Background

The plight of orphans in developing countries including Nigeria has been made worse by the recent economy hardship experienced by all.  With such scarcity of funds and tight domestic budgets, families and organizations are struggling to meet their financial obligations and as a result of this reality, philanthropic gestures such as donations, visit to less privileged homes take a back seat.  Love In Action (LA) a subsidiary of Acquire Centre saw the need to remind citizens of their obligations to care for the less privileged within our midst.

Our Client Alvina Schools (AS) was engaged to collaborate in efforts to create awareness and solicit financial support in cash and kind for the orphans in Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria.  A Christmas carol  concert was organized in the middle of the biggest Mall in the state to sensitize citizens to Care to Share by donating items ranging from clothing, toiletries, reading materials, and also money to help support selected Orphanages struggling with the rising cost of things.

The Challenge

The challenge to organize a Christmas carol concert led by students of Alvina School backed up by the Delta State University orchestra band was a daunting task to say the least especially as there was no existing choir in Alvina School and we only had one month to prepare.

Also, there were no official funds allocated for this project, and it was up to the LA to work out modalities for raising funds to plan and execute the project.

Due to the large number of orphanages in the Delta state, a selection process was to be established for choose the beneficiaries of this project.  Challenges with obtaining approval from the venue authorities and choosing the right spot and the right time to maximize visibility and support for this project remained a huge difficulty.

The Solution

An ad-hoc choir was formed and taught by LA personnel along with Richard Joel from the Delta State University orchestra.  Guest Artist including Jafet George and Cassidie were gracious to freely participate in the concert.  In order to raise funds LA in collaboration with AS introduced a series of bob-a-jobs where students were encouraged to carry out random acts of kindness or services in return for commissions which was used to purchase and brand T-shirts as well as cover other logistical cost. Also, students were encouraged to care to share their own belongings; those who had enough to spare.  The emphasis was on sharing and not buying new items.  Students were to share from what they already had, shoes, belts, toys, books, etc.  We received so many items which were then sorted, cleaned and packaged for delivery.  Teachers and parents are also encouraged to donate time and money in preparing soverniers and other marketing materials.  Approval was received from the DeltaMall headquarters to occupy the very centre of the mall with access to changing rooms, display screens and other technical support as needed.  It was the first time ever a display of this size and emphasis had been conducted on any of its premises nation wide.

Only orphanages who had government approval were eventually selected as beneficiaries of this project.  The students of AS, organized by the health and science club provided free medical services including; blood testing, sugar level testing, blood pressure and other related tests.

The Result

Visitors to the Mall were delightfully excited and blessed by the harmonious Christmas carols and praise music coming from the children.  So many shoppers gathered to listen and participate in dancing with students and parents.  The mall was packed full and many shoppers were impressed to give donations of cash and kind.  Three orphanages all situated in Effurun were selected as the final recipients for all the donations received.  The feedback from shoppers and the mall administrators was very positive.  We have been asked to repeat this project multiple times, which we have.