A warm welcome for William at SOS Children's Villages Nigeria
“I don’t want to go back to that place again! I don’t like them! They don’t like me and my brother!” These were the words of William when he found a new loving home and an SOS mother in the SOS Children’s Villages Owu-Ijebu, Nigeria, two years ago (2013).
William is now nine years old. It was difficult for him to narrate all that had happened to him staying with a mentally challenged biological mother and some hostile extended family members who were not willing to support him and his little brother, Samuel.
For William, telling his stories to friends and peers at school was like remembering some kind of painful and traumatic experience. There was one thing that was, however, very clear in his story; his passionate plea, ‘please don’t take me back to that place again’.
Challenging moments for William
William had a painful history of living on the street and going through all kinds of abuse before his admission into the SOS Children’s Village Owu-Ijebu. William is seven years old and is the eldest of two children born to a mentally challenged mother living on the street in a little town called Epe in Lagos state, in south-west Nigeria. William and his little brother Samuel were seen wandering around the street in Epe town with their aggressive mother begging for food, clothes and money.
On some occasions, he has narrowly escaped death by a reckless driver. Begging on the street for William meant crossing the road at will and even chasing a moving vehicle.
His biological mother watched from a distance and monitored what was happening to him. Sometimes she screamed at him or threw stones at him just to see that he was begging people around for money. Whatever money he is able to gather for the day from passers-by and some good Samaritans is what his little family will depend on for the day. On a good day, he was able to make a little money for the family. This would at least fetch some food for them; else they would all go hungry or scavenge in a nearby refuse dump for left-over food, whether good or rotten.
He wished somebody could help him or give them food to eat. Sometimes, the thought of going to sleep without food made him feel sick.
Extended family members were neither able nor willing to rescue William and his brother from their aggressive mother due to some cultural meaning attached to mental illness in the locality.
After wandering all day with the mother, they would all retire to the riverside where William would have to work with fishermen all night, helping them to wash and repair their nets as well as help in smoking their fish so as to raise money for the next day’s meal.
William and his brother never had time to rest. There was no place to call home, as everywhere was home for him and his little brother. Home could be on a fishing boat, on the riverbank, an incomplete building, an old car on the street, a refuse dump, and just anywhere that mum felt like sleeping. “I was not happy, but I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to run away, but I didn’t know where to go,” William explained to us. He was malnourished with skin rashes and boils all over his little body as a result of a lack of care and good nutrition.
A Loving Home in the SOS Village
William was identified by the state’s Social Welfare department during one of their outreach programmes in the rural community, and was referred to the SOS Children’s Village Owu-Ijebu for care and protection. The mother, however, escaped with Samuel and refused to release the child for care and protection; however, she is still in contact with SOS Children's Villages.
During his first week in his SOS family, William would wake up early in the morning and ask his SOS mother: “Mama, are we not going out today?” This is just one out of the many questions he was asking his SOS mother when he first came to us.
William's SOS mother took time to answer his entire list of questions and also taught him good morals and normal living in a family environment.
It took a while before he was able to adjust properly to the family house. In his first few weeks, he screamed while sleeping at night and was always frightened meeting people in the family house. He narrated an experience when a group of young men came to kidnap him and his brother from their mother while sleeping in front of a small shop one night. The SOS mother reassured him that he is safe and secure in his SOS family, as no one was going to harm him.
He took a while to adapt to this normal life, but he did, thanks to the counselling sessions and support from co-workers both in the SOS Children’s Village and the Hermann Gmeiner Primary School.
William is so happy being here. He is living in a secure family environment with caring SOS brothers and sisters. He eats well and is no longer traumatized at night, unlike before when he was sleeping in an undesirable environment and working in the cold night at the riverbank. He plays with children of his own age group and runs around the family houses playing his favourite game, which is football (soccer). He was happy the day his biological mother and Samuel visited him here last year.
What was school like before and now?
Unlike his new SOS brothers and sisters, William never went to school prior to coming to the SOS Village. He saw children going to school and always wished he could one day carry his bag and wear a uniform to school, just like the other kids. Now his dreams have come.
He will be going to primary one at the Hermann Gmeiner Primary School when school starts this month. In his last school report, he did well, and he can now write and colour with paint and a brush. He is the best artist for the academic session in the SOS Kindergarten. He speaks boldly, using simple and short sentences in English and can recollect most of the concepts taught in class. He is good at math, though he needs to put in more effort in his writing, especially in reading.
To support him further. He attends a summer class and is actively involved in the book club meeting on weekends. This is to help him improve in reading and writing. He is being encouraged to read more storybooks at home.
He is a friendly boy and relates well with his peers. Being in the SOS Children’s Village can only be captured with these few words from William:
“My SOS mother loves me, I sleep well, and I eat good food. We play in the house and in the village. I fetch water with my SOS brothers and sisters for our mummy. We go to school every day and we come back together. I sleep on my bed and see my wardrobe. I wear good clothes and shoes to school and church. We are happy in my house.”
William's Big Dream
William wants to be a doctor when he grows up. He wants to help children and his biological mother. William is happy in his SOS family and hopes the process of admitting his younger brother into the village will be hastened by the social welfare authority so that they can both grow and develop together. William will always ask the social worker, “Please tell them to bring my brother here. I want to see him and stay with him here. I want him to sleep well like me and go to school like me,” William will always ask the social worker.
Plans are in place with the social welfare authority to see how his younger brother and mother can be helped.