A gathering was recently organised by a Nigerian Ukraine-trained medical doctor, philanthropist and founder of Dorian Home, Akure in Ondo State, Dr Tolulola Bayode, on the occasion of her birthday.
Bayode used the occasion to empower widows, youths and women across the state through various vocational skills to reduce unemployment and discourage engagement in criminal activities.
Apart from the vocational training and empowerment, no fewer than 500 women received various food items from the founder of Dorian Home, who said her journey to philanthropy is rooted in her personal experiences and her commitment to making a difference in the world, especially with the underprivileged, youth, widows and women in the state.
Speaking during the occasion, Dr Bayode whose birthday coincided with the June 12 Democracy Day, but celebrated it on June 17, said her gesture is driven by the need to arrest the increasing unemployment and youth restiveness across communities for meaningful development to take place in the country.
She said, “I have no intention to join politics now or in the future. Nobody asked me to do this and I am doing it not to impress anybody but out of the concern I have for the poor and the needy in the society.”
Bayode charged the people of the state and the country as a whole to see community and nation building as a collective task with the goal of making impact without waiting for a position of authority.
The medical practitioner said, “Developing a community or our immediate environment should be our collective responsibility and this requires citizens to positively influence the environment in whichever way they can.
“If you find yourself in a position where you can make an impact by helping the needy, please do not hesitate. You don’t have to be in office, you don’t have to be in a position of authority before making an impact of service to your people.
“I am not doing this for anybody to give me accolades. I am only doing this to give my creator all the glory because at the end of the day, we are here to celebrate God in me. I am a child of grace. Looking at this environment, I built it through God’s grace and I am happy about it.
“I am only praying to God to give me the grace to rededicate myself better to the service of the poor and the needy on this commemoration of my birthday and greater willingness to serve you faithfully and continually.”
Bayode added that “What motivated me into doing this is because, when you look at life, you will see that life itself is vanity. If you have everything in this world, you are not taking them anywhere.
“I understand the real meaning of ‘vanity upon vanity’ and I decided that this is what I will live my life for, which is humanity. I don’t want to live for anything else. I want to be for God and for humanity.
“This is actually what I have been looking forward to doing. I want to always celebrate my birthday with the less privileged with a view to giving them a sense of belonging. I want them to know that they can also be felt in the society.
“It is good to be with them because at the end of the day, they are what matters in the society. If you have everything in this world and you keep celebrating with your rich friends, what gain have you? I feel happy and fulfilled seeing these set of people around me.
“I am very happy, doing this and I am not doing it because I want to join politics. I pray that one day, I will have partners that have same vision like me and would partner with me towards making this world a better place.”
The father to the philanthropist, Chief Joseph Agboola Bayode, recalled that Tolulola’s act of benevolence dates back to when she was young, saying she used to sacrifice for her siblings and family.
“What is important to her all her life is putting smiles on the faces of the people around her. So, I am not surprised to see her giving out to people at every point in time,” he said
He described his daughter as a pleasant and kind woman who takes care of over 100 orphans and paying salaries of about 60 people who manage the homes.
“When she started building the Dorian Home, I reminded her of the need to have her own house but she wants to build a home for the less privileged and she built it without collecting a dime from anyone.
I offered to give her some money but she rejected it. She is a woman with a heart of gold who is always passionate about not growing alone, but lifting others.”
A nollywood actress, Foluke Daramola described Bayode as a philanthropist per excellence and passionate about giving back to her immediate community and environment.
Daramola said Bayode established Dorian Home in 2021 as a way of helping the less privileged in the society including widows, vulnerable children, and youths, among others.
She said Dorian Home has a well-equipped library, big hall, church, clinic and the best facility to give vulnerable children succour and comfort.
“Tolulola is a definition of grace and a woman of astounding splendour who epitomises the virtue of an incomparable caregiver.
“In her magnanimity, she saw the almost neglected ones in the society, removed the rags on them, clothed them with royal regalia and provided them with not just a roof over their heads, but kept them in a palace and has continued to empowering them academically.
“This is undoubtedly one of the numerous ways of nurturing future leaders and Bayode is highly determined to ensure that these children, having discovered their hidden talents through their enrollment in schools, would emerge our tomorrow leaders.
“Her level of tolerance, perseverance, patience, understanding, contentment and submissiveness is quite unequalled, commendable and phenomenal.
“Privileged to observe her on many fora since the birth of the Dorian Home, one of the first qualities I noticed about her is her caring prowess. She is simply unassuming, sound and presents issues with expressions that appeal to the sense of hearing,” Daramola said.
Also speaking at the event, former Minister of State for Niger Delta, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, described the initiative of Bayode as unequal in the state, in terms of giving back to the society without thinking of anything in return.
Alasoadura said, “Without mincing words, the CEO of Dorian Home is a warrior, not because she is trained to handle guns or dangerous weapons at the battlefield, but she possesses the courage to do ordinary things in extraordinary ways.
“She is gifted in making difficult tasks appear ordinary through her philanthropic gestures. Truly, she is humanity-personified. Of a truth, the blood of humanity runs in her veins. She loves being identified with the less privileged and the downtrodden and this she has continued to till date.”
One of the beneficiaries, a widow, Madam Sarah Ilelabola, who is a farmer, expressed happiness for the food items she received, saying she never expected such a gift. “I am very happy. I thank God for using our daughter to bless us.
“Our message to Tolulola is to say we are highly grateful for graciously rendering massive support towards women, widows and the youths. Tolulola has been putting smiles on the faces of both widows, persons with disabilities and aging people and youths every year.
“She also engages in youth and women empowerment by giving out little tokens to beneficiaries to start up small-scale business enterprises. So, I want to call on spirited individuals to support the poor ones in the society like Tolulola has been doing.”
The celebrant used the event to empower widows, youths, the needy, among others, distributing gift items such as 100 brand new motorcycles, 50 sewing machines, 50 grinding machines, 50 wheel chairs, 50 hair dryers, food stuffs, among others items, while cash gift were presented to the less privileged.
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