I can’t remember which hormones were on autopilot when I screamed “Yes.”

I guess after my endless feat of successful adventures, I thought this was going to be a walk in the park.

Boy! I was wrong. What they were asking for was literally impossible.

“A Danfo conductor Or Conductress” for the whole day? As in… Ketu, Mile12……

Anyways, not ready to let my adventurous self-down, I obliged happily.

I got to the garage bright and early the next day; punctuality is the sole of business, you know.

The first man I met greeted me with a “Sisi, where you dey go?”

How was I to explain to this 5ft 9, dark complexion lanky original Yoruba Man, that I was going to be his “Sidekick” for the day. ☺

Having told him about my One-day mission, which he gladly obliged, I assumed position.

Everyone was about to be dazed, even me.

Talk about facing your worst fears!

I’m sure I made so many people’s morning.

I mean I was calling passengers, looking like this!!!!

My outfit was conservative yet figure flattering, quite the statement piece.  .

I was jittery at the start but I got a hang of it somewhere in the middle.

Did I mention my friends were recording the entire session?

On a scale of Scary to Impossible, I was on Unimaginable.

The First hour, I felt my skin split open from stares and snickers, but I wasn’t giving up easily.

3 hours in, I was literally commanding an audience Martin Luther King Jr. couldn’t compete with.

I had somehow re-defined the term “Conductor”

Passengers were filing in with quite a rush,

I choose to believe that it was the Me-Syndrome; I mean, I did an excellent job plus I looked like Christmas morning.

I was having fun.

I was confident.

I was Bold and beautiful.

I wouldn’t call it a walk in the park. But it definitely was worth every minute.

I guess it didn’t hurt to test strange waters.

I just earned enough bragging rights, made new friends plus I doubt if I would ever have to pay my t-fare at that garage for a long time.

Yeah! What a man can do, I can do better!

Sighs ☺

It was my first time, stepping out of my comfort zone, into a strange territory and I DOMINATED.

I think I made it clear that being a market woman, a hawker, a danfo bus conductor or owning a buka joint is not restricted to the less-privileged, and can certainly be done with poise.

You know, life is too short to risk missing out on the awesome fun stuff you could do in a blink.

It’s alright to be scared and jittery, but in the end when you have accomplished what seemed like a mountain, you will feel so Alive, so Real, so YOU.

Well… This never happened.

But I wish it did.

Author: Christy Ojo

Muse: Toluleye

Outfit: Folabomi |Draped-in-Wealth|

Danfo Credit: Tunji, Unilag Shuttle

Photography : Joel Adu

The Fashion show that had generated so much rave finally began and I was there to cheer-on my designer girlfriend, Ronnie Adeniji.

The backdrop, although wide, was inconveniently full of beauties pacing to and fro.

The situation was not helped by late models that showed up at the last minute making designers, make-up artists and brand assistants enter major panic mode. Orders were called out to participants, young women and ladies, who, saddled with various spelled-out tasks and responsibilities, display game-on faces. It was pure chaos.

Nonetheless among the surging hurdle was an amazing mixture of clothing in different shapes, structures and divergent colours, which if nothing else, served to emphasize the spectacular taste and ideas of the host of creatives in our country ☺.

My curiosity was stirred when my eye fell on a slender figure striking a pose behind the filmy lens of a brand just next to us. My gaze lingered on for a fleeting second taking in her fine features, penciled eyebrows and fully mated lips. She looked just like every regular woman in the focus of the camera and I was about shifting my gaze onward when the camera went off her —

oh! she was so much more.

I stood there transfixed, starring at a complete nano-second transformation. She was a bubbly, beautiful, string bean in her twenties who was clearly an adventurous soul, however, somewhat tamed.

In just the few seconds the lens went off her, a small crowd had taken its form around her.I could not ignore the intense confidence and grace she exuded with every effortless twist and turn made as she conversed with other models. I watched tense shoulders relax as they seemed to de-stress from her humour and poise.

I almost laughed at myself. A few seconds ago, she had been just the regular human — through the lens.

This was one day that jolly walked me into the new year. A young stranger had me recognize the heap of possible potentials that are embodied behind every capture.

You mostly overlook the fact that you have resources and obvious potentials to be the source of comfort, the stream of energy and the mechanism of support to so many people around you.

But just as 2017 takes on it’s second gear, you will henceforth not let your life be limited to what is represented in a capture but you will be so much bigger and better behind the lens.

Kapeesh?

Model: Anita Nwosu

Photography: The Picture Perfect

Dear Drapers,

Happy new year, happy new month, and thank you for making 2016 worthwhile. I love you all and I wish for you a spectacular 2017 with grand achievements.

♥, Folabomi

So I am in Balogun this fateful day snooping around their 5k per yard bargain fabric section — displayed with all the sequins, leather, fur, cord and orisirisi. For the benefit of those living outside town, Balogun is the famous zone for textile and fabric in Lagos… you know, the kind that carries poles of fabric worth more than your rented one-room.. lol, unbelievers will be thinking I’m exaggerating now.

Anyway, I shift base to a more user-friendly stall and I’m minding my business in the one section that has fabric my ATM card can handle, when I stumble across this very plain, quiet, stretchy and cost-accommodating fabric.. hehe. My brain immediately hits ctrl-cut and patterns were already taking form in my head.. snip, snip snip.. “This will be perfect for an LBD, yess!!” By the way gentlemen and ladies, an LBD is short for Little Black Dress.

Ehen, so I get back home humming delightfully to some Jon Bellion human condition, pleased with the inky blackie-stretch fabric I had just acquired uno, and ready to tailor it right into a wearable something. Ashe, I dinnor know that I was in for an undeserved struggle.

The night is young and I still have ample time to make the dress before going to bed. I toy with the thought of doing a quick dig into the peculiarity of stretchy fabrics (considering that I had not handled stretch before now).

But no o, typical Miss ‘No time for serenren’ a.k.a Miss ‘I-can-do-bad-all-by-myself’ disregards the urge and gets right to assembling the pieces.

“Pffttt! It’s sha not more than stretch,” I convince myself.

The plan is to chuka chuka chuka on my Brother® sewing machine and finish up the lil’ blac’ dress in about an hour.

Well, I succeed ∗∗BAM!∗ The dress is done. ∗∗BAM!∗ It’s simple.. ∗∗BAM!∗ and beautiful ∗∗BAM BAM!∗  

Breathing-in an air of accomplishment and making a mental note to believe in myself more often, I gingerly try on the dress for final fittings.

Alas brethren, every attempt to wrap myself in the dress welcomed me with strands of thread being yanked off . As in, the whole dress was literally going “pra-pra-praaaaa”, rhythmically getting ripped at the seams!

“Haba nauw,” is all I managed to mutter.

It was impossible to ignore the mischievous chuckle from the dress and I was pinching myself for several minutes following this ordeal.

See ehn, if there is one art that serves a complete syllabus of lessons, it just has to be sewing! Tailoring tells you to go with your guts, channel your creativity and “just do it √“. This same tailoring reminds you to “Slow down ” and be logical; because the items you work with today, will most likely differ from what you’ll be handling the very next day.

And this translates kind of nicely to real life . . . the extra effort we put into being more tactful and truly understanding that people/situations/moments are different and can not be treated or handled the same way, determines if we’ll go far in life be left standing with a ripped dress or a stunning LBD.

And just because we are not sure which way the wind may blow us next, I’ll leave this here for the future tailor in you ☻;

When sewing lycra, akpoche (or anything stretchy or tough) with a regular mechanical machine, please remember to work with a newspaper, tissue paper or wax from a candle (which is what I eventually used for this dress even after my balloon had been deflated unmercifully).

In my stretchy opinion sha, I’d say just get a stretch-prone machine, saves time uno.

Muse: Toluleye

Black Dress: Folabomi |Draped-in-Wealth|

Base Ball Cap: Koded Signature

Photography : V O Photography  

A little bird told us the party was happening at the zoo, and almost immediately, we began to hear chirps, screeches, whines, bellows and squeaks.

We met the beast of burden, the ship of the dessert, the Tree climbers, the alligator masters, the old world porcupines, the wise man from our childhood tales, the sea creatures in the dark blue room and then Simba!!!!!

I was already stirred by the legendary Lion flaunting his kingship, the carnivorous crocodile feeding on newly born chicks, the un-caged camel allowing me stand next to him without attempting to attack and the monkeys acting so humanly. Little did I know that I was just about to get overwhelmed by a thought-provoker of some sort, a damzzzel in animal form. A commander of all things elegant.

She was a figure to behold, adorned in one of those high-end fashion full-feathered capes, it was a bit gothic, but in a way that made me so freaking excited. She was strutting her stuff and competing for attention with me in my bell-sleeved blouse and super-free skirt; lmao… It was an unofficial black-outfit contest but I didn’t stand a chance even if I tried. She won e-f-f-o-r-t-l-e-s-s-l-y! She won my attention, my admiration, my awe and of course my phone battery (because snapchat).

She rose to her full height at the other side of the cage… aahhhh.. 6 feet tall… Definitely 6 feet!!! She looked around and dramatically shook her wings to settle her expensive feathers and walked toward the tail end of the cage where I stood in total reverie. At this point, I was giggling uncontrollably. She was flushed with an avid pink blush that highlighted her neck and legs as her breathing impulse quickened. Her coral lipstick smile, her black and off-white cape, those terrific legs. . . . Who gave her those mile-high shoes?!

