Mama Janet Ekundayo: The