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“Working locally to eradicate world hunger”

July 12th, 2017

The pressing issue of world hunger prompted one individual to make a remarkable effort, writes Alabidun Sarat, 22, a Correspondent from Lagos in Nigeria, who describes the work of a Lagos business woman.

On realising that there were more than 795 million hungry people in the world and a startling number of Nigerian children were malnourished, Biola Ajewole, a young business woman, started the Hunger Project. The project was aimed at creating awareness about hunger in the world and helping to proffer solutions to these problems.

With less than a month to go before the United Nations World Hunger Day on the 29th of May, preparations were underway for The Hunger Project’s first event.

“The event was aimed at creating awareness on world hunger, and we selected a few low brow areas in Lagos including Ajegunle, Ijora and Ikorodu to carry out our first event,” Ajewole said.

The Hunger Project marked this year’s World Hunger Day by visiting selected slums in Lagos and dishing out packs of food to members of several communities in Lagos.

“We planned for this event in less than a month and were only blessed to have a lot of support from several people and organisations. Fortunately our aim was achieved and lots of awareness was created in real life and on social media,” she said.

Executing the project was not entirely such an easy task for The Hunger Project team, as some of the members of these communities became out of control just to get food. Ajewole said it only showed the level of hunger in Nigeria and how much work they had on their hands.

The Hunger Project, however, does not want to stop at just organising yearly events. Their long term goal is to open soup kitchens where people can have at least a meal a day. The plan is to locate around several areas in Lagos and, in the long run, across Nigeria. This they hope would help minimise world hunger in their own little way.

“We intend to use some of the money we had left from the World Hunger Day event to start up these soup kitchens, we hope to get more support,” Ajewole said.

In a world where most people do things for their own benefit, one wonders why Biola Ajewole in her 20s would delve into such a project with little or nothing in it for her.

“We do it for love,” she says.

Photos: Top – Biola Ajewole with children at one of the communities  Inset – Members of the community queuing up for food

Photo credit: courtesy of Alabidun Sarat:

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About me: I am a graduate of Applied Chemistry from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria, with a flair for writing. I’m looking to change the world, one word at a time. I blog, too, and I love horses.

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/

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The pressing issue of world hunger prompted one individual to make a remarkable effort, writes Alabidun Sarat, 22, a Correspondent from Lagos in Nigeria, who describes the work of a Lagos business woman.

On realising that there were more than 795 million hungry people in the world and a startling number of Nigerian children were malnourished, Biola Ajewole, a young business woman, started the Hunger Project. The project was aimed at creating awareness about hunger in the world and helping to proffer solutions to these problems.

With less than a month to go before the United Nations World Hunger Day on the 29th of May, preparations were underway for The Hunger Project’s first event.

“The event was aimed at creating awareness on world hunger, and we selected a few low brow areas in Lagos including Ajegunle, Ijora and Ikorodu to carry out our first event,” Ajewole said.

The Hunger Project marked this year’s World Hunger Day by visiting selected slums in Lagos and dishing out packs of food to members of several communities in Lagos.

“We planned for this event in less than a month and were only blessed to have a lot of support from several people and organisations. Fortunately our aim was achieved and lots of awareness was created in real life and on social media,” she said.

Executing the project was not entirely such an easy task for The Hunger Project team, as some of the members of these communities became out of control just to get food. Ajewole said it only showed the level of hunger in Nigeria and how much work they had on their hands.

The Hunger Project, however, does not want to stop at just organising yearly events. Their long term goal is to open soup kitchens where people can have at least a meal a day. The plan is to locate around several areas in Lagos and, in the long run, across Nigeria. This they hope would help minimise world hunger in their own little way.

“We intend to use some of the money we had left from the World Hunger Day event to start up these soup kitchens, we hope to get more support,” Ajewole said.

In a world where most people do things for their own benefit, one wonders why Biola Ajewole in her 20s would delve into such a project with little or nothing in it for her.

“We do it for love,” she says.

Photos: Top – Biola Ajewole with children at one of the communities  Inset – Members of the community queuing up for food

Photo credit: courtesy of Alabidun Sarat:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

About me: I am a graduate of Applied Chemistry from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria, with a flair for writing. I’m looking to change the world, one word at a time. I blog, too, and I love horses.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/

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