She strutted towards me with such poise and grace; I was like “shiii where’s ma phone…!”

Her unflinching eyes peered at me from beneath the sunshade of two-inch lashes, boldly defined with brown eye shadow — the effect . . . not of nature’s gift, but of burying her head in powdery particles of earth.  Her neck swelled like a teenage boy’s pilled-up socks. Without much appeal, she entertained me, puffing and steering her wings in the most magnificent way you can ever imagine. She was such an unexpected charmer, a real switcher: so butch, so daunting.

For the first time in my life I didn’t think so much of the Lion’s grace ‘cause there and then, the Lion’s dexterity paled in comparison to this Rare Bird’s.

The ostrich is one of the most restrained birds on earth, being that an ostrich can’t naturally do what birds are programmed to do, FLY. Call it some divine form of compensation, but it exudes a kind of drive that makes you completely blind to its flightless wings.

In the few minutes spent with her, I learnt from this skin deep beauty to quit brooding over my inabilities, get my flightless wings and use them for something absolutely rewarding; say draping  women in jaw dropping, accident causing (scratch that) day brightening outfits.., or simply helping you realize that you don’t have to be tied  down by physical limitations; you can live today to the fullest, enjoying the little things, creating beautiful memories, dreaming Big, you know, whatever beats the literal art of flying!!

And maybe, just maybe, then you could actually fly.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed meeting this spectacular creature as much as I did and I hope you’re already planning your trip to Omu.

P.S: Don’t even comman tell me that this ostrich is Male cause I’m not even listening… lol

Inspiration: Omu Resort’s Ostrich

Outfit: Folabomi |Draped-in-Wealth|

Post Editors: Tomisin and Omoshewa

Pictures Credit : David

Backflip , Frontflip, Dramatic slide-in The FOLABOMI House of Fashion clocks 2 today!!

Hahaa! Yes, our faces are being covered as we type each word. It’s been soooo looong. Looking for what to blame our blog-absence on and excuses like “Lagos Traffic” and “The constant Rainfall” pop up .. Lame abi?!

But if we must be truly genuinely honest (lol, that’s a lot of sincerity in one phrase), our absence here on the blog is MAJORLY because we were working tirelessly on meeting your need. Lol. My Yoruba aunties will say “Ikú è náá là ń kú” (it is kukuma your death that we are dying).

Guys!! So som’n is here to stay! Can you take a willllllllllld guess ?! Ha! ihs laik ya a secret memba of awa team o ’cause your guess is correct!

Our ready-to-wear seriesssss; the first of it’s kind, the long awaited ANGEL SERIES (The White-Chiffon-Blouse Collection), has finally touched down! Ooooh gush! If you’re not already squealing at this point, you’re wrong !

Hahaa. So we’ll make this as brief as we can, seeing that it’s a busy Monday.

The Angel Series is a lightweight white-blouse collection made from the finest and most breezy chiffon fabric; with each piece dedicated to every woman who once walked the face of this earth and chose to share with us their beauty – not just on the outside but also on the inside.

The collection is dedicated to every woman, who through their short lives, taught us to be brave and supportive, witty, artful, scientific, romantic, geeky, sensual, fearless!

Each piece is, through them, dedicated to you, my dashing young lady, who speaks the language of fashion, who is learning to love and open your heart and eyes to a world of possibilities.

With the Angel Series collection we are making every day count! Yes? Yes!! We are appreciating every moment and taking from these moments everything that we possibly can – for we may never be able to experience it again.

We are even talking to people that we have never talked to before, and actually doing it with all the confidence this collection represents. We are letting ourselves fall in love, break free, set our sights high, spread our wings and flyyyyyyyyy.

P.S: Thank you for the honour to drape you in wealth, these 2 gorgeous years! We are more than delighted to cruise through this new year with you again. Happy birthday to you, our dear #SheDraped ♡

: Bolu Ezekiel Photography

Waltzed into the office as usual or so I thought,
Strolling majestically to my desk greeting everyone cheerfully as was my routine,
Even made an effort to call everyone by name and not my usual “Dear, Sweetheart” getaway.
Entered my side desk office whose only form of privacy was a 5 by 4” demarcation on the table top
(yeah, entry level something.)
All in all, today was going to be a great day, wait did I just say that,
Not that I am a pessimist or sadist, but there was definitely something about today that made me feel like I struck gold.
 
The look on my co- workers face said it all.
Maybe I just hit jackpot, but I was not due for a promotion yet,
Or was there an early appraisal only I was aware of?
I didn’t even feel timid when I passed THE BOSS’s office.
Ok, Hol’ up!
Something was definitely different today.
This new confidence that embraced me is one of a kind.
If I recall, it all began this new week,
This Monday morning,
Ok, what have I been up to recently?
Errrrhm, the Angel ride to work?
The beautiful breeze?
My Monday LV bag?
The Dress?
YES!!!!!
That was it, had to be,
No offense, but every other thing had to be a function of the dress.
The sensation it sent up and around my nerve was new, hence the confidence surge, the relaxed feeling, the promotion feeling, the superhuman feeling
Aha! My Beautiful Dress, My New BFF! Thank you.

 

Photography : Picture Perfect

Muse: Toluleye

MUA: Asafrik Beauty

Designed & Styled by: Folabomi

Blazer : Folabomi |Draped-in-Wealth|

Skirt: Folabomi |Draped-in-Wealth|

I can’t remember which hormones were on autopilot when I screamed “Yes.”
I guess after my endless feat of successful adventures, I thought this was going to be a walk in the park.
Boy! I was wrong. What they were asking for was literally impossible.
“A Danfo conductor Or Conductress” for the whole day? As in… Ketu, Mile12……

Anyways, not ready to let my adventurous self-down, I obliged happily.
I got to the garage bright and early the next day; punctuality is the sole of business, you know.
The first man I met greeted me with a “Sisi, where you dey go?”
How was I to explain to this 5ft 9, dark complexion lanky original Yoruba Man, that I was going to be his “Sidekick” for the day.

Having told him about my One-day mission, which he gladly obliged, I assumed position.
Everyone was about to be dazed, even me.
Talk about facing your worst fears!
I’m sure I made so many people’s morning.
I mean I was calling passengers, looking like this!!!!
My outfit was conservative yet figure flattering, quite the statement piece.  .

I was jittery at the start but I got a hang of it somewhere in the middle.
Did I mention my friends were recording the entire session?
On a scale of Scary to Impossible, I was on Unimaginable.
The First hour, I felt my skin split open from stares and snickers, but I wasn’t giving up easily.
3 hours in, I was literally commanding an audience Martin Luther King Jr. couldn’t compete with.
I had somehow re-defined the term “Conductor”
Passengers were filing in with quite a rush,
I choose to believe that it was the Me-Syndrome; I mean, I did an excellent job plus I looked like Christmas morning.

I was having fun.
I was confident.
I was Bold and beautiful.
I wouldn’t call it a walk in the park. But it definitely was worth every minute.
I guess it didn’t hurt to test strange waters.
I just earned enough bragging rights, made new friends plus I doubt if I would ever have to pay my t-fare at that garage for a long time.
Yeah! What a man can do, I can do better!


Sighs
It was my first time, stepping out of my comfort zone, into a strange territory and I DOMINATED.
I think I made it clear that being a market woman, a hawker, a danfo bus conductor or owning a buka joint is not restricted to the less-privileged, and can certainly be done with poise.
You know, life is too short to risk missing out on the awesome fun stuff you could do in a blink.
It’s alright to be scared and jittery, but in the end when you have accomplished what seemed like a mountain, you will feel so Alive, so Real, so YOU.

 
 
Well… This never happened.
But I wish it did.
 

Author: Christy Ojo

Muse: Toluleye

Outfit: Folabomi |Draped-in-Wealth|

Danfo Credit: Tunji, Unilag Shuttle

Photography : Joel Adu

Sunday was so remarkable! We got treated to a concert that marked the end of the Muson Festival. Tomi and I found this baddass roof-top above Shell-Hall just as the sun was setting, and we used it to our utmost advantage to create such blessed art on the Lord’s precious day. But this post is not about Sunday.

It is Friday morning, and we want to eat Rice and Beans, and for the past twenty minutes, I have struggled with removing a frozen bowl of grounded pepper from the freezer. I have pushed and pulled at the cold bowl severally. I have tugged at it too many times, but it won’t bulge.

Ejo, e help mi .  Abi how else do you remove a frozen bowl from a freezer? I should turn the freezer off bah? Done that! You’re suggesting I pour some tepid water around to melt the ice holding-on to the bowl, yeah? I just tried that!
Using a Knife?! No luck. I even just went to grab Omorogun (amala-turning-stick) and would you believe that this bowl of frozen-pepper is just here, sitting very pretty, with the smuggest look on its white-plastic face? I’m actually this close to having a tete-a-tete with a bowl of pepper; “It’s no more funny Fam, people are hungry, we actually need to get you fried”. At this point, I think it is intentionally mocking me.

