DR Tolulola Bags Humanitarian Award par Excellence
By Olusegun HOSEA
The Founder and President of Dorian Home, Dr Tolulola Bayode (RM, PSM, MD) has received a Humanitarian Award par Excellence from the Association of Ondo State Poets. The event, which took place at the Dorian Home in Akure, the Ondo State capital, had in attendance some of the Awardee’s families, friends, staff and orphanage children.
The award was presented by the President of the Association of Ondo State Poets, Hon Goke Williams, in company of Mr Jide Ogidan, the Association General Secretary. Also in attendance were some other executive members of the Association.
Speaking at the event, Hon Goke said that the humanitarian cum philanthropic activities of the Dorian Home to the development of the humanity and the society at large were among the reasons considered that qualified Dr Tolulola for the award. He prayed for God’s protection and provision for the recipient of the award.
In her response, Dr Tolulola said she was humble to have received the award because she was a lover of poetry. Her words ” I am humble to receive this award because I love poems. The award is a big deal to me because it will spur me to do more to the society”.
Speaking further, Dr Tolulola appreciated the Association, saying for the Association of Ondo State Poets to have sat down and considered her for an award and also recited various poems in her honour was a big deal to her and that the good gesture was something that touched her heart.
In another development, the President of Dorian Home could not hide her joy as she took time to further thank the Poets and the entire crew of the Association for sparing their time in gracing the occasion. She said, she loved the event and that she was glad that the Poets came to give her the award.
Dr Tolulola, in an exclusive interview with Exponent Magazine News, said the Dorian Home, which stands for Charity and Social Development, was a vision given to her by God to execute and that she had been doing it to the best of her knowledge in helping the humanity. Her words, “Dorian Home is something that God has given me to do and I always love it.” Also, she added that, helping humanity was an in born trait for her and that it was something that she inherited from her parents. She described her parents as chearful givers.
The orphanage of just two years of existence has a total number of staff strength of fifty two (52) as at the time of filling this report and it is gender sensitive. It houses seven hundred children and one hundred rooms in all. The charity home had extended hands of fellowship to many widows by way of training them in various skills acquisition in order for them to be self reliant. There are ongoing projects like training centre building, multi-purpose hall, church auditorium and modern library that when completed would go along way in boosting the infrastructural facilities of the organisation to anchor many imparted activities for the less privileged.
Other highlights of the event included poem recitation, citation of the recipient (Dr Tolulola) musical interlude, testimonies from families and friends, and inspection of the Dorian Home facilities by the Association of Ondo State Poets.
The award was in commemoration of the World Poetry Day which is celebrated annually on the 21st of March. The World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO in 1999 and it is aimed at supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.
