We are happy with this recognition and celebrate with her and our team at TOKAN Foundation, as well as our donors, volunteers, supporters, well wishers and partners. This award celebrates us all!

The post A Tope Tokan-Lawal receives Distinguished Merit Award appeared first on TOKAN Foundation.

Recently, I saw a post go as far as chastise the growing number of girl child foundations. So, I decided to speak about my 8 plus years of working with teenage boys in Lagos. I started out by helping a group of kids at an orphanage with their homework every Saturday. One day, in March 2018, I showed up and found out 3 boys had been taken to “prison.” Upon further investigation, I found out that they had been taken to the Special Correctional Center for Boys in Oregun for actions that could have been properly dealt with in the orphanage, but the principal seemed to be hell bent on sending every boy to the Center.

So, I followed these boys to the Center and this started my journey through the Correctional Centers across Lagos. I started spending each Sunday visiting them in Oregun until they were released to an “open” Center in Yaba. Since then, I have had to work with the officers at these centers (boys in Oregun, Yaba, and Isheri, and girls in Idi Araba) and provide support to dozens of teenage boys (and girls).

No doubt, these institutions are poorly funded and rely heavily on NGOs and individuals for support. TOKAN Foundation supports with school fees, supplies, and mentoring. For the girls in Idi Araba, we also pay senior secondary class teachers (Lagos only pays for primary teachers).

As such, in my experience, there are sooooo many ways to support the boy child and it not by complaining. First and foremost, they need “big brothers” to talk to. These boys are always going through something, and they call me regularly to talk. If you can, find a boy and commit to being his “big bro.” Check in on them, talk to them about anything, let them know they can call when they need to talk or when they have any issues. Other ways:

– Pay private school fees (many are enrolled in public schools),

– Buy supplies for school,

– Provide daily stipends for lunch/snacks,

– Donate clothing and shoes: these boys always need underwear, people donate clothes but forget these. Buy plenty briefs/boxers and share,

– Play sports with them,

– Play video games with them,

– Give your time,

– Teach them about what you do, they may be interested,

– Pay for a vocational training or commit to teaching them a vocational skill,

– Start a boy foundation dedicated to erasing ills that you faced as a boy,

– Leverage on connections to the government and push for better funding and amenities for these child institutions,

Whatever you do, be consistent!

If you have any other ideas, please share.

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These insights were first published by Tope on Twitter and LinkedIn in September 2023.

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TOKAN Foundation maintains a close relationship with Centers for children across Lagos which house children in conflict with the law and those in need of care, protection, and/or supervision. We provide tuition scholarships, daily lunch stipends, school supplies, after school and national exams preparatory lessons, social support, and legal representation in court through our Child Rights and Juvenile Justice Center (CRJJC). We also established the Special Approved School in January 2023 for secondary school aged girls within the Special Correctional Center for Girls in Idi Araba, Lagos.

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