But who has ever experienced this? You are trying so hard to get something, you have pushed and pulled at it with all your youthful strength, over and over again. You are so sure that this thing or this person is yours, and you have put in all necessary techniques, played your best cards to make it yours. “My success depends on this”, you tell yourself. “My happiness depends on this”, you reassure yourself.

When I was in Secondary School, I studied so hard to be able to get into the Pure Economics department in University of Ibadan. Pure Economics didn’t budge o, instead, Educational-Management-with-Economics happened.

Funny thing is, almost the same thing happened during my job-hunt. I always wondered why I wrote KPMG’s,  Accenture, Sahara’s aptitude tests and didn’t pass any of them even after praying so hard, studying so Hard and having the Mustard-seed kind of Faith.

The truth is that, not everything we desire and want is best for us and the moment we begin to accept this and instead of tugging so hard at the bowl of pepper, maybe pick out fresh tomatoes, onions,  rodo and tatashe, to blend, we just might live a happier and easier life.

This is beyond the concept of “Unlimited Wants and Limited Resources in Economics”, this is actually the scope of seeing the blessings in place of the regrets, when things don’t work out as we planned even after giving it our best shot.

Now I realise that if I did not study Educational Management with Economics, I would never have discovered the passion and the power I have to educate, to inspire, to challenge and to change, in some way, the chain-of-thought and the future of some students.

And don’t you agree that maybe, just maybe the FOLABOMI dream would have died a slow, cold, silent death, if I had gotten a paid employment in any of those companies I really thought I wanted? I wouldn’t have had the many opportunities to dash to Yaba market from work at 5:35pm and I would never have had the honour of satisfying the clothing needs of over a hundred (100) women now.

I also realise that our frozen bowl of pepper just needed some time to defrost, ’cause we finally got it out. Who is ready for some STEW?

Guys, I am not pleased. I am actually pained. In fact I am H’angry. You’re wondering why, yeah? Ok, I’ll tell.

So they said GT Fashion weekend was coming up.

Me I was jejely sitting down on my own, minding my business, working on my beautiful clients’ clothes, sipping water, when GTB sent me a mail telling me to come and apply for a free retail stall; that they have a vision and that they want to help promote small enterprises. This vision is to provide over 130 small businesses with free stalls to showcase and sell to a larger audience at the GT Fashion Weekend .

They even gingered our swagger by asking the sweet question of “Why sell small, when you can sell big?” you know, the vibe! The “Jí, má sùn!” kind of vibe. Ah, I was charged-up!

So that is how me too I carried my two-fine-left legs and went to apply; spending such precious moments on it. You needed to see me the day I was applying, I was serious like “let us pray”…

I went all Pra-Pra-pra-pra  —- Space Bar —- Pra-Pra-pra-pra  —- Full stop, Space Bar —- Pra-Pra-pra-pra  —- ENTER —- Praaah-Praahh — SUMBIT!

I received a pop-up and a mail confirming my application, I had already worked-out the value we were bringing to the event, in form of our clothing pieces, that would be showcased. #Bandadadang ehn, GTFashionweekend, here we come! Y’all will actually know Folabomi. Folabomi to the world, Folabomi is about to add extra colour to GT Fashion Weekend …… or so I thought.

And then we started waiting, we waited, and waited and we waited. Retail-Stall Confirmation email, where are you keh? I was refreshing my mail everyday, all I was seeing were mails from Godaddy, HotNigerianJobs, Pinterest update, Dropbox update, “plix, who are all these ones?, are you GTB? is GTB you? I don gerrit”

and then… finally… I got the mail!

Now, was it a “Congratulations-Folabomi-House-of-Fashion!!! This-is-to-happily-confirm-that-a-retail-space-has-been-reserved-for-your-brand, we-can’t-wait-for-you-to-share-your-magic-with-us” kind of mail?

No. No. No no no. It was a:

“Dear Folabomi House Of Fashion,

Thank you for your interest in participating in the 2018 GTBank Fashion Weekend. We appreciate the time you took out to apply for a retail stall and we certainly have no doubt about the quality of your product offerings. This year, we received close to…”

Yah, you know the rest. 

Well, I didn’t feel too bad; we are all here to support each other, bah? Maybe my fellow-small businesses got the slots just as GTB is trying to rightly promote. And yeah, that’s totally fine and highly commendable. . Well done GTB.

Day 2 of the Fashion Weekend came and I decided to make an appearance; as my people will say, “at all at all,  na ihn bad pass”.

So I’m here, so excited and looking forward to seeing small brands like mine showcasing and selling the finest ensemble of apparels and fashion accessories, but wait, it’s like I’m still far so I can’t see well,

… but it’s like I’m seeing brands that I know are not small keh. Ahn ahn, GT, small businesses? Mai Atafo, small businesses? You say? MaJu, small businesses? MOOFA, small businesses? Ahn ahn, Uncle GTB, I am not understanding o. Wawu-est..  wehdone sirsss . What’s the scoreboard saying? 1:0? 1:0!

Well, seeing that I obviously seemed to have misinterpreted GTB’s interpretation of promoting ‘small businesses’, I accepted my lot and proceeded for the masterclasses to learn how to actually rise to the level of a small business .

And yes! I did learn a couple of things which I’m excited about. So yeah, GT 1:1 , we are on draw now These are the tips I picked:

1. Be original. Your authenticity— will speak for you, it will take you where your legs can’t.
2. Mistakes are bound to occur, vision can get blurry. But just keep going; stay focused.
3. Do not underestimate the power of networking…. it is an assured way to get to the top….  well, obviously .
4. Be organised, have a plan towards success.

All in all, it was a fabulous event, I don’t even want to start talking about the super-remarkable decor of the entire event, before GT’s head starts to swell now .

I took amazing pictures, networked, and I picked out Folabomi’s exhibition-spot for next year; because I suppose that the Committee in charge of this must have made a tiny lil’ bit of a mistake in the definition of “actual Small businesses” and I’m certain that by next year, that would have been resolved. .

GTBank! GTBank!! GTBank!!! Don’t let us joke this joke next year o. Ehen.

P.S: I’m sure I didn’t cover all that was learnt o, please share with us in the comment section, what you learnt or are still learning from moving from Small to Medium to Large scale.

P.P.S: Special thanks to TIXELS , they shot these amazing pictures! 

Most special thanks to Oluwatomisin Odunsi, for helping out with this blog post; we literally gisted this post into existence . Thank you, Bruv ♡.

“Good afternoon oga, please na who get this Napep?” I asked with so much confidence, you’d think I wanted to buy the yellow Keke Napep, there and then.

This had been a very eventful morning.
It was a public holiday that had me up at 5:00am trying to sort out the two outfits I intended using for the photoshoot Tomi slated for that day.

Still half-asleep, I tried the black dress on and went to the mirror to see if it gave me the overall picture I had painted in my head.

You see, there are usually no mirrors at our photoshoot sites, so I mostly have to make sure I’m seeing first-hand, in the mirror, the effect we intend to produce – in pictures. I gave a nod of approval to myself, by myself, lol and sluggishly walked to my brother’s room.

“Tomi it’s 6 O’clock” I yawn. I was half-hoping he’d yawn back and say “I’m tired jare, can’t we do this shoot some other time?”. I think we both knew that if we didn’t suck it up and get it done once and for all, we would keep pushing the shoot for the next few weeks. Plus, you know that saying of procrastination being the thief of time and the one of not putting off till tomorrow what you can do today?

Anyways, we hit the road in search of ‘The Spot’. I wanted brick walls so badly, hence, we started off with Dominos at Falomo. Let’s just say the mallam at Chicken-Republic dinnor get the kindness memo ’cause he vehemently refused us parking in their compound.

We picked up our remaining pride and headed to the Dominos at VI and yes guys, yes, they were so accommodating! The staff kept peeping at us like I was Genevieve having a photoshoot with Kelechi Amadi-Obi. We really did have a fun shoot there.

We decided we’d had a really great one and we wrapped-up for the day (this was around 9am o.. before you start thinking I’m vain) and we headed home.

On getting to the street before our street, we remembered we had to check-out one Keke Napep that we spotted when we were leaving in the morning. The Napep was parked outside the compound of a really big house. You know the way Lagos houses are nauw – big house, no parking space.

I alighted from the car and strolled to the gate where I met another mallam. “Me and mallams today sha” I muttered under my breath..

“Good afternoon oga, please na who get this Napep?”…
“My oga” he replied. At this point, Tomi had joined me at the gate. “We fit follow your oga talk?” I ventured further. He obliged us and went to help us call Oga.

So that’s how the Oga came out o, the oga was looking like a tall bar of dark-Chocolate. However, what was not so inviting about the chocolate bar was that, he was not smiling.

Wait, why exactly did I summon this respectable gentleman again sef? I was already imagining how irritated he will be when he hears why he had been called-out of his comfort place. The effontry! Ghen! Maybe I should just say “sorry sir, wrong address” and be on my way. But will I nauw ditch Tomi ni?

While my mind and I agreed to take the easy way out, my legs decided to have a mind of their own… they were glued to the high-levelled ground.

The mallam’s oga was at this point towering right over me. His gaze held a “Well, yeah?” … I quickly picked up the pieces of courage I had left and ventured, “Hello sir, please sir, I was wondering if you would please indulge us by letting us use your beautiful yellow mobile box for a Fashion Shoot.”

