Old and Broken

I was happily breaking apart the old shoe rack this lovely Saturday morning, ready to cast the remains into the abyss of the recycling bin and then this happened:

T: What are you doing daddy
Me: I want to put this in the bin
T: Why
Me: Because it is old
T: Because it is old? (he asked with a puzzled look)
Me: And broken (now I am puzzled)
T: because its old and broken? He repeated as he walked away.

Now, this conversation got me thinking about how I may need to explain to the young man that not all things that are old and broken should be condemned to the waste bin. I know what you are thinking: I'll grow old someday... You get the gist...

It also got me reflecting on our attitude to the elderly. We need to treat them with dignity and respect even when they are unable to work, walk and serve like they faithfully did when they were younger.

Ageing is not a disease, it is the natural course of nature. With age comes wisdom and experience that should be treasured. What goes around comes around.

Got to go, I need to call Mama.

Making a difference

What an incredible difference one year can make. One of the most important decisions for me in 2015 was quiting my promising job for full time a social work degree. It has been a wonderful journey.

Celebrating Nyarai

While it has not been plain sailing, I have had the privilege of meeting some amazing students and staff at UCLan who have helped to shape my experience.

How Volunteering Saved My Life

At different stages and places I have found myself, volunteering has proven to be a potent source of inspiration and opportunities to accomplish great things. I guess one could say that volunteering is freely offering one’s skills, talents, time or just taking off your gloves and getting involved with an organisation or a project without expecting payment.

I traced back my volunteering journey to when as a young adult I volunteered with the youth wing of my then church. Attractive visuals and “fresh” outlook always make an impression on me, and I recall helping to refresh the look of the meeting space every weekend and the invigorating impact it had on the young people.

One of my most memorable experience with this group was when we decided to carry out a social action project from zero budget. A bunch of mostly high school teenagers led by an unemployed high school leaver. Out of all the suggested projects, we managed to settle for the hardest to achieve: Revamp a disused library of a local high school in the community.

And just in case you are probably wondering how we got on, well here is what we did:

1. We washed every church member’s car on a Sunday for donations.
2. We used the donations to design and print Easter greeting cards that we sold to members, family and friends.

3. We then used the funds to pay a decorator, an electrician and a woodwork man for repairs at the library while we did the hard labour of cleaning and removing unwanted items from the room. We recreated the space good enough for students to go in and read and that was joyful.

4. We even had time to share our faith with the students at the end of the week.

I know I am making a case for volunteering and you may want to ask how volunteering saved me, I wasn’t actually dying in the real sense of it, but as a young person who had somehow lost zest and motivation, this volunteering experience as well as many others I undertook, steered me in the path of renewed commitment to my Christian faith and a firm believe that I can make a positive difference in my life and that of others.

Lanre Olabode