Some people will go to any length to advance in life. Instead of waiting for life to happen to him, one adolescent opted to confront his fate head-on. With only a bus pass and no money, he set out for the “rich” area of town. He was about to do something he’d never done before, but he knew he had to.
Inside the Highland Kroger, Chauncey Black approached a stranger with a request that would change his life forever.
Chauncy Black, 16, was dealt a hand that most of us could never imagine having to deal with. He had a place to live with his mother, but he didn’t have enough food. The poor kid was famished! So he did the only thing he could think of and went to the one place he could think of that had plenty of food: a Kroger grocery store in a posh area…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Despite his lack of funds, Chauncy was able to scrape together enough change for a bus pass that would bring him there and back. In exchange for a mouthful of food, he planned to give work. But he had no idea that a fortuitous encounter with a stranger would forever change his life.
Chauncy boldly approached a stranger inside the Kroger grocery store and asked if he could carry his groceries to the car in exchange for a pack of doughnuts. He is, after all, a teenager!
The young man’s request moved the nice stranger, Matt White.
“This kid appeared to have been turned down a hundred times.” He appeared embarrassed, hungry, and bereft. I screamed a loud “yes!” in my head, but all I replied to him was, “Yeah man, we’ll grab you some doughnuts.”
Matt soon discovered Chauncy didn’t have a phone, only a bus pass, and a starving mother at home. Chauncy was relying on the kindness of a stranger to feed him before his bus arrived in less than an hour.
Matt wasn’t going to hand over a single pack of donuts to the teen and call it a day. It was clear that the kid needed assistance. How could he possibly overlook that? The Good Samaritan then proceeded to fill the cart with various items for Chauncy to carry home to his mother.
“It goes without saying that he and I went on a buying spree.” We had a great time! We grabbed cereal, chips, frozen vegetables, pizzas, Cheetos, melons, and spaghetti, peanut butter, milk, soap, and toothbrushes, a little bit of everything.”
Matt discovered that the entrepreneurial young guy was a straight-A student who was attempting to acquire a job to assist his mother pay rent while they were shopping for all the goods Chauncy and his mother needed to survive.
“This kid was incredible. Chauncy continued referring to himself as poor, but he promised me that one day he would be wealthy and run his own businesses, allowing him to aid others in his area by buying groceries for them, just like I did. “I was speechless.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Even though Chauncy had a difficult start in life, he had high hopes of assisting others who were in need.
Chauncey accepted a lift instead of riding the bus, but when he returned home, he and his mentally ill mother were taken aback by the stranger’s kindness.
“I gave him a lift home so he wouldn’t have to use the bus, and I was genuinely humbled when we arrived at his house. He wasn’t joking when he said that. He and his mother were penniless. There were no beds or furniture in the room. They slept on sleeping bag pads, had two lanterns, and had nothing in their refrigerator.”
Matt could see Chauncy’s mother was in poor health because she trembled excessively and struggled to move.
Matt could see optimism returning to Chauncy’s eyes as the two unpacked the food. It was as though he had reverted to being a typical youngster.
“As I was leaving, I hugged him and told him how much God loved him and that he was going to be a great guy.” That hug will stay with me forever. It mattered more to me than any of my other possessions.”
That “goodbye” was not, however, the end of this lovely narrative. That day, Matt didn’t just leave Chauncy with a bag of groceries. He created a GoFundMe campaign to seek funds for the essentials that this family required.
Chauncy required trousers for his mother as well as a $10 Ross gift card. He felt embarrassed by his soiled clothing. But Chauncy didn’t just get a $10 gift card; $341K was raised to help this family with their basic necessities. It also meant Chauncy could buy the tools he’d need to establish his own lawn-mowing company.
It also meant he’d be able to sleep in a proper bed for the first time.
Strangers’ goodwill never ceases to astonish me. Not only did Matt assist Chauncy and his mother, but the outpouring of support on social media was also overwhelming. Despite the significant sum of money received on his behalf, Chauncy felt compelled to start his own business in order to be self-sufficient and help others. What a fantastic adolescent!
