Speaker's profile:Lanre Onasanya, popularly known as AuntyLanre is a graduate of Lead Ciuty University Ibadan where she obtained her first degree in Educational Management in 2012.
Her passion for supporting and impacting children (especially orphans, vulnerable & less privileged children), as well as young women has been the major reason for her frequent attendance and participation at conferences and seminars where helping humanity is being discussed. This has assisted her professionally in her passion and zeal to help orphans, the less privileged and vulnerable children in Africa.
She is the founder of Aunty Lanre Initiative, a non-governmental organization through which she and her amazing volunteers have reached over 500 orphans & vulnerable children since its inception in 2015. Aunty Lanre Initiative evolved out of her enormous love for children and also, her personal conviction that with support from the community, orphans and vulnerable children can live better and have more meaningful lives. With her passion for social service and child development especially in the area of social welfare, for children and young people, she started *Auntylanreinitiative*.
Her NGO, Auntylanreinitiative kicked off with the first tour of its kind in the city of Ibadan, a tour round Orphanage homes tagged, "The Ibadan Orphanage Tour". This tour took place within two months, August 8th - Sept 26, 2015. She and volunteers numbering their tens visited 8 Orphanages in 8 weeks (Saturdays) where they spent time, played, impacted lives and gave gifts. The items included food, school, household items and self care items. The second edition of the Ibadan Orphanage Tour is currently on and will end on the 24th of September 2016.
Aunty Lanre Initiative in partnership with the Litera Project, facilitated the scholarship project where 3 children from 2 orphanages in Ibadan were given full scholarships to a reputable high school in Ibadan. An idea of Miss Ajoke Nasir, which resonated with Aunty Lanre's vision.
She is the co-author of the books Blue Skies; Red Seas, Joyed Up Devotional and My Book of Psalms. She is also the cofounder of 'Joyed Up', a campaign against depression in Africa. The above named books are some of the products used to drive this campaign and the books can be purchased anywhere books are sold worldwide. The Products were launched on the 23rd of July, 2016.
Aunty Lanre has worked as teacher and a School Administrator at Citadel private school, Ibadan. She currently runs a Saturday Club for Children, Aunty Lanre Kids Klub where she teaches, instructs and guides children between ages 4and 12. AuntyLanre finds absolute fulfillment in her career. In the year 2016, She was named one of the most influential people in Ibadan, Nigeria by ConnectIbadan. She collaborates with Orphanages, rendering support and teaching values as well as life skills to the children.
Aunty Lanre hails from Ejigbo in Osun state. She was born on the 24th of July and grew up in Ibadan. AuntyLanre is happily married to her Bestie, Bolu Onasanya.
Aunty lanre speaks:
I will be speaking on Purpose and Passion giving you practical experiences and helping you find purpose as God helps me do that.
First, I would like you to know that you CAN NOT separate PASSION from PURPOSE.It's like Man and breath, like a child and her mother.
One fuels the other, one drives the other
We all know what purpose means, sometimes it can't be explained. To me, PURPOSE is an action word word, just like LOVE.
Purpose in simple terms is why you are here and why you are still alive
If there is a reason why you are still alive, its because you have not started or you have not finished what you have been called or created to do.
So, our daily assignment is to live out God's breathe in us... I mean, live out the reason for which God breathed into our nostrils and gave us life.
Passion on the other hand is what you do that makes you feel happy, fulfilled, satisfied. Something you don't get tired doing, something that has the ability to keep you awake for hours... Of course, not talking about your phone 😁
You see why you can't separate the two? Passion fuels your purpose... It drives you to fulfilling purpose. Most of the time ,in your passion, is purpose.
For example, I love children.
Maybe it had always been there, but I didn't find it until I started involving myself in some deliberate activities.
Truth is, We are all still on a journey, what differs is what length I have been able to cover.
I started out by going with friends and family, visiting orphanages during christmas. Then, I just went casually, nothing attached.
But it all started during my NYSC year.
I was posted to a private secondary school in akure(that was after i was rejected in 3 schools),
I was employed to take special students(kids who had difficulty learning fast) ENGLISH LANGUAGE 3times a week.
I noticed that I bonded well with the junior secondary students than the senior secondary students.