“Fashion Shoot?” He asked with a confused blink and I went ahead to explain our goals and objectives.. lol..

“Oh, yeah, go ahead” he muttered. “Ah, thank you sir, we will just hurry home to do a quick change of outfit, and we will be back in a jiffy”. We disappeared.
We drove home gladly, did an outfit change and headed back to our yellow-box props.

Lo and Behold, a black jeep had parked side-by-side the Napep, making it absolutely impossible for it to be useful for the shoot.

I was just weak. “What’s all this nah” I lamented, in frustration. I approached the man-by-the-gate. “Na who get this jeep” I asked, which sounded more like an accusation. Lol.

“My oga” he replied. Now I was ‘shook’. Why did he nauw block the Napep after he had assured us freedom-of-usage. Did he change his mind? Abi he was just putting us on scale.
We implored the man to help us call this ‘Our Oga’ out a second time.

Baba sauntered out..
“SIR, your jeep is blocking the Napep” I whined, “hope you don’t mind removing it” I added, which sounded more like a command than a request. Ah sometimes, I have guts sha. Lol. He looked at me in amusement.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Not a problem.” He had a warm smile on his face and true admiration in his eyes. He was a good man for its own sake and required nothing in return.

He got into his jeep and started the engine to get it as far away from his Napep as possible. Lol. On top his own property. . We got talking and I asked if he was Hausa, “I’m from Southern Kaduna” he replied in the most patriotic way. “You?” he asked. “I’m a Yoruba girl, sir. And it is sooo nice to meet you.”, I beamed.

In no time, under the efficient hands of Tomi, the shoot commenced.
Passers-by on the street nicknamed me “Fulani” and kept hailing me throughout the shoot… it was so hilarious.. do you guys think it had something to do with my dressing?

A few minutes later he came out from his compound and said his teenage daughter asked if she could watch our shoot. He left after politely requesting we bring her back into the house when we were done.

In a world where kidnap and dishonesty is now so rampant, we were immensely touched that after willingly letting us disturb him for his Napep, he could still blindly trust us, strangers, with his precious young daughter.

The world isn’t always a friendly, happy place, but there are some nice people out here who spread kindness just because.

I like to re-echo kindness when I experience it. Thank you, Mr Southern Fulani; with that simple act, you unknowingly taught me that kindness is a National Commodity.

Guys, let’s learn to be kind even when it’s not convenient and especially when we expect nothing in return. Won’t hurt to do something nice to one random person this Christmas.

Say hi to the security man on your way out, ask after your colleague’s family, help that old lady cross the road, stop at the zebra crossing for pedestrians to pass, make extra food for that person that can’t afford a good meal, be kind, be kind, be so kind… most times it costs absolutely nothing!

This one is from Lagos with love; wishing you a kindhearted weekend!

This was not even on my bucket list for the year 2018. Charity? Lol. Me sef I need hepp. For real tho, FOLABOMI is still a budding brand and lol, giving out sixty-two (62) bags of free clothes was never the plan.

But here I was, December 11th, 2018, walking the suburbans of Lagos with Damilola and Samuel, looking for the perfect community with the picture we had in mind; unprivileged Clotheless little children!

We rigmaroled around Bariga and we walked vastly through the dunghills of Ilaje till we could literally wave at you on Thirdmainland bridge. But we were not quite sure Ilaje was what we were looking for. We decided to keep searching. Dammy suggested we go to Iwaya.

And BOOM, we found it! Aaahhhh we found it! It was on the outskirt of Iwaya – they call it Sogunro community. It had all the elements we were looking for. It was so perfect! And what made it most perfect for me was the fact that the children were not overflowing. We wouldn’t be overcrowded nor pressured. This will be so good! We’ll just walk in, share the clothes, play with the children and go home. A plan. Thank God.

We went to the palace to meet with the Baale of Sogunro. He was fatherly but pointed-out that we had to bring some gifts for the elders before the D-Day. “Anything you can afford”, he added. Lol. But, we are coming to add value to your children’s life ma ni ke, sir, why are we having to settle the elders again? Haa.. Ok o.

We got home and I made some enquiries  on the gifts fit for elders, whose land we were trying to add our widows mite to.  My uncle suggested symbolic items: emi ni Honey, Palm Oil and a bag of rice. Mum suggested money. My sister and brother suggested wine. I settled for bottles of wine. I think it was a perfect choice, cause they would have collected anything, regardless.

The Baale was pleased. He promised that we had nothing to fear. He put us in the care of his Personal Assistant. He even told us that we did not have to worry about too many children showing-up, as two (2) other events would be happening concurrently that self-same day. I was glad.. it will be such a civil event.

Fam, the Baale either lied or he under-estimated his people . Ah chill nah, I will gist you.

The 22nd of December came. Wow! My friends turned up! I told them to start arriving for 11:00am, they started coming in at 8:45am.. I’m like “guyssssss hafa nah!”. Lowkey, I was so touched and the message of punctuality they passed across couldn’t have been louder.

We bagged the branded clothes Aanu and Martin helped out with, threw in toys in each bag, gathered the packs  of sweets and chocolates and we carried the boxes of ribena Anita brought.

Tomi, Jumoke and I went to collect the packs of party jollof and chicken from the caterer. Banji, Ebenezar, Kezia and Christy arrived. Ayoolu, Olaolu, Damilola, Samuel and David joined us shortly after. We prayed, we were good to go.

The minute we touched down Sogunro, we knew we were treading on a different type of soil. I remember Anita looking around and saying “I feel like we are no longer in Lagos” . We met Ayo and the Baale’s assistant. However, we did not expect to meet omo-oniles (touts) hindering us from moving an inch further. They didn’t care that we were coming to clothe and feed their children. They didn’t care that we were coming to impact their community. They didn’t care that we were coming to do them a humanitarian service.

Guys, they harrassed us, they threatened us, they extracted 3k from us, they said they will smash our camera! Even the Baale’s assistant couldn’t do anything to stop them. One thing I’ve learnt in my experiences with these omo-oniles is that stronghead never works with them. We promised them that we would settle them on our way out. They agreed.  They backed-down.

We got to the venue and we were ready and pumped with the program of event Christy had drawn up:

• Merry Christmas song
• Opening Prayer
• Convener’s speech
• Christmas Charade
• Sharing of Gifts
• Fashion Parade
• Item 7
• Learn a new song
• Vote of Thanks

Hahahahaaaa! Jokes! Lol, guys, we only made it through the Opening Prayer and the “We wish you a Merry Christmas” song.

The minute we brought out one clothing package to give the little boy that led us in prayers, was the minute our schedule of programs came to an end.

These kids did all they could to lay their hands on something; food, clothes, sweet, chocolate, carrier bag, Ribena!  Anything! Their parents were hustling for the packages too. Even a pregnant woman came to meet me to ask for clothes for her unborn babies. Ma gahd! The number of children grew from 60 to 100 and then we lost count. The survival-of-the-fittest happened before our very eyes!

“Uncle Tomi, me!”, “Aunty Tolu, me!!!”, “Aunty, I want”.. I don’t think there was a single one of us volunteers that was not touched or pulled. Yeh! Guys I do not have the words to accurately describe the ordeal; it was beyond overwhelming!

The fact that we witnessed seeing very little children deprived of their basic right was so heartbreaking but the fact that we had the opportunity to provide an aspect of the needs of these children was so fulfilling. It was such a bittersweet feeling.

And beyond the satisfaction that each of us got from seeing, experiencing and being of service to children on the not-so-pleasant side of life, I think each of us left Sogunro community with a thankful heart, because fam, you are greatly blessed and highly favoured. Just be thankful for all you have.

We are happy we went.  We are happy we were Father-Christmas for a day to some children, we are happy we clothed and shared a meal with them. But what we are most happy about is You, who made sure the #ClotheTheClothless18 project was a success:

Bamise Oyetayo
Adeyemi Aderibigbe
Juliet Ambali
Ogbenaha Jennite Chioma
Isaac Olowokere
Toyin Oresotu
Esther Osifeso
Temitope Odunsi
Ebenezar Odunsi
Abibat Busayo Quadri
Toluwanimi Ogundijo
David Ogunjimi
Jennifer Okonmah
Joseph Adeyinka
Uncle Niran Aderibigbe
Ifeoluwa YDD
Mr and Mrs Orija
Laolu Falokun
Mr and Mrs Hope Duntoye
Banji Sonubi
Aanu Ishola
Charity Odunsi
Charles Adebayo
Laolu Oyedokun
Tolulope Aanuoluwapo Adeola
Glory Yoila
Mr & Mrs Odun Lijofin
Tutu Ayanlaja
Seyi Akinrotimi
Boaz Abigail
SoftPictures
Bunmi Akinboade
Alade Oladimeji
Mabel Eziuno Obi
Morenike Daniel
Akinola Oluwaseun
Juliet Akai
Adeyemi Aderibigbe
Gbenga Ogunsanya
Ayobami Bamisaiye
Busola Ajayi
Nanbol
Ebun Oke
Mr & Mrs Rotimi Oba
Laolu Akinyemi
Ajayi Olubukunmi
Mercy Ojo
Mrs Jumoke Quadri
Comfort Ani
Eno Mfon-Edet
Mr Fen
Ibk Odunsi
Anonymous
Chidebere Christabel
Kehinde Aloba
Titilayo Adeliyi
Chukwunonso Arinze
Dad Charles Oni
Mum
Rhoda
Mr & Mrs Tosin Shobukola
Babaseyi
Moses  Ogbe
Ope Ogunsanmi
Demilade Oresanya
Tobi Bamidupe
Jimi Shodipe
Fabanwo Oluwatobi
Ajoboru Chioma Olaoti
Olusegun Ayobami
Busola Odunsi
Uyo ATM
Anita Ladzekpo
Aunty Ebere
Ayo Abe
Dad Odunsi
Tunde Taxify
Gbemisola
Dad Bayo Odunsi
Sam Ayanlaja
Mr Adeleke

Because of YOU, over sixty (60) children were clothed and over a hundred (100) children were fed in December,  2018!

