Yesterday my friend Tolulope Oyekan, did her pass out parade (POP). Let me quickly explain what that means.

In Nigeria where I come from as you all know lol😎 Every student who finishes University has to go through a program called “The National Youth Service Corp” (NYSC). A year service period where the Government posts you to anywhere in the country where you work for a whole year technically serving your country.  The idea is to help Nigerian youths learn about other cultures and ways of life because Nigeria is such a big country with diverse cultures.

I met Tolu back in 2007 back in Ogbomosho a town in Oyo state Nigeria where I attended University, at the time she was a 2nd-year med student, can I also add that we met and became really good friends under the most ridiculous circumstances well that’s a story for another day…. or you can ask me in private hahaha😀

Fast forward to April 2009, Her mum died and in December 2010 exactly 1 year and 8months after losing mum, Dad died unexpectedly.

Fast-forward to early 2011 we got the news that she had to withdraw from medicine after almost 5 years of being in med school because she failed her MBS exams. For folks who grew up in Nigeria you would understand the implications of losing one’s parents especially when you are still studying, the worst thing that could happen to anyone, wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

Tolu here picked up the pieces of what’s left and moved to Ghana for a fresh start and got admitted into the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, where she studied Medical Laboratory Science and in 2015 she graduated with First Class Honours, came back to Nigeria and served her country. Yesterday she did her pass out parade for serving her beloved country. Now it wasn’t as easy as I made it sound, a lot of crying, difficult moments, hard and tough times and a whole lot of shenanigans went down.

Tolu here represents a story of hope and strength and I want to use her story to encourage anyone out there who thinks their world has come to an end because of major setbacks like this. You can pick up the pieces and make something useful out of life. This post is dedicated to all orphans out there keeping it real and holding it down and anyone who isn’t giving up on their dreams. Yours might not be the loss of parents it could be anything, your pain or loss is unique to you, whatever it is you can pick up the pieces and make something beautiful out of it. You are stronger than you think,  you can pick up the pieces and make the most out of a difficult situation.

Tolu thank you for being who you are, thank you for staying strong, thank you for staying true and for being consistent. You are the real MVP and you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. I am sure Dad and Mum are incredibly proud of you. I would never forget the day you heard your dad you locked yourself in a room and prayed and worshipped for hours, now that’s a whole lot of faith and vigor. I would never forget that moment. No wonder things turned around the way it did, you are a product of grace. Babe you don’t even look one inch like. what you’ve been through.

At the moment Tolu is looking into scholarships to study abroad for her Masters and I pray she gets it, she deserves it, she has worked incredibly hard.

My lovely friend Opeoluwa Malomo the founder of Letters of Hope is also an orphan who lost her parents at an early age. Opeoluwa founded Letters of Hope out of her love for Orphans. “Letters of Hope” is An online platform dedicated to helping out people to deal with loss, pain and the setbacks which come with it.  She’s also the author of the book “Letters of Hope”. A book that was written out of her own personal journey as an orphan, the struggles and the pain of losing both parents at such a young age. I have read the book a few times, an Amazing book I must say. If you are reading this and you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, you can get in touch with Opeoluwa. She is on most social media platforms as Letters of Hope.

Thanks for reading this post. I hope you have found it useful. Until I come your way again, remember you can be whoever you want to be only if you don’t give up.

IfeOluwa.