Follow Us on Google
By Rita Okoye
Access to basic healthcare and preventive services received a boost in Mushin, Lagos, as the Smiley Foundation launched a community health outreach aimed at supporting vulnerable residents through free medical services, donations of health-related supplies and care for underserved groups.
Founder, Olawale Ojoye, popularly known as Smiley, said the initiative is rooted in compassion and a commitment to improving lives, stressing that it has no political affiliation.
Speaking during the outreach, Ojoye said the programme was inspired by his conviction that communities must do more to support people facing health and social challenges.
“This is 100 per cent not political. We have to care about each other and show love. At the end of the day, it is not about how much money you have, but about the lives you have impacted,” he said.
As part of the intervention, the foundation visited orphanages, correctional facilities and healthcare centres, where it distributed more than 100 mattresses, mosquito nets and other relief materials to improve living conditions and promote disease prevention.
The outreach also extended to centres caring for children living with autism, hearing impairment and other special needs. Ojoye described the visits as deeply emotional and said they reinforced the need for greater attention to vulnerable groups often overlooked in healthcare delivery.
In addition, elderly residents in Mushin and surrounding communities benefited from free medical tests, medications and food support, improving access to essential healthcare and helping to address immediate health needs among older people.
“I realised there are so many people who need help. It made me understand the importance of caring for one another. If we cannot love and care for each other, then what are we really doing?” Ojoye said.
Other News
He disclosed that the entire outreach was personally funded, noting that he deliberately declined external sponsorship to preserve the foundation’s independence and avoid any perception that the initiative could be exploited.
“The project is 100 per cent self-funded. I wanted to keep it that way because I don’t want anyone to think the foundation is being used for any form of extortion,” he said.
Although he serves as Personal Assistant to the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, Ojoye clarified that the commissioner only offered words of encouragement and was not involved in financing the programme.
“My boss encouraged me not to get discouraged, and that advice has kept me going,” he added.
Ojoye said Mushin was chosen as the starting point because it is his hometown and the community where his family has lived for generations.
He noted that the outreach marks the first phase of a wider humanitarian and public health initiative that will be expanded to other local government areas across Lagos.
To strengthen future interventions, the foundation plans to collaborate with hospitals and other healthcare institutions to improve access to medical services for underserved communities.
He said the foundation has developed a two-year strategic plan that will see humanitarian and health outreach programmes conducted every quarter across different communities in Lagos.
“Mushin is just the beginning. We have a two-year strategy and intend to carry out outreach programmes every quarter. My goal is to make a difference, even if it means saving just one or two lives,” he said.