Thank You!

Thank You!

Thank You!

August 29, 2018 – 7:00 am
It’s Time
(After several months of holding back) Aha! I think my mind is finally made up. My family supports me, I mean, there is not even a hint of hesitation from them. Even my daddy says he is at peace with my decision. Most importantly I have prayed about it. I am really sure of this!
So sure mehn!

September 6, 2018 – 6:30 am
Last Days
I’m humming to Jason Derulo’s beautiful “Goodbye” tune as I take the elevator to the infamous office not-so-frequently travelled. What a fantastic feeling! Could there be a more giddy feeling in the whole world?

I walk into HR’s office and before I can say a word, I’m told by one of the representatives to grab a chair.
I smell trouble, so I hold-off on why I’m actually here to see HR.
I’m told my shoe is non-compliant, and in a 20 minute long and heartfelt lecture, I’m warned never to wear it again or my next appraisal will be affected. Ke sì ma wòó o, the shoe isn’t non-compliant lai dat lai dat o; poor shoe…my heart goes out to it, but now I’m in a new fix.
How do I handover my resignation letter to the same representative that just gave me this TEDx talk? Being the omolúàbí that I am, I know it won’t be proper to do this; so I smile, say thank you, turn and hand over the letter to another representative.
“Oh, so you even came here to resign?” She remarks. “Yes ma” I respond, still smiling. Nothing actually beats this priceless moment . I’m reveling in it and it fits me like a two-piece Louis Vuitton skirt suit.
I’ve never been more sure of anything. What a perfect life!

October 6, 2018 – 5pm
Mixed Feelings
The sun is shining so brightly outside this huge building. I’m getting a lot of “Lydia, we will miss you greatly”. Such mixed-feelings! I’m leaving certainty for uncertainty. I’m leaving a couple of great people I’ve known and come to love over the years. I feel some sort of loss. But I still feel really good! I log out for the very last time.

First things first, I’m going to sleep for a whole month! . Why don’t I feel nervous about this new life I’m about to get into? Could it just be the initial euphoria?

November 14, 2018 – 9am
Work Hard
Work! Hard work!! Reaaaalyyyy hard work!!!

Guys, work has almost scraped my hair off mehn. I seem to have been working harder since I left my ‘9 to 5’ (even though, truth be told, it was never ever a ‘9 to 5’; more like a 7:30 to 6:30 for me).
But now it’s a lot like ‘8 to 9’ I can’t afford to faff around, but I’m glad because I am in total control of my time.

Did I mention? I started volunteering at this government secondary school and there is an inexplicable fulfilment that wells-up when these fellas say “Thank you for coming, Miss Tolu”.
I’m working harder now, despite the reduction in naira stacks compared to my previous job.

Anyhu this is sha still the life! I’m certain. *Licks coldstone*

December 22, 2018 – 6pm
Joyful Glee
I’m screaming with so much overwhelming glee! This is by far the best Christmas I’ve ever had! For the first time in my life I’m sharing love with over 100 under-served children all at once! So much time, planning, teamwork and hardwork has gone into this! Christmas is not just fun for me, it is value for some children who my team and I, with the help of a lot of amazing people have been opportuned to gift brand-new clothes and food to today.
I feel a rush of excitement mixed with contentment and the privilege to impact my community altogether.

Ahhhh Lord, I think I’m beginning to see the purpose and the light at the end of this long-ass tunnel. Never been more gingered in my entire life!

January 9, 2019 – 4am
UnCertainty
Now that I’ve given up the good for the great, ehm, what next?
I feel mentally stressed.
I feel physically drained.
I think my skin is beginning to go two ways. Where exactly do I even belong? Please can someone define what “certainty” means again? Cause I think I’m not really understanding. Mehn, this life is so hard. So so hard. I’m so unsure of myself.

February 12, 2019 – 2pm
Sold Out
Faaammmm! I think I’ve finally gotten a hang of this. Can’t believe I even doubted myself! Toluleye you ehn! Chai! Folabomi closed so many sales this month, we even sold on Twitter for the very first time! We practically sold-out this soldier-girl pieces! This is making so much sense! Major sales coming up. I see the light! I was totally made for this! This is what assurance looks like!

March 3, 2019 – 4pm
A Hot Mess
I’m currently crying hot tears. I’m so frustrated! Such great loss! I did not bargain for this. I put so much effort into everything, why does it not seem to count?
My brother is giving me a heartfelt motivational talk of how such disappointments are bound to come with business. My sister-in-law is giving me a tight hug and just letting me mess-up her fine dress with my tears.
My friend who has also taken past hits in his business is on the phone with me telling me why I can’t give up.
I’m wiping my tears. I’m trying to suck it all up. They say I need to be strong, it’s part of the entrepreneurial initiation.

E pain me oo. I can’t even lie. Why do I feel like I wasn’t made for this? I feel like a hot mess.
O su mi mehn.

April 17, 2019 – 9am
A Beautiful Life
They were all right! They were absolutely right. I got a beautiful surprise that points to how God is beginning to make my hardwork payoff small small. Maybe it will all be worth it afterall. Yes, I still have a couple of falling and rising moments, but that’s what makes the soup sweet at the end. I’m learning a lot about emotional and business intelligence.
I would pick this life over any other.

Now I’m wondering why I got so hard on myself earlier.
I’m grateful for it all; the good, the bad, the ugly and the best that is yet to come.

For this life, I STAN!

Heyo, welcome to my life.

Muse: Toluleye

Soldier-Girl Pieces : Folabomi

Photography : Tixels

As Dammy and I walked through liquid, solid, organic recyclable and hazardous rubbish, trying to locate the Baale’s house, we could barely come-to-terms with the actual reality of people living, eating and bearing children in this … this… this place. No, you don’t understand – every single step that drew us closer to the Baale’s courtyard, had us going into more intense debris.

The entire landscape was covered in all forms of waste and every further step we took was more calculated than the last, as we desperately tried to avoid getting our feet into dung. I fought the urge to puke so bad and almost wished we could run back to Sogunro community of Clothe-The-Clotheless-2018, it was definitely not this bad. *Deep sigh*

Over a month before this, we had commenced planning and had been in search of the perfect community for Clothe-The-Clotheless-2019. After visiting and carrying-out a thorough survey on about three (3) communities on Lagos mainland, we finally found the Mosafejo Community — a slum inhabited by people that lack fundamental resources and capabilities such as adequate sanitation, improved water supply, durable living space and decent clothing.

Our goal for Clothe-The-Clotheless-2019 was straightforward, “Make these under-served children realize that they matter, by giving them a tiny-weeny bit of the Christmas they deserve through the gifts of Christmas dresses and a decent lunch”.

Finally, we got to the baale’s residence and met with Baale Koja who was very receptive and expressed how deeply-touched he was that we even thought of reaching-out to their community.  Baale Koja prayed for us and with warmth and much enthusiasm, offered to let us make use of his courtyard for the event on the 21^st of December.

We went about purchasing rolls and rolls of fabric for the dresses and we commenced sewing almost immediately. The figure we set out to reach-out to in December 2019, was triple of what we did in 2018 – thus the plan was to clothe and feed two-fifty (250) under-privileged children! Did it seem like we were biting more than we could chew? Oh yes! But guess what? – Your kind souls made it absolutely achievable! Goodness gracious!! The Folabomi Foundation received donations from one-hundred-and-three (103) individuals and brands combined. We were blown-away by your support! Thank you! Thank youu so much!!!

Weeks were counted down to days, the Folabomi House of Fashion tailors delivered 100% on the clothes, Martins and Anu came through 100%, Onyiye helped-out and soon enough all the bags were ready for delivery. Drinks, safe drinking water, goodies, party-jollof and chicken, buses to convey the clothes were all sorted-out. Everything seemed to be falling in place nicely.

Suddenly, the evening just before the D-DAY, Dammy called to share the most heartbreaking news: “Tolu, I am currently at Mosafejo for final checks and arrangement and I have just been informed that the Baale lost his daughter today.” Dammy spoke in hush tones over the phone. I was struck. Confused and lost for words, I whispered a prayer to God and felt a calm! Dammy went further to explain that we are still much welcome to make their children happy, however, we wouldn’t be able to use the courtyard anymore as the Baale’s household was mourning.

