Recently, celebrities have developed the penchant for discovering new talents in the streets.
They have discovered some kids with raw talents and have given them a new lease of life.
Actor Williams Uchemba is known to use his social media platform to give alms to the less privileged on the street. Uchemba who lives in the United States of America, used to be a very popular kid actor when he was still a little boy.
The young man has transformed his Instagram page into a platform he uses to encourage people to give to the poor and help people out of the street. Recently, while he was in the United States, he identified a young hawker, Joseph, sleeping in the middle of a major highway in Lagos at night with the tray he used to hawk plantain beside him. The actor posted young Joseph’s picture and took immediate action to get him off the street.
The young boy was immediately flown out of Lagos to Awka and enrolled in a school to continue his education which his guardian deprived him of.
Uchemba didn’t stop there, he made sure he followed up on his progress in school and he made a discovery last month that Joseph is doing very well with his studies.
He shared this inspiring comment about the boy on his Instagram page when he wrote, “I was just informed that Joseph passed his acceptance exam and has resumed school. The principal said she was shocked at the speed he answered the questions and got them right. I was told the government schools are free but I realised that the state of the government schools was not really impressive and conducive for kids to learn effectively, so I decided to put him in a private school where I believe he will get the best for now…We’ve attended to his mother’s hospital issue and the doctor said she will be discharged this week. How can we claim they are leaders of tomorrow when we destroy their future with our own hands? Joseph is a great leader (I can tell) and in few years, you will say I said so but he is one out of many leaders on the streets of Nigeria and Africa; so let’s get these our young leaders off the roads and put them in classrooms, because the boys and girls they are today will determine the men and women they will become tomorrow.. I have made some plans for some of these other kids on the street but that will be for later… a big thanks to my team.”
Joseph’s case is one of the few kids Uchemba has transformed their lives by taking them off the street. Occasionally, the actor also stops on the road to help street hawkers by giving them some money to aid their business and keep them off the street; beyond this, he also uses his page to encourage Nigerians to always see the good in others and help the less privileged.
Femi Otedola, the CEO, Forte Oil, recently helped a 13-year-old young rapper, Moruf Bello, popularly known as Megabyte who he discovered at Kenny Blaq’s show.
The oil mogul shared a video on his page and he stated that he was ready to sponsor the teenager’s education up to the university level. The video he shared on the internet was accompanied with the caption, “Invited Megabyte to my office. This young man inspires me and I have decided to pay for his education immediately and all through university.”
Bello who just got promoted to SS2, expressed how grateful he feels about the offer he just got from the philanthropist.
He said, “Yes, I agree that meeting Otedola is one of the best things that have happened to me, but I am still hopeful for better things to come.” Although he is doing very well in his music career, the 13-year-old still nurses the dream of becoming an engineer.
His mother, Modupe, she said began to notice his talent about two years ago. The mother of three was quick to add that his musical career doesn’t clash with his academics at all. “I feel excited about Otedola’s offer; however, I always had faith in God that favour would smile on him one day,” she said.
Also, actress and filmmaker, Funmi Awelewa was able to help a little boy, Tajudeen Ibrahim Agbabiaka popularly known as Taju who became a media sensation after a video of him went viral.
Through her help, the likes of comedian, AY; actress, Funke Akindele; and Don Jazzy also stretched their hand of care to little Taju who apparently was struggling to speak English language in that video.
These celebrities took it upon themselves to give Taju a better life. Eventually, the Oyo State government took custody of the child through the child welfare unit of the state government.
For the visually impaired boy in Ibadan, named Basit, respite found its way to him after he became a viral sensation in January for singing almost exactly like fuji sensation, Pasuma.
In the video, the young lad was singing one of Pasuma’s hit tracks very passionately and used two empty plastic bottles to drum expertly while he sang. Immediately the fuji maestro discovered him on the internet, he called the attention of the public to help him locate the boy. On his Instagram page, he wrote,
“I woke up to this. Despite his disability, this young man has earned my love and respect not only because he sings my song with a passion but also because he displays raw talent beyond my expectations; he sends waves running down my spine and I can’t stop watching this video. Meanwhile, I can’t thank everyone enough for calling my attention to this. That said, whoever has his contact should please reach out to me by sending a message to my dm.”
After Basit was discovered, his fan base increased drastically and ever since then, he has become a major social media sensation. – Punch.
