Imagine celebrating a birthday and remembering children who have been orphaned because of one circumstance or the other. In a country, like Nigeria, where a weird perception flows in the minds of the average citizen that the wealthy only invite the wealthy for their occasions, this brings up the need to change such conception and aim for a world of inclusivity.
That is why Queen Luciano, the founder of Queen Luciano Foundation makes It her goal to celebrate her annual birthday, which comes up every 10th December, at orphanage homes. Of course, this year, 2024, is no exception as she visited two orphanage homes in Benin and Akure respectively.
Founder’s birthday celebration in Ondo state
It was a day to be anticipated as the Queen Luciano Foundation team had already prepared everything needed for the orphanage visit before D-day. On 10th December 2024, the team comprising the staff members and volunteers set out to Emmanuel World Children Foundation, Ilara Road, Ik ota, Akure, Ondo State, to celebrate the Founder’s birthday with their children.
They arrived at the venue before 4 PM to commence the celebration. The management and children warmly welcomed the team, and various activities ensued, creating a vibrant and festive atmosphere. Mr Emmanuel, the founder of the children’s home, said the opening prayer. The QLF General Manager, Mr Babajide Daramola, gave the opening remark as he welcomed everyone to the occasion.
He emphasised the reason behind our visit and he highlighted the goals and objectives of the Queen Luciano Foundation. Pictures and videos were taken at intervals to capture the memorable moments. Father Christmas made a special appearance to entertain and delight the children, spreading cheer and excitement.
A special birthday song was performed in honour of Queen Luciano, making the celebration even more meaningful.
With the Fr Christmas cheering the children up, everybody came to the dance floor to dance to the different music coming from the music box and the children were all eager to have a dance with the Fr Christmas. After that, there was cake cutting at the spelling of Q-U-E-E-N.
Then, various toy-gifts were presented to the children while food items such as rice, tomatoes, noodles, pasta, children’s drinks and biscuits were given to the management of the home.
Mr. Emmanuel, the founder of Emmanuel World Children Foundation, expressed profound gratitude to Queen Luciano for choosing their organization to celebrate her special day. He wished her a happy birthday and conveyed his hopes for future visits and partnerships between both organizations. He also admitted that the QLF team were the first people that they are receiving with Christmas gifts and celebrations. As a token of appreciation, Mr Emmanuel gifted the team eight pairs of jotters and thanked them for their presence and efforts in making the day special for the children.
The Founder’s birthday celebration I’m Benin City, Edo state
The preparation for the celebration in Benin was the same as the one in Akure. The team arrived at the Edo orphanage home around 3:55 pm. On arrival, the children were all happy to see them and helped them carry the foodstuffs and gift items into the hall. The celebration started with one of the children leading in praise songs. Afterwards, another said the opening prayer and then the leader welcomed the whole team to their home.
Everyone present proceeded outside to the orphanage home’s playground to play some games.
This was followed by the cutting of the cake. Photos and videos were also taken at intervals.
The children took turns praying for the Founder and the Foundation. One of them was appointed to give the vote of thanks and the closing prayer.
Wrapping up
Celebrating the founder’s day is a way of celebrating the founder of Queen Luciano Foundation who has devoted her time and resources to bring the foundation to where it is today. The event was a resounding success, reinforcing the foundation’s commitment to bringing smiles to the faces of children and fostering meaningful connections with like-minded organizations. This shows that the founder’s birthday celebration is a good one that brings the whole foundation team together for an end-of-the-year get-together. Moreover, The children and the staff at the orphanage were so happy to have such a celebration and they admitted that the team were the first group to have visited them to celebrate Christmas with them.