Dammy went ahead to finalize and secure the new spot we would use which was a safe-distance from the courtyard. Couldn’t have been more thankful for the most proactive team-players.

The 21st of December finally swung-in and it was an absolute rush of adrenaline, as the past three (3) months of planning were about to become three (3) hours of execution. As soon as it was daybreak, Phresh Treats Nigeria sent in the most mouth-watering cupcakes for the children. The drivers were already outside with their buses before 8:00am. Volunteers started arriving, with Ebenezer leading the way. Shortly after, Ifunanya arrived bearing cartons and cartons of goodies for the children. James and Daniel went ahead to collect the packs of rice and before long, Zino, Laolu, Ayobami, Ayodeji, Jumoke, David, Olushola, Ademola, Mary, Titilayo, Pelumi, Busola, Christy, Esther, Daniel, Onyiye and Ireti were all ready to be of service. With a convoy of two (2) buses and three (3) cars, we were enroute Mosafejo community.

We had left the usual express roads we were used to and had veered off the Gbagada–Oworonshoki express into the suburban communities. The drive-through suddenly became narrow, a skilled driver would still need some expertise to navigate the road well. Fam! We started off on what seemed like a straight path until we got to the high pavement. Our Coaster buses revved and revved till their bumpers couldn’t take the pressure. Thankfully, we had a kind Army of young men that decided to become soldiers, driving instructors, all things and everything for Folabomi Foundation.

At last, one of the volunteer’s brave car successfully went over the pavement. Car loaded, bags in hand, we pulled-through with all of the goodies we could muster into the heart of Mosafejo community. We got to the venue that was already laden with a canopy, chairs and a waiting crowd. We initially thought we would have to announce our arrival but I guess good news spreads faster than wildfire. Our volunteering MC swung into action as soon as we got there; a little boy no less than four (4) years old whispered a sincere heartfelt prayer and set #ClotheTheClotheless’19 officially in motion.

The minute the little boy who successfully sang the second stanza of the national anthem received his Folabomi Branded Tee Shirt, was the minute our drafted-program came to an end. It went from 0 to 100 really quick!

Within seconds, the population increased from one-hundred to five-hundred and then we lost count. It was a fast and furious showdown. These little fellows and their parents might look calm here in these pictures, but they were everything except that – calm. We began to dress the little children with their brand-new Christmas dresses and it was such a joy see that each child would have something decent to proudly wear on the 25^th of December.

The excitement on the faces of the children was second to none. There was a little boy who got only one item. As soon as the volunteer was done dressing him up in his Tee-shirt, we literally watched his smile walk from the depth of his heart till it completely lit up his face. He looked like he just got the whole world. That was all the gratitude we needed. His Smile was full and genuine. Nothing could have compared to that little boy’s warmth.

To think that there are a group of people who do not care for phones and laptops and all the complex stuff but are most grateful for basic shelter and a decent meal? That was stunning to watch. It was simply Magical!

After about three (3) hours of the twenty-two (22) volunteers being pulled and tugged-at while draping the little girls, giving out Tee shirts and joggers to the boys, sharing plates of firewood party-Jollof, sweets, biscuits, noodles, drinks, caprisonne, lollipop, safe drinking water, everything we came with; we were ready to go.

However, our Omo-Onile brothers were not quite ready to let us go. Not that they were displeased at all the beautiful gifts we had to share to the children in their community o, they just didn’t understand why they shouldn’t also be classified as children and thus settled. We seem to be getting better in “The Art of handling Omo-Oniles” as we were able to wiggle our way out without much damage happening to our wallets. Truth be told, some of them were really helpful. They made distribution and decorum almost easy.

As if our day wasn’t already a pot full; the tyre of one of the buses got punctured in the process of skillful reversing. Aha!!!! There was now no way we were leaving without settling our make shift mechanics.

Clothe-The-Clothless-2019 was intense. It definitely wasn’t all fun and games because these children gave us a run for our money goodies, but it was the most fulfilling experience!

Do you realize that because of you, over two-fifty (250) children in Mosafejo community were decently clothed and fed? Folabomi Foundation says a massive massive ‘Thank You’ to you all – our volunteers, online and offline support systems, angels in Human clothing, our donors, cash and kind sponsors – for making Clothe-The-Clotheless-2019 an immense success. May the good Lord bless you and satisfy you with the best gifts this new decade.

It really was a world-wide effort and in every spoken and unspoken way, the children were beyond grateful. We, on the other hand, were just honored to have served them.

Already looking forward to Clothe-The-Clothless-2020 but till then, will like to end this by quoting Ifunanya, one of the volunteers, who said “People are suffering, do not take your present situation for granted, you are living someone’s dream”.

Very very very special thanks to our volunteer-photographers capturing these priceless moments:

@afrovisualz

@davidogunjimiphotography

@nd_jnr

The Year 2020 happened.

From March 2020 till a few weeks before the end of the year, we had our doubts as to whether #ClotheTheClotheless2020 will hold or whether we would just allow the rollercoaster that has been 2020 walk past quietly. But you know this Yoruba saying of “Everyone sleeping and facing the same direction”? Ahhh thank God that was not the case of my team.

While I sat there pondering the impossibility of carrying out #ClotheTheClothless considering the difficulty we all faced one way or another this year, other members of my team, refused to see the impossibility. Tomisin even went ahead to say that worst case scenario is that we won’t reach out to as many children as we did in 2019 but, make-an-effort, we must. And make-an-effort we did. Boyyyyy, thank God for optimism. More than ever before, I totally believe the saying that goes “Heaven rewards movement”. 

Well, we Moved!

Plans started earlier than usual this year, in a bid to improve our processes and make things better.

Earlier in the year, we wrote letters, sent out requests for sponsorship, partnerships, donations and support of different forms. Of over ten (10) requests sent out, we got a response from only one (1) organisation and guess what, the response was negative. This should be discouraging, right? Fortunately, I had already caught the optimism bug from my team so I wasn’t even going to let that bother me.

Volunteer Laolu, all the way in USA, worked on the official flier for #ClotheTheClotheless2020 and the first publication went out in October. Before we could conclude whispering a prayer to God for good support, donations started flowing in. It was indeed showers of blessings. We were amazed at the support and response from well-meaning beings like you and for this, Folabomi Foundation says “Thank You!”.

We were still going to work with the 250 figure and with that goal in mind, the Folabomi House of Fashion did an analysis of all the materials that would be required for the production of the dresses, joggers and collared-Tshirts for the children. We bought rolls and rolls of tulle and for the entire month of November, the Folabomi House of Fashion dedicated her time and resources to the manufacturing of these clothing pieces to beautify 250 under-privileged children.

Around this time, we had been trying to conclude on the community whose children would be beneficiaries of the brand new clothing pieces and food that would be made available at #ClotheTheClothless2020.

Dammy, our Location Manager, had started the search earlier and we agreed that our first survey would be at Orísúnmibáre community at Ijora, Costain, Lagos state. Kitted up and with hearts of prayer, we headed to this community. We met with the secretary of the community who led us to meet the Balogun of Orísúnmibáre. The Balogun is one interesting man as he showered us with prayers and expressed how appreciative the entire community was that we even thought of being of service to them. (See conversation with Balogun here).

Orísúnmibáre community was on the top of our list but we needed to be sure so Dammy and I went ahead to do a survey of three (3) other communities in Costain, Lagos. We concluded that the children in Orísúnmibáre needed our service more.

The production of the clothes was near-finished and very amazing volunteers came in to assist in ensuring we had a safe landing amidst their busy schedules. Bolu, Caleb, Kehinde, Ebenezer, Tolulope and Tobi were so handy and helped with ironing and tagging.

Also, sometime in November, a friend linked us up with an organisation named Food Clique Support. Remember that we had tried to get the support of over ten (10) other organisations to no avail, but what’s that saying about “keep trying..”? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try again, right?

I went over to their office and had the shortest meeting with the CEO of Foodclique who pledged fifty (50) boxes of food items to support the #ClotheTheClothless2020 innitiative. I was beyond thrilled. This win felt like a pat on the back for all the failed attempts to get support from other organisations. My team was proud! We were energised to do more.

Soon enough all the dresses were completed and ready for packaging. It took a Village! Faith, Joke, Mabel, Titilayo, Martins, Toye and Gbemisola came in the day before #ClotheTheClothless2020 to sort out the clothing pieces. Afterwards, we had to tag the bags by age and then put ‘hook and eye’ on some of the dresses.

December 19th, 2020 came in like the speed of light and my Award Winning Volunteers came in droves, bearing toys, gifts, cartons of biscuit, cartons of drinks, and sacks of new sandals. Simi and her amazing friends even joined forces and donated 250 packs of delicious rice and chicken which was delivered on the morning of #ClotheTheClothless2020 for the beneficiaries.

Every single volunteer’s hand was on deck as final sorting and packaging went on. The bags of brand new clothing pieces were accompanied with facemasks, indomie noodles, toys, dolls, fascinators, candies, biscuits or drinks. Everyone had something extra in their package and this made us sooooo glad. On seeing all the beautiful items going into the bags for each child, I remember one of the volunteers exclaiming “This is suppose to be covid economy o? Imagine! This is much!”.

