The Supermom Season 3 prize presentation for the 1st runner up- Abass Akande Obesere’s mother took place at the Societal Socialite Home popularly known as SOS Children Village at Isolo on the 4th of April, 2013.
The presentation programme started with a speech from Mr Awal Olasunkanmi-Project Manager for Digital Interactive Media; on what Supermom was all about and the purpose of our visit . He further said “Supermom season 3 Celebrity edition was done to bring together the celebrities mother, where we then pick out the first three mothers who sacrificed the most, of which Alh. Abass Akande Obesere’s mother emerged second. And as a true mother she has purpose to give part of what she won to the motherless baby as a token of our contribution to humanity”.
Present at the occasion was Mr Abraham Folarin-The National Family Base Coordinator and Mr Benjamin Ibrahim- the Director of the Village. Mr Benjamin appreciated our visit to the village and said several words of prayer for Obesere, his mother and the children in the village as well.
Abass in responds to the Mr Benjamin said he had nothing much to say than to thank Mr Benjamin for the good gesture he has to accommodate the children. He capped it up by praying that just as he is taking care of the children, God will take care of him, his biological children and everything that pertains to him.
Mr Awal, the Project manager for Digital Interactive Media; the organiser of the SuperMom show asked the director what kind of children do they accommodate in the village.
This question led to an extensive brief of what SOS Children village does and what they represent. Mr Benjamin started by saying “ we accommodate and take care of children that are not privileged to have their parent take care of them, children who have lost their mother and father and have no family members to take responsibility for them; they are the most in the village. Some of the children are the ones whose parents have diseases that will undoubtedly lead to death; such children are being referred to us. And with the help of people like you, we send them to school and some of them go for apprenticeship.
He continued by saying” children are being referred from different part of the country-be it Igbo, Hausa, Ibadan, Abeokuta. At the moment we have children from 19 state of the federation. According to the founder of the village; he does not believe that a child who is not privileged to grow up under his/her parent should go to an orphanage home, so what SOS Children Village does is to build a home for them through fostering. We find a mother for the children; the mother takes care of the children till they can be able to stand on their own. And this is what makes us different from the orphanage homes around.
Also SOS runs a family strengthening programme where we look at our society in search of parent who cannot adequately take care of their children either by not sending them to school or they can’t afford hospital bills for their ill children. So we help by paying the children school fees, buy school uniforms and books for them.
This programme is being done in 7 locality of the country
1. Sasha in Ibadan- 200 children
2. Ishaga in Lagos- 200 children
3. Ejigbo in Lagos- 340 children
4. Kaduna -200 children
5. Gwagwalada in Abuja- 200 children
6. Jos - 200 children
7. Owu-Ijebu in Ogun -200 children
In conclusion he said, SOS was set up to help children and youth who are not priviledged to grow-up under their parent.
Mrs Anike Omobonike- Abass’s mother prayed for the director that God will lift him up and reward him.
After the brief, the director took everyone round the SOS children village; there he mentioned that the children sometimes are being given scholarships. Also that SOS has family houses that accommodate the mother and the children like a family setting unlike the dormitory thing we have in the orphanage homes. This was followed by the presentation of the cheque.
Mr Awal, on behalf of the sponsors- Procter and Gamble, Promasidor presented the cheque of 1,000,000 naira to Mrs Omobonike Anike
Alh. Abass Akande Obesere, Paramount King of Music, on behalf of his mother and his family shows his gratitude to the organisers and sponsors and in return he and his mother presented a cheque of 250,000naira to the SOS Children Village.
In appreciation, SOS gave the present of a “diary” to Mrs Anike Omobonike for being an extraordinary and outstanding mother. And that the gift should serve as a remembrance for her to always pray for the children all over Nigeria. And that they should be as successful as her son Alh. Abass Akande Obesere.
To wrap up the presentation, Soji Omotayo asked the paramount king of music what he has done before or on his way to stardom that nobody knows about.
He answered “when I was in primary school, I used to carry carton of beer on my head for people in a shopping centre. I learnt printing press, electronics and boxing. Also since I was 15 years I have been hustling for my mother, taking care of her and I told her not to work again. Thank God today, the rest is history now. God was able to shows me that music was my path and aside that music runs in the family.
The presentation ended by 1:55pm.