the race because she couldn’t paddle the boat herself. We need to take her to kid’s games separately someday.
At this point, time was already jealous of all the fun we were having together because it ran by so fast. To crown the day, we headed to Mees Palace for some indoor games, car races, horseback riding, etc. The kids took turns, and it was fulfilling.
As a parting gift for the kids, we prepared back-to-school packs for them, which consist of school bags, lunch boxes, books and stationery, a water bottle, and food flasks for the next session.
It was a fun-filled day for the Impact Adventurers team and volunteers. Everyone was so helpful, watching out for the kids and engaging them in dance competitions and other activities. It was impactful and adventurous.
We went ahead to drop the kids off at the community, reminding them of all they have seen today and inspiring them to want to see more by being diligent in their studies, learning well, and also letting their imagination make them dream further ahead.
As we hopefully wish, they carry this in their hearts until they become themselves.
We ended the night with a volunteer get-together for relaxing and partying.
We want to thank our sponsors and partners: @purposefoundation, @octavisuals, and @explorerz9ja.
We wish to share this light across all 36 states in Nigeria and with other slum communities in Africa.
If you’d like to sponsor a slum tour as an NGO, individual, or business, please reach out to us.
Sponsor@impactadventurers.com