This brings me back to how grateful Folabomi Foundation is to every single person that sent a donation in kind or cash to support this project. You guys sent donations all the way from the US, the UK, Canada, Porthacourt, Benin, Ireland, Australia, Ibadan and the different parts of Lagos. Please I need you to know that you guys and God, made it possible for over 250 less-priviledged children to be fed and clothed with brand new clothes. You made them remember that they matter and that they can be anything, good, they set their minds to be. Thank You.

*Back to the D-Day*

All was ready but for our bus driver that decided to show-up about an hour and half later than our agreed time of departure. He finally arrived and the team commenced mounting into the bus the bags of clothes, sacks of food, cartons of food items, golden morn and packs of candy.

Before long, with a coaster bus and a convoy of two (2) cars, we took off and were enroute Orísúnmibáre community sipping on the best zobo in town, supplied by Titi of Marti Official. We said a prayer and the road was cleared for our sake.

We arrived at Orísúnmibáre at around 2pm and the minute the children saw us with bags of clothes they started cheering and clapping with so much undiluted excitement. My heart soared as I realized all the struggles to get to this point clearly was clearly worth it. The secretary of the community, Mr. Smart directed us to a room where all the bags of clothes, boxes of food items, cartons of goodies, sacks of food, sandals and packs of drinks were deposited ready to be shared. The children chanted how happy they were to have Folabomi Foundation in their community and even gave us a Love Cheer.

Soon we commenced distribution and clothing of the children. This was where the struggle began. Children were struggling to be the next to be clothed and parents were struggling to have their children and wards clothed. One of the highlights of the day was when the first set of children clothed participated in their first Runway show. The audience, which consisted mainly of the other beautiful children, roared in applause and cheered them on as they strutted down the Runway.

The Runway show was the 3 minutes of sanity before everything went south. Everyone wanted a piece of something at the same time. The volunteers worked as fast as they could, wearing clothes for the children, marking their fingersnails (to identify those that have received an item already), sending them to the food section for their food packs and trying hard to control the many fingers tugging at them for their turn.

A lot was going on. I stopped for a minute to look around and all I saw were hundreds of people trying their very best to get a piece of what was going round. The food boxes were shared to mothers of families and once the clothes were exhausted, sandals were given to children who did not get clothes. The children kept receiving goodies till we exhausted all that we brought. I wish in my heart we could have done a whole lot more!

Words cannot express the gratitude in our hearts to God first for even making #ClotheTheClothless2020 a reality, next for providing so much for us to contribute our little quota. I say little quota, because that particular community consists of over 700 households and we could cater for only 250 children. The gap is still so wide but we are thankful to be a small part of the solution.

The children, I dare say, were ohh-sooo-gorgeously dressed and their parents were super pleased. And we, most grateful for a successful #ClotheTheClothless2020.
At the end of the day, here is what we have learnt, ” You really never know, until you try.” Regardless of how bad things are, with God by your side, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to achieve.

Immense Gratitude to Our Incredible Distribution Volunteers:

1. Damilola Oyetayo •
2. Babatunde Rachael •
3. Titi Bolaji •
4. Bori Alabi •
5. Titi Adeliyi •
6. Esther Taiwo •
7. Ayoolu Abe •
8. Anita Ladzekpo •
9. Christy Ojo •
10. Esther Osifeso •
11. Ife Shittu •
12. Ebenezar Odunsi •
13. Chiamaka •
14. Ifunanya Mercy •
15. Ayodeji •
16. Gbemisola Akinrotimi
17. Bunmi Ogunjobi •
18. Eniola Soladoye •
19. Caleb Oladipo •
20. David Ogunjimi •
21. Olaolu Akinyemi •
22. Joyhearts •
23. Ojuolape Osinuga •
24. Florence Awosika •
25. Mercy Ojo •
26. Mariam Chidera •
27. Seyi Ogundele •
28. Toluwaleye Odunsi •

Do you know that a recent report by the World Poverty Clock rated Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world which brings us to a sad sad reality of about 41 per cent of Nigeria’s population living in extreme poverty, as in almost half of the Nigerian populace are in extreme want of basic necessities. The World Bank further defines “the extremely poor” as those living on less than $1.90 a day (N782.50). Pathetic, right?

Do you people know that these extremely poor families live in the same cities we do, but they, as opposed to many of us, can barely feed their children good meals neither can they clothe them properly. *deep sigh*

On a brighter note, I am thrilled to let you know that since 2018 till date, over 100 well-meaning individuals and businesses come together to ensure that a minimum of 250 less-privileged are reminded that they matter through the #ClothetheClothless project.

The efforts of you kind humans have ensured that every single year, less-privileged children in slums are reminded that their current living conditions should not limit them to the greatness they can achieve in future.

And so in October 2021, preparations were in full gear once again for #ClothetheClothless! In the past and through the food and brand-new clothes provided, Folabomi Foundation had given a sense of belonging to over 700 less-privileged children in Sogunro community, Mosafejo Community and Orisumibare community in December 2018, 2019 and 2020. In year 2021, we decided to spread this same hope and love to the underserved children living in Oko-Agbon community.

Just so you know, these children live in the poorest of conditions; they have poor education, they struggle to get food to eat, they survive on unclean water and they wear the same tattered clothes over and over again, all year long. I can imagine them looking at their current reality and thinking small of themselves. And this is why we at Folabomi Foundation have taken it upon ourselves, with the help of God, to bring to their awareness the fact that their current situation does not have to limit their future growth.

By November 2021, Folabomi House of Fashion had successfully procured hundreds of yards of fabric. For a whole month, tailors cut and sewed the dresses, shirts and joggers for these children. These 3 clothing brands (Desewar, NirahKlaesi and SophiaStitches) volunteered to assist Folabomi House of Fashion in making the beautiful dresses for the children. As cloth-production was going on, the Folabomi Foundation team had arranged for the preparation of food with our vendor and made necessary provision for healthy drinks.

In this regard, sponsors were sending in their monetary donations from different parts of the world and this greatly helped the team in the procurement of more fabric and aided production. Faidez Wear donated brand-new headwarmers, ‘Oduns fashion store’ even donated 25 pairs of new shoes for the children and ‘Accessories By Karen’ donated hair accessories for our girls. The support was massive and came in right on time.

Through all of this, Damilola Oyetayo had taken several trips to the Oko-Agbon community for the team to have a vivid understanding of what the age range of the children were and their needs.

December 4th couldn’t have come any faster. The volunteer-team converged at Folabomi store and all hands were on deck, moving the packaged clothes, food, shoes and drinks into the bus that would convey us to meet the children at Oko-Agbon community.

We prayed, set-out and in about an hour, we had gotten to Oko-Agbon. We were greeted by hundreds of children with stretched-out necks and hands, all longing for the essentials that you kind individuals provided.
Before we commenced distribution, three of the volunteers (Temitope, Banji and Laura) spoke to the children of Oko-Agbon, teaching them the importance of hard work and core values that are required for them to succeed in life.

Shortly after, we commenced distribution of the clothes to both boys and girls. The children were sooo excited to own new clothes, Christmas Clothes! They were adorned and a few of them even walked our make-shift Runway! Happy to note that there were some born-models amongst them.
The children were happy. And we? We felt blessed!

In about an hour all that we took to the community was exhausted and couldn’t even go round.
We look forward to a time when we would be able to clothe every single child in these communities. And sometime in the near future, Folabomi Foundation hopes to grow to a level in which the major basic amenities can be provided for thousands of these children on a daily basis, ensuring that they have access to a better life. But till then, we shall keep contributing our little quota, one-decent-meal and one-brand-new-clothing-piece at a time.

Thank you all for going all out to donate and support #ClotheTheClothless2021 …Thank you for being kind and thoughtful. Thank you for praying for us. May these children grow to be great men and women in future and may you be continually blessed!

#ClotheTheClothless2021 Volunteers

1. Segun Oluwaseun 
2. Blessing Aro  
3. Kafayat Adamson 
4. Temitope Odunsi
5. Goodness Gabriel
6. Comfort Emmanuel
7. Ayodeji Akintomide
8. David Ogunjimi 
9. Bori Alabi
10. Dammy Oyetayo
11. David Oladehinde
12. Ebenezer Odunsi
13. Caleb Oladipo
14. Eniola Soladoye
15. Titi Shonibare
16. Simi Abraham
17. Oluchi Efobi
18. Laura Otiti
19. Rachael Babatunde
20. Nifemi Aro
21. Temitope Agbolagorite
22. Deborah Olushanu
23. Titilayo Adeliyi
24. Crystal Eyeh
25. Mariam Obaro
26. Toyosi Oke
27. Tomisin Odunsi
28. Banji Sonubi
29. Queenette Dairo
30. Yinka Omotosho
31. Ayobami Ogunsiji
32.
33. Toluwaleye 

Virtual Volunteer
1. Olaolu Oyedokun (worked on all our graphics)

Profound Gratitude to our donors (To respect their privacy, we will be putting up just the first name of Individual-Donors)

