Background story. Last year March, Tobiloba Ajayi reached out to me about a girl (Kehinde who is a twin) whose mother had passed on leaving her twin sister (Taiwo) to care for her.
Taiwo, a secondary school student, would leave Kehinde at home in the morning and come back in the evening. Kehinde stayed home alone without water, or food for hours. She would defecate on her body and got no respite until Taiwo got back from school.
They lived in a slum in Ikorodu without the care of a father. A neighbour, Joy Igboenyesi Nwanna saw their plight and reached out for help.We reached out to the appropriate department in Lagos State and we were informed that there was no space in the government facilities. Tobiloba and I began to search for a private home, we finally got ADOCA in Ogun state.
I remember calling my friend Enada so we could put pressure on the government to allocate a space to her. The plan was to keep Kehinde in ADOCA for six months while looking for a space in a government owned facility.I reached out to a few friends, and posted Kehinde’s story online and people contributed money to place her in ADOCA. I am so grateful to everyone who contributed. May God bless you and may you and your loved ones never be stranded.
A woman reached out to me and said I shouldn’t place her in a government facility because she believed Kehinde will get better care in a private home. I was very sceptical about this because of the funds involved. This is because the facility may be her permanent home.ADOCA sent us a list of things to buy before Kehinde could be admitted into the facility. We rented a bus to take Kehinde, her grandma, her neighbour (who reached out to Tobiloba to ask for help for Kehinde) and the things we bought to Ogun State.
Who is Kehinde Ebimomi?Kehinde has cerebral palsy which has affected her four limbs. However, her condition worsened due to lack of care. She has speech with some level of impairment – which is common among children with severe cerebral palsy. As at that time, Kehinde was 18 years but she had the frame of a 10 year old girl. When she arrived at ADOCA, the founder of the facility while onboarding her asked her to sing a gospel song.
Kehinde sang a song in Yoruba dialectOri kan lon dade (There is a head that wears a crown)Ori kan lon jiya ( There is a head that suffers)Ori mi majiya mo (My head, do not suffer any longer)Dide ko o dade (Stand up and wear your crown)
When the owner of the facility sent me the recording of their interaction and I heard the song, it made me wonder what had been going on in Kehinde’s mind all these years. I began to ask questions.
All her life, she had been kept indoors lying on a mat. She watched her siblings go to school and come back but she never left the house. She would tell her family that one day she would also go to school.
I believe she either heard the song from her late mum or her paternal grandmum. Somehow, she learnt the song and it stuck.
I daresay that God heard her prayers. She got out of the house to a place where she is taken care of. Because of her, her twin, Tawio was able to complete secondary school and write her final exams. Her two younger brothers were able to go back to secondary school.
Simply inspirational that Kehinde Ebimomi dared to dream even when everything seemed hopeless.She has taught me to hold on to my dreams fiercely, it’s not over until it is over.
After six months, there wasn’t space in any government facility and it doesn’t seem like there will be one until the government build more facilities.
The kind woman who reached out to me initially decided to partner with us and pay for Kehinde’s boarding fees.
Kehinde kept hope alive then you have no excuse. Don’t give up dear friend.
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