Before we begin with the history of Ibadan, let us set some facts straight. Ibadan, (pronounced E- baa- dawn) the present capital of Oyo State, is the third-most populous city in Nigeria (with over 3.5 million dwellers) after Lagos and Kano.
Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state, is the third-largest city in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano. The city is popularly known for its rich and fascinating history, culture and amazing tourist destinations. One of the most visited tourist destinations in Ibadan is the University of Ibadan Zoological Garden which was established in 1948. It is home to a wide array of animals comprising mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Mum-Zi was a member of Chief Akkiri’s harem in Akwa Akpa (now Calabar), who would later be the father of her daughter. Pic credit: Twitter
Who Was Mum-Zi – The Youngest Grandmother in the World?
Mum-Zi was just eight years and four months old when she gave birth to a baby girl in 1884.
From Nigeria, on an island called Akwa Akpa, now known as the city of Calabar, Mum-Zi’s daughter followed her mother’s footsteps, becoming a mother at the age of eight years and eight months thus making Mum-zi the youngest Grandmother in the world…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Over the years, it has not been uncommon to find young parents out there but what is perhaps unusual is to find young teens – as young as 17 – as grandparents.
In recent times, most people at that age are looking to complete their education or to graduate from high school. The thought of even becoming a parent is rare, thus, having grandchildren is often out of place.
But this was not the situation for Mum-Zi and her daughter, as well as, other young girls in the 19th Century.
According to Lyall Archibald’s 1936 book, The Future of Taboo in These Islands, Mum-Zi was a member of Chief Akkiri’s harem in Akwa Akpa (now Calabar), who would later be the father of her daughter.
Since the 16th Century, Calabar had been a busy international seaport, shipping out goods such as palm oil.
Historical accounts state that during the Atlantic slave trade, it became a major port in the transportation of African slaves, with most slave ships being owned by Bristol and Liverpool.
Some missionaries would later record the challenges of poor water supplies, malaria, and the presence of some tribes who were sometimes not too welcoming to evangelists and other slave traders.
What was common, however, was the fact that chiefs kept a harem of wives and slaves.
The harem is basically a female backyard or household largely reserved for princes and lords of this world.
In most parts of Africa and elsewhere, a harem, in terms of royal harems of the past, may house a man’s wives and concubines, as well as, their children, unmarried daughters, female domestic workers, and other unmarried female relatives.
Mum-Zi was one of the many women and girls who lived in a harem belonging to Chief Akkiri. After giving birth at 8 years and four months, with the chief being the father, her daughter would also become a mother exactly eight years later. She was reportedly impregnated by the same chief who happens to be her father.
She gave birth at an age slightly older than that of her mother’s, as she was 8 years plus 8 months. Nevertheless, this remains one of the shocking moments in history.
Ever since the 1700s, a number of cases have been highlighted to show how girls and women across the world suffer just because of their gender.
Among these forms of gender-based violence is child marriage, which denies children the right to be children and take away from them the opportunities for education and a better life. It also exposes them to risk of violence at the hands of their usually older and powerful husbands.
A recent report by Girls Not Brides revealed that globally, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children and 17 per cent of them, or 125 million, live in Africa.
It added that about 39 per cent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa are married before the age of 18 and all African countries face the challenge of child marriage.
According to the report, Niger has the highest number of child brides, with three out of four girls married before they are 18.
The Central African Republic follows. There, the legal minimum age for marriage is 18, however, girls can get married at 13 years if it is approved by a court and/or if the girl is pregnant.
In some cases, earlier marriage is allowed if a parent consents to it. At third place is Chad, which has a rate of 67 per cent.
Some of the drivers for child marriage in these countries are poverty, upholding social and religious traditions, as well as, conflict, which forces many parents to consent to child marriage as a way of protecting their girls from violence and sexual assault.