1. Tejumade
2. Christy
3. David
4. Olaoluwa
5. Olufemi
6. Jonathan
7. Ayoolu
8. Hope
9. Eniola
10. Mabel
11. Omolara
12. Anonymous
13. Temitope
14. Grace
15. Crystal
16. Ife
17. Funmi
18. Business Always Limited
19. Bukola
20. Sophias
21. Tolu
22. Bamidele
23. Joel
24. Susan
25. Christiana
26. Iretioluwa
27. Tolu
28. Jeremiah
29. Ebenezer
30. Bidemi & Feyikemi
31. Ruth
32. Oluwafunmbi
33. Charles
34. Eniola
35. Ayodeji
36. Koded Signature
37. Adetutu
38. Aanu
39. Temitope
40. Tobi
41. Sewa
42. Deborah
43. Damilola
44. Busola
45. Peter
46. Fiyin
47. Mercybrooks Design
48. Simi
49. Victoria
50. Faidez Wear
51. Abigail
52. Olugbenga
53. Olajumoke
54. Blessing
55. Bamise
56. Regal Estilo
57. Deborah
58. Ifeoluwa
59. Ifunanya
60. Gbenga
61. Osawe
62. Oladele
63. Juliet
64. Faidez Wear
65. Dunsi Collection
66. Sophia Stiches
67. Nirrah Klasie
68. Rachael Babatunde
69. Lara
70. Samuel
71. Titi
72. Sumbo
73. Tinuola
74. Olubukola
75. Eden and Zion
76. William Folashade
77. Blessings
78. Spunky Travels
79. Ilelaboye
80. Rimdan
81. Deborah

God bless you all and replenish your pockets. Amen

Special Shoutout to our Volunteer Photographers

Victor Oluwaseun Photography

David Ogunjimi Photography

TIXELS

According to UNICEF (May 2022) 24.56% of children in Nigeria face extreme poverty by living in households that spend less than $1.90 a day, you guys that’s less than #860 a day!!!! Yes, I’m as shocked as you ! And you can be sure that this extreme case of poverty is very evidently seen by the shabby clothes these disadvantaged children wear, year-in year-out. I mean, for families that can barely afford enough to each decent meals, how would they properly clothe these children ?

And just as the FOLABOMI Foundation has done since 2018, we immediately set out to work once again, to making brighter the Christmas of some vulnerable children in Lagos, Nigeria.

What always amazes me is how you well-meaning individuals and businesses willingly lend your hand-of-support every single year to help us achieve this one objective each year!
The support and donations you sent in for #ClotheTheClothless2022 have ensured that these vulnerable children in slums are reminded that their current living conditions should not limit them to the greatness they can achieve in future, and for this, we say, THANK YOU!

Collaborating with the tailoring team at the Folabomi House of Fashion always does the magic! As early as July 2022, preparations for #ClotheTheClothless had already started; with the sorting of every fabric-scrap from the Folabomi House of Fashion and purchase of a percentage of tulle, satin, lining and additional ankara fabrics that the design-and-tailoring team would use for production. Early commencement of the sourcing of a percentage of the fabrics, helped cut-down the anticipated high-cost of materials towards year-end.

By September October, production of the brand-new clothing pieces for the beneficiaries of #ClotheTheClothless2022 was in full swing! Volunteer Laolu, all the way in USA, worked on the official flier for #ClotheTheClotheless2022. The first publication went out by September-ending, and before we could conclude whispering a prayer to God for good support, donations started flowing in. It was marvelous and by this, we were able to buy more rolls of tulle and ankara for the production of the clothes.

In the past and through the food and brand-new clothes provided, Folabomi Foundation had given a sense of belonging to over 850 vulnerable children in Sogunro community, Mosafejo Community, Orisumibare community and Oko-Agbon community in December 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively. And in this beautiful year 2022, we decided to spread this same hope and love to the underserved children living in Oko-Oba community.

Just to give you a better understanding of the situation, these children live in the poorest of conditions; they have poor education, they struggle to get food to eat, they survive on unclean water and they wear the same tattered clothes over and over again, all year long. Though we cannot completely change their current situation as we would love to, our goal is to do the little we can to ensure they know that their current situation does not have to determine their future.

For a cumulative of a month and a half, tailors at the Folabomi House of Fashion cut and sewed the dresses, and the boys’ kaftans were outsourced to be sewn. As cloth-production was going on, the Folabomi Foundation team had arranged for the preparation of food with our vendor and made necessary provision for healthy drinks.

As monetary donations kept coming in for us to purchase more fabric and buy more essentials for the children, we got the most amazing news from Foodclique Support Initiative for the FOLABOMI Team to come pick up foodstuff in support of #ClotheTheClothless2022. Not long after, the Kuffrey Jones Brand sent in brand new pairs of unisex shoes for the children. The response from The support was massive and came in right on time.

Through all of this, our indefatigable Damilola Oyetayo had gone for various surveys at Oko-Oba community for us to have a vivid understanding of the situation of the environment, the age range and needs of the children.

The week of December 17th came and we realized we needed more help than earlier anticipated with packaging of the clothes, goodies, shoes and foodstuff. Caleb, Tolulope, Dammy, Bunmi, Anu, David, Rachel and Titilope came in and in no time we were done with the packaging.

The D-Day came and our amazing volunteers converged at Folabomi store. All hands were busy, moving the packaged clothes, food, shoes and drinks into the bus that would convey us to meet the children at Oko-Oba community.

With hearts of prayer, we set-out and in about forty minutes, we got to our destination.

As soon as we moved the items from the bus to the classroom provided, we gave the children number-tags and commenced distribution of the clothes to both boys and girls. I do not think I have seen smiles as wide as the ones we saw at #ClotheTheClothless2022. The children were incredibly thrilled to own brand-new clothes – out of the blues! We overheard one of the mothers sighing with relief and saying that at least she would not need to worry about buying “aso-Odun” (christmas cloth) for her child this year.

With the swift movement of our volunteers, these children were draped-in-wealth and a few of them even walked our make-shift Runway, right in the middle of the week community! Oh, it was a marvelous sight to behold!!! The girls seem to be models-in-the-making, strutting and having the time of their lives in their new dresses, without any form of shyness detected! See link for a short video of the #ClotheTheClothless2022 Runway.

The children were pumped. And we? We felt fulfilled!
After two full hours, we had exhausted all the clothes and foodstuff taken to Oko-Oba community and trust me, we still had loads of people waiting to lay their hands on a package.

We look forward to a time when we would be able to clothe every single child in these communities. And sometime in the near future, Folabomi Foundation hopes to grow to a level in which the major basic amenities can be provided for thousands of these children, possibly on a daily basis, ensuring that they have access to a better life. But till then, we shall keep contributing our little quota, one-decent-meal and one-brand-new-clothing-piece at a time.

Thank you all for going all out to donate and support #ClotheTheClothless2022 …Thank you for being kind and thoughtful. Thank you for praying for us. May these children grow to be great men and women in future and may you be continually blessed!

#ClotheTheClothless2022 Volunteers

1. Oluwabori Odumah
2. Caleb Oladipo
3. Ebenezer Odunsi 
4. Titilope Ajayi
5. Ayodeji Samson Akintomide
6. Elizabeth Omotosho
7. Yinka Omotosho 
8. Gbemisola Stylist
9. Mariam Mimi
10. Olasunkanmi Mariam 
11. Omotoso Oluyemisi Joan
12. Rachel Babatunde
13. Aanu Alabi
14. Florence Awosika
15. Abigail Eyeh
16. Comfort Ime
17. Goodness Gabriel 
18. Bunmi Obaloyo 
19. Akande Yejide
20. Tolulope Adeyemo
21. Mabel
22. Olaoluwa Oyedokun
23. Titilayo Adeliyi
24. Toluwani Adeliyi
25. Damilola Oyetayo
26. Dara Kolapo
27. David Ogunjimi
28. Toluwaleye

Profound Gratitude to our donors (To respect their privacy, we will be putting up just their first names)

1. Unidentified (1)
2. Daniel
3. Titilope
4. Funmbi
5. Folabomi
6. Busola
7. Wunmi
8. David
9. Onyebuchi
10. Seyi
11. Eniola
12. Tunji
13. Unidentified (2)
14. Christy 
15. Yemi
16. Omolara
17. Mary
18. Bukola
19. Rachel
20. Ayoolu
21. Crystal
22. Hannah
23. Mabel
24. Bori
25. Temitope (1)
26. Kezia
27. Michael
28. Jennifer
29. Dare
30. Kehinde
31. Tolulope
32. Unidentified (5)
33. Aanu
34. Olaolu
35. Olajumoke
36. Damilola
37. Lanre
38. Unidentified (3)
39. Esther
40. Bamise
41. Ayodele
42. Ayodeji
43. Hope
44. Busayomi
45. Tumininu
46. Jumoke
47. Ebenezer
48. Toluwalope
49. Temitope 2
50. Oluwakemi
51. Testimony
52. Comfort
53. Unidentified (4)
54. Ope
55. Deborah
56. Kuffrey
57. Foodclique
58. Ayobami
59. Tasleem
60. Osaka
61. Ebunoluwa
62. Olubukola 1
63. Fìyìnfólú
64. Charles
65. Jacob
66. Omotosho
67. Rachel
68. Mariam
69. Yejide
70. Olubukola 2
71. Pluming
72. Regal Estilo
73. Tomisin

God bless you all and replenish your pockets. Amen

Special Shoutout to our Volunteer Photographer

David Ogunjimi Photography