Children’s day! A special day to recognize, honor, celebrate and appreciate children – GOD’S GIFTS. The celebration is held on different days in several countries. In Nigeria, it is celebrated on 27th May, annually. Children are said to be gifts from God. It doesn’t matter the sex and physical state or condition of the child. These children are the future of many generations…
…so attention must be paid to their spiritual, physical, emotional, educational and social wellbeing. In the light of this, the Compassion Centre for Physically Challenged Children, Nkpogu, Port Harcourt, took advantage of this special day to celebrate and appreciate the giftedness of the children in the Centre.
27th May, 2016, was a blissful day for the children as they were able to make visitation to other homes and also showcased their personalities and talents in the various activities performed during their celebration.
In the early hours of the day, they visited the Port Harcourt Childrens Home popularly known as the “Motherless Babies Home” to celebrate with them. All the children had fun, sang and prayed together. They also visited the Home for Elderly as an appreciation for the gift of their parents, praying also for couples seeking for the fruit of the womb. These visitations were made to inculcate in the children of Compassion Centre. It was a wonderful and touching experience for them as some of them were filled with tears by the conditions of some of the people they saw.
Later in the day, there was lots of fun for the children. They had their own celebration, filled with activities – a talk on being who they want to be (career choices); games; dancing and a dance competition; a talents show; displays on arts and crafts (drawing, painting, molding, knitting); fashion parade; cutting of the children’s cake. The peak of it was the crowning of Master and Miss Compassion Centre 2016, Master Kingsley Moses and Miss Anita Goodluck, the winners of the fashion parade for the boys and girls respectively. Lots of visitors and friends also came around to celebrate and thank God with them.
It indeed a joyful and memorable day for the children. They thanked their Aunties and the Sisters for celebrating their day!
Here three of the children share what the celebration meant to them:
MY CHILDREN’S DAY IN COMPASSION CENTRE
by KELECHI NNOTUBAM
Firstly, what is Children’s Day? Children’s Day is a day for celebration, laughter, joy and peace and it is also a special day for all the children in the world. So, I want to tell you all how I spent my Children’s Day in Compassion Centre.
On that day, after saying our morning prayers and making our bed our house Aunty came inside our room and shouted Happy Children’s Day! We were so excited and we all told her thank you. Later that morning, at 9:30am, we left the Centre on visitation to the Motherless Babies’ Home and Home for Elderly.
At the Motherless Babies’ Home, we went first to the babies section, where we saw little children of 1 to 3years old. They were on their beds, some were sleeping while some were playing. Then we went to another section with children of ages 5 to 11years old. We introduced ourselves to them, sang and prayed for them. Most of us children in Compassion Centre and our Aunties were touched with what we saw and felt sorry for the children. I learnt many things from the motherless babies’ home. That, I should be good to other children, I should not insult them but should love and care for them as my brothers and sisters.
At the Home for Elderly, we were told that it was founded by Dagogo Alagoma in 1978. I was touched seeing these elderly people and I learnt that I should not reject them but try to help them when I see them.
When we came back to the Centre, we had our own party. We did so many things like balloon games, dance competition, sweet game, fashion parade etc. For the fashion parade, Anita and Kingsley won and they became Miss and Master Compassion Centre respectively.
I enjoyed my Children’s Day because we went to the Motherless Babies Home and the Home for the Elderly. I will never forget this day because it’s the happiest day in my life.
HOW I SPENT MY CHILDREN’S DAY
by ESTHER ETIM
Children’s day is a day that children all over the world celebrate as their day. In my country, Nigeria, it is celebrated every 27th May. On that day, children will visit homes and they will attend church services. Afterwards they will celebrate at home, eat, drink, dance, visit eateries etc. In Compassion Centre, we visited the Motherless Babies Home, Aggrey Road, Port Harcourt. They have two sections: one section for babies while the other section for older ones between ages of four and eleven years old. We were taken round by one of the male staff who later briefed us about the home. He told us that the home was founded in the year 1974 by the government after the war. At that time most parents lost their children and the children lost their parents. We were also told that as things went on the name was changed to Port Harcourt Children Home due to the nature of the children being kept in the home. Like some of the children are those whose parents are in the prison are kept in the home till the parents are released.
After the Motherless Babies Home, we visited the Home for the Elderly. This Home was founded on the 29th of July, 1978 by Dagogo Alagoma. We went in, sang with them, prayed for them and they prayed for us.
We went back to the Centre. At 3pm, the party at the Centre started. Our Master of Ceremony (MC) was Mr. Oliver. In the party, we played games, we danced and some children participated in fashion parade and we got Master and Miss Compassion Centre. After that we cut the cake, ate and drank. Then we said the closing prayer and the party was over.
I learnt so much from the activities of today, that during times of celebration like this, we should not only think of ourselves but also think of others like the homes we visited-the motherless babies home, home for elderly. I also learnt that when it is children’s day, parents all over the world should always try to celebrate their children.
HOW I SPENT MY CHILDREN’S DAY IN COMPASSION CENTRE
By CHIDIMMA MUOJEKWU 
Children’s day is a special day for all the children in the whole wide world. In Nigeria we celebrate children’s day 27th of May every year.
Compassion Children of which I am one were not left aside. Being a public holiday for us, we had great fun and also learnt a lot of things that day.
Firstly, we visited the Port Harcourt Children Home to celebrate with the Children there. We were welcomed by one of the Staff who took us round, first to the Babies section and another section for the older ones. We introduced ourselves to them and told them our purpose of being there. After which we sang and prayed with them. Then the Staff told us about that the home, he said that, after the Civil war most children lost their parents. The Government then built this home for the children to stay. He also said that it was founded in 1974. After he explained everything about the home to us, we thanked him for everything.
Secondly, we also went to the Elderly Home to visit them too. The Reverend Sister – in – Charge told us that the home was founded by Dagogo Alagoma on 27th July, 1978. She also told us that some of them were abandoned by their children, some found by the police and were brought to the home. We were taken to the residents, we sang with them, one of them prayed for us. We thanked them.
Later in the afternoon, we started our party in the Centre with a lovely prayer. Someone came to teach us about “who I will be if I work hard” then some girls entertained us with songs, we had games and dancing competition. Some boys and girls also did what is called “Fashion Parade”. It was a lot of fun, a girl and a boy won the fashion parade which they were called “Master and Miss Compassion Centre” we were happy that they won while some were sad. Prizes were given to the first, second and third positions in Arts and Crafts (drawing and painting, moldings, knitting and bead making). After that we cut the cake and ended the party with a closing prayer.
It was lots of fun and I learnt so many things. About the teaching on what I want to be if I work hard, I learnt that it is good to work hard especially in my education so that I can become what I would like to be in future. I also learnt that it is good to share what you have with those who don’t have. I also learnt that it is good to visit homes like the Elderly Home and the Motherless Babies Home etc. so that they will feel that people are caring for them. These made me so happy, it was fun doing Children’s Day in Compassion Centre.
