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By Damiete Braide
Members of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), on Saturday, marked the forthcoming 84th birthday of their General Overseer, Enoch Adeboye, with a humanitarian outreach at the Olusosun Landfill community in Lagos, delivering medical care, educational support and welfare materials to residents living around one of Africa’s largest dumpsites.
The intervention, organised under the Reach4Christ Initiative, coincided with Valentine’s Day and formed part of activities celebrating Adeboye’s birthday, which comes up later this week. Volunteers from the church conducted free medical screenings and treatment, distributed pharmaceuticals, clothing, school bags and food items, and launched a structured education and rehabilitation programme targeted at children in the Olusosun–Ikosi axis.
Tagged; “Taking Education to Olusosun” under the broader Light up Olusosun campaign, the initiative seeks to address the severe educational deprivation experienced by children growing up within and around the landfill environment. Organisers said the project aligns with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, affirming every child’s right to life, dignity, and access to education regardless of circumstance.
Spanning about 100 acres and processing thousands of tonnes of waste daily, the Olusosun dumpsite has long been associated with environmental hazards, toxic smoke, contaminated water, and unsafe living conditions. Informal settlements around the landfill host thousands of families who depend on waste picking and related activities for survival, leaving children exposed to health risks, poverty, and limited schooling opportunities.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of Reach4Christ Initiative, Pastor Oluwagbemileke Adeboye, said the outreach reflected RCCG’s commitment to practical expressions of love and social impact.
“It is good to be here again with you,” he told residents. “This is not our first time in Olusosun, and we have come on a day like this to proclaim the love of God and express that love in action. From the little work we have been doing, we have now added education by creating a school for your children.”
He noted that RCCG had erected two makeshift structures within the community to serve as a learning centre and place of worship, adding that the goal was to help residents transition to better living conditions.
“There is no level in life that God cannot redeem,” he said. “We are here to hold your hand and help you climb to the next level. Today we are providing healthcare, food, clothing, and education. These are the things that will make our father, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, happy as he turns 84.”
The education intervention includes preparatory classes designed to transition children into formal schooling. Facilitated by trained educators, the programme delivers foundational literacy and numeracy lessons and provides basic learning materials to participating pupils.
Eligible children will receive full scholarship support covering school enrolment and administrative fees, uniforms, writing materials, and other essential supplies to enable their integration into nearby public primary schools.
Vice Chairman of Reach4Christ Initiative, Pastor Emmanuel Emefienim, said the project emerged from plans to commemorate Adeboye’s 80th birthday four years ago by “lighting up” underserved communities through outreach and evangelism.
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“Olusosun was identified as one of the most vulnerable communities, and each time we come here it is emotional,” he said. “Over 10,000 people live in this dumpsite without hope of a better future. We decided to focus first on the most vulnerable, the children.”
He recounted early assessments showing deep learning deficits among children in the area.
“We tested children aged four to ten and asked them to write numbers one to five. Some aged nine and ten could not do it,” he said. “At that point we knew something was wrong, and we launched the Education for All Initiative to take them into proper schools and sponsor everything they need.”
Beyond schooling, the campaign incorporates the Anti-Drug and Anti-Cultism Initiative (ADACI), which provides behavioural counselling, mentorship, and awareness sessions aimed at preventing substance abuse and gang involvement among at-risk youth.
Organisers said children raised in landfill environments face heightened exposure to drugs, violence, and criminal recruitment, making early intervention critical.
Emefienim stressed that the initiative seeks both educational access and psychological rehabilitation.
“We are intentional about removing them from this environment so they can have a mindset shift,” he said. “Remaining here exposes them daily to vices like drug abuse and cultism. Education alone is not enough, we must rehabilitate and reorient them so they can fulfill their dreams.”
He called on government agencies, faith groups, and private citizens to collaborate in supporting marginalised communities.
“This should not be left only to Reach4Christ or the government,” he said. “Well-meaning Nigerians who have enjoyed privilege should come and see how they can intervene. Society becomes better when we uplift children who are here not by their fault but by circumstances.”
Residents who benefited from the outreach expressed gratitude for the medical care and educational support, saying the intervention offered rare hope for children growing up in the dumpsite.
The Reach4Christ Initiative said the Olusosun programme would be sustained beyond the birthday celebration through continuous preparatory classes, scholarship placements, mentorship, and periodic health outreaches, with the long-term goal of integrating vulnerable children into formal education and safer living conditions.