I also noticed that they listen to me a lot. So I ceased the opportunity. I started talking to them, about God, truth, love, honesty etc, after our usual classes.
They loved me.
Fast forward to when I got back from NYSC, I didn't know what I was going to do, and I wasn't in a rush about it.
I wasn't in a hurry to get a job... Not because I was lazy or didn't need money. I just desired to listen for God's voice on where I should work.
Eventually a job opening came easily one day while I was cooking in the kitchen. I still didn't rush to get it, I consulted my mentor. We talked about it and then he asked me whether I wanted to take it, and I eventually got the job.
Getting the job was another testimony but that's another long story.
It was a job as a teacher in a primary school in ibadan.
I loved it... It was then I started to discover my love and passion for children.
I just wanted them to be excellent... Fully grounded... Asides from teaching them subjects, I started to teach them on about faith, truth, honesty, prayers, fasting.
They were like my own children and we were like a family... I won their trust and they could share anything with me.
That was where I started from...
I started to have huge impacts in the lives of children.
Parents would call me, give me gifts, pray for me..
And I loved the kids.... I did the same for another set of kids
No 1 lesson: Find your place
No 2:Find your own audience
No3. Don't be in a hurry to discover purpose... God doesn't reveal everything to us at once, you need to walk with him.let him lead you.
No4. Listen. For God's voice, about anything you want to do, listen to people you trust, to people you model your lives after.
I'd continue my purpose journey...
How auntylanre initiative was discovered???
I met with a friend one day at the cinemas, and she asked me," Lanre, what can we do with this love for kids that we have?
I wrote down five things we can do, and we settled for one. We started little drops organization.
We started helping families that couldnt take care of their children. We would visit, support them with food, clothes, aometimes buy books, we even paid school fees and rented them an apartment because they lived in a 1room.
We went on to do a christmas party for 100 children within their community(sango), later on set up a need centre in yemetu for 200 children...
We continued to do the good we knew to do...
Eventually, I discovered that its not anybody you should collaborate with... Our goals, objectives, our vision, werent alike... So we were having personal problems. Then we decided to go slow...
Until we both went separate ways... The end of littledrops.
Did I learn anything? I learnt a lot.
Did i gather experience? Yes
Did I gain exposure?
Because we had supported a family, we were able to do 100kids, and because we did 100kids, we could reach out to more kids.
Just 3weeks after we quit littledrops, God spoke to me one Monday morning, I was fasting on that day. I usually fast every Mondays.
God said to me clearly, " THE IBADAN ORPHANAGE TOUR"
He gave me clear directions. I followed to the letter. Resources?he sent help.
I thought that was the end, till he gave me a scripture in James 1:27
And that was what I needed... And that's what has been my anchor.
Limitations? Obstacles? Yes.
My mind! Doubts! Faithlessness. My inability to see beyond the present sutuations...
But that was then, now I know better.
In your Purpose Journey, know that
1. You are not on earth to just exist, LIVE. Find a need and meet it, find a problem and solve it, find a hurting heart and love it (I'm not saying those thin legged trouser guys
2. You don't have to start an NGO like me, if you have not heard clearly from God, why not volunteer for causes you care about. Autism? Orphans? Street kids? Teachind truths ? Campaigning against premarital sex? Anything Good and positive, start from there....
3. Listen.... God usually doesn't like to impose anything on us.... So, he won't force you....Listen for his instructions, for his leading.
4. Sit with yourself, find your core, find your message, mine is to children, I want them to be excellent children. I don't want them to turn out like our generation. I want them better. I preach love, commitment to charity, I preach giving, I preach right living.... Everywhere you see my *hand*, its about these things.
Now I know that without Faith and patience, you can't get anything from God.
If he did it before, he can do it again.
If he said you should do it, you can go to bed...no need to worry how.
But,You also have to take steps.
5. Always remember,in everything you do, its not about you. God owns your life, he called you, he gave you those gifts you carry, the glory is his, not yours.
6.In your journey of finding purpose, know that the key is doing the next right thing.... The clock is ticking.. some lives are tied to you...do the next right thing!
God bless you as you put all these into practice, may God speak to you, the things I didn't mention here. From tonight, receive listening ears. Receive the grace to be sensitive at all times.
Remember that God loves you. And he wants the best for you.
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