Bimbo Oshin, Phyna, Others in Ondo for Churchill Foundation

Tosin Clegg

Big Brother Naija winner, Phyna, recently roused students of St. Monica Girls Secondary School, Ondo, Ondo State with words of encouragement. The event was the 2022 edition of Churchill Foundation’s all-city empowerment project which took place in Ondo State, the town of leading entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr. Olakunle Churchill.

Nollywood actress, Bimbo Oshin along with four of the former BBNaija housemates, presented the Churchill scholarships to 20 students in the all-girls school in the ancient town. Bimbo Oshin encouraged the students to pay attention to their studies and not give up on their goals in life, “You have to make success your goal no matter what you want to do with your life and no doubt being educated will make you go far whichever career you choose,” she admonished.

Among the outlined projects for the annual event was the commissioning of borehole in Phase III, Moferere Market in Ondo Town in the name of Omoniyi Churchill (Olakunle Churchill’s son) as well as financial and logistics support for indigent patients at the Mother and Child Unit of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo State.  

Speaking at the event, Mrs Rose Churchill, who conceived the idea of visiting and giving back to patients, said she was inspired by seeing the struggles of her mother as a child. Although the idea of giving back came to her before now, she said the context is reinforced now that she is a mother herself. The 2022 edition is a kind of homecoming for Olakunle Churchill with other editions having taken place in other states in the past. In all, he said it is a continuation of the mantra of the Churchill Foundation.

Reacting, Chief Mrs Adeola Anne Akinseloyin, Principal, St. Monica Girls Secondary School, Ondo, Ondo State, said, “This is a very laudable initiative, there are many people who have money but are not looking back so to see Bimbo Oshin, other dignitaries as well as Big Brother Naija housemates is laudable.

“Many of our students stay awake to watch Big Brother Naija and to see the housemates is a big deal for them. Such things are necessary to motivate the younger ones because many of them still don’t know what to do with their lives and this visit might be a deciding factor for them so say: I want to be like her, I want to be like him, I will be great in future.

“The scholarship itself is a very big one, for a single individual to award scholarships to 20 students at once, we really appreciate it and you can see that from the faces of not just the students but even the staff and parents also. If Dr. Churchill didn’t come, nobody would have done anything to him so now that he has come, we are truly grateful. He has given a lot of these children leverage in terms of education because many of them live with their aged parents and to have their children as a part of this is huge for them.”