N1000 can be ‘Chicken change’ to some and a big deal to others. I realised this some weeks ago on my way to a popular grocery shop when a young woman quietly walked up to me and asked if could give her any amount of money as she hadn’t eaten in days! Not able to imagine what it would be like to go without food for days, I took out 1000 Naira from my pocket and gave it to her.
Her mood changed immediately from gloomy to excited. Then she said something shocking with a big smile on her face “Thank you, with this my family and I can eat for days”. Days? I was shocked again as I would normally spend half of that amount on Lunch or more on days when I’m feeling like Elon Musk, now this is going to feed a family for days? That’s how much poverty has ravaged our country and has even been exacerbated by COVID-19.
I couldn’t stop thinking about that incident for days, I kept asking myself, how many people are currently in a situation where they can’t afford to feed themselves or their families? I made a decision that day to help in any little way I can with whatever I have to ensure people that can’t afford to feed themselves get some help.
It was a pleasant surprise when I came across this platform that provides a solution to what I had experienced a few weeks ago. It is a transparent crowdfunding initiative for COVID-19 palliatives distribution called ‘Helpnow’.
HelpNow, an initiative from tech company, Softcom, is a private sector-led collaboration in response to the debilitating effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the income and livelihood of millions of Nigerians. The objective is to provide support to at least 2 million vulnerable Lagosians through a model that rallies support from well-meaning individuals and corporates to provide each beneficiary with N5000.
The Governor of Lagos state; Babajide Sanwolu has also endorsed the initiative.
Your donation as little as N1000 can be the lifeline another Lagos resident needs. There is no such thing as a small act of kindness, anything you donate counts
