“I Almost Ended Up As A Prostitüte” – Mercy Johnson Confesses

Mercy Johnson Okojie turned 29 years
On 28th of August 2013 and here is
a message from the mother of one to her
fans…
Today, I thought of many things I would
love to have as birthday gifts and the many
dreams I am still pursuing. In all of this I'm
not losing sight of the fact that if not for
God I might have ended up on the street
like the many kids and young adults
begging for food and some prostitüting to
make ends meet. If we know the
circumstances that force some of these
people on the street, we would spare a
thought for them. I am where I am today
purely by the grace of God and the grace of
people who believed in me from the word
go.
Recently, I was at the Boys Reform Home,
Oregun, Lagos, the discussion I had with the
principal Mr. Kotun and much later with the
Special Adviser in charge of allremand homes
in Lagos set me thinking about the boys and
girls on the street. They have dreams too. Can
they fulfill those dreams on the street? The
answer will likely be no; because I won't be
where I am today if I ended up on the street.
For this reason, Mercy Johnson Foundation
will be doing a lot to get kids off the street. We
are not asking people for money or donation,
I will do all I can with the resources God has
given me, and with the support of my
husband to help get these kids off the street
and set them on the path where they can
begin to pursue their dreams. I want to plead
with people, fans, friends and colleagues to
spare a thought for the children on the street.
We can begin by educating people around us,
parents, the children and people in charge of
children (Oga-house help relationship,
teacher-student relationship, and others) on
the need to treat every child like the future of
Nigeria depends on it. And truth be told, our
future will not be all that enjoyable if we let
the scourge of 'street-children' fester. By then,
the rich will begin to cry. I learnt Lagos State
Government has 11 homes where most
children picked from the streets are kept,
reformed and reunited with their families after
counseling
.
That is an initiative Mercy Johnson Foundation
will be supporting and beyond that we will be
going to different states to help spread the
message-Get kids off the street, save the
future. From tomorrow, I will begin to replay
some of the lessons I learnt at the boys'
reform home and we all can contribute to
getting the kids off the street.
I am grateful to everyone that has sent in a
birthday message, tweet and gifts. Thank you
and God bless you.
Mercy Johnson Okojie