ThiSeason was founded by Evelyn Odeyemi following a volunteering trip to Nigeria in 2015. Evelyn had always envisioned supporting orphans and women in deprived areas of Nigeria. After graduating with a degree in Business & Operations Management, she would go on to become an IT Project Manager working with Finance and Hedge Fund companies in the City of London.
As a Nigerian in the diaspora, Evelyn wanted to use the expertise she had fortified over the years to give back through volunteering. Unfortunately, she was yet to find a Nigerian centred organisation that provided opportunities for individuals abroad. Countries such as Kenya, Ghana and South Africa are host to numerous volunteering whilst receiving annual international assistance from charities around the globe. Currently, Nigeria is not as endorsed as its Sub-saharan counter-parts regarding volunteering opportunities.
In 2015, Evelyn decided to take matters into her own hands concerning the issue of volunteer missions to Nigeria. By organising and self- funding her trip to Nigeria, coupled with the support of family and friends, visits were made to orphanages in Oyo, Ondo and Kwara State, Nigeria. By volunteering in these orphanages, Evelyn saw the dire needs and shortcomings of orphanages in Nigeria, not only for resources such as food, clothes and cash donations but essential organisational support such as Healthcare, Education, Funding and Operations alike.
This led to a proposal being put to the Ministry of Welfare in Kwara state to create and implement volunteering opportunities for those in the diaspora who want to give back specifically in Nigeria. ThiSeason was therefore established as an avenue to enable those in the UK to volunteer their expertise.
During the visit, it was recorded that many of the children in the orphanages arrived there as a result of maternal death at child birth, kidnapping of care-givers and abandonment by family members due to severe poverty. A significant number of orphanages in Nigeria are established by faith groups, whilst others are homes which have been set-up by individuals with hired carers. There are only a small number of government maintained orphanages. Access to government funding and development of sustainable community partnerships to support the work of the orphanages and the children living in them is restricted. The children in these unfortunate circumstance are therefore not receiving adequate childcare developmental resources and supported by care-givers who are often under-skilled.
With limited access to sustainable government support, these children live everyday with the following challenges:
Lack of academic and social expectation
70% Experience social abuse due to disabilities
Challenges with physical development
34.9% Experience emotional and psychological trauma
Limited cultural exposure
Through our volunteering initiative, ThiSeason aims to tackle the challenges faced by vulnerable children in orphanages across Nigeria. We organise travel, accommodation and placement for professionals from the UK to annually provide existing orphanage managers with operations assistance. To provide maximum assistance to the establishments we visit, we address areas such as skill and knowledge development for care-givers, fun group activities with the children to aid their developmental needs in all areas and 1:1 session for children with additional needs (SEND/SEMH).
ThiSeason supports the orphanages and community groups serving women and children through our collection and donation fund-raising schemes. A constant collection of clothes and academic materials allow for the needs of children in disadvantaged communities to be met with efficiency.
Financial donations enable us to support organisations that share similar morals and values alike.
