Introducing Free Hands Initiative

The name 'Free Hands' came about during a round-table meeting involving chicken and chips, after a Soup Kitchen event at Apapa in February, 2014. Joy said "Friends sounds like 'Free Hands'", and that was it!

Over the past year, we've done some more events, prepared a Constitution and started a Corporate registration. We've also grown exponentially, thanks to the support of many wonderful people.

Free Hands aims to:

• Help Nigerians, especially, to cultivate a giving spirit;
• Increase the number of givers and helpers in the country;
• Train and Raise Charitable people.

To achieve these, we host events like the Soup Kitchen, the Christmas Outreach, the Valentine's Day Block Party, the Independence Day Block Party and the Back-to-School Drive. These events provide opportunities for people to give and help, and learn to host their own events - achieving the multiplier effect that we want. 

Use our contact form for inquiries and we'd be glad to provide answers or support for you if you wish to host your own charitable event or take part in the events we have coming up. 

May 9 Soup Kitchen at Bariga, Lagos

Good Morning Friends, Volunteers, Supporters, Donors, Interested Parties and Blog Visitors.

We will like to say a humongous THANK YOU for your contributions towards the Bariga Soup Kitchen hosted by ‘Free Hands Initiative’. You all are truly super stars. With your help we were able to: 

1.  Cook and Serve 14 cartons of noodles, with Boiled Eggs and Pure Water
2.  Distribute Clothes, Shoes, Personal Care Items, Exercise Books and Pens
3. Present a Bag of Rice to the community leaders that provided our set-up location

Saturday, May 9, 2015 started out quite horribly. Some of the volunteers and donations were stuck in traffic due to road blockages as a result of the Lagos Carnival holding on Lagos Island, as well as reduced driving lanes all over the city caused by fuel queues, as we’re in the middle of one of the worst fuel scarcity experiences this country has had in a long time.

FOOD: About 3 hours after we were scheduled to start, the first batch of noodles finally began to cook. We had an expert team of men and women preparing batch after batch of delicious noodles. Some members of the volunteer team also performed QA tasks confirming said ‘deliciousness’.

 Executives of the QA Team, Tobi and Sylwia

 The Gas-Powered Outdoor Kitchen. (An upgrade from the previous use of kerosene stoves, thanks to your donations).

Everyone knows that bachelors cook the best noodles. :)

GIVE-AWAYS; A loving but stern team of crowd control experts were able to help us execute the most organized distribution of clothes and shoes that we have ever experienced, complete with queues and opportunities for matching color coded items and selecting appropriate sizes.

AWARDS: We had four Sewing School Scholarships to award but we could only find three people to give them to. Selections were made based on recommendations, minimum education requirements and personal interviews conducted on site. The winners selected were: Onyekachi Anya, Omolara Ajibuwa and Doris Anya. 

Omolara Ajibuwa, and her daughter, posing with volunteers Abas and Mide

Onyekachi Anya and Lara, with a cross section of volunteers, (and a very happy Bambo)

Chichi (Doris) Anya, with a cross section of volunteers.

AND The volunteers and members of the community had a lot of fun.

The group with Alhaji Okoya (center) of Adepeju Street who permitted us to use his compound for the Soup Kitchen.

Everyone wants Peace in Nigeria

First, we take an 'Usie'

 Friends since 1996!

First Time Soup Kitchen volunteer, Leke.

And that's a wrap!

We are still on a high from the success of this event. We are grateful to God and to you all. 

GOD BLESS YOU!

FIRST POST

We're on the way to a proper website.

For now we will keep you up to date with our events and schedules, via this blog.

We'll also be talking about the goals of the organization, membership and volunteering, and all that juicy stuff.

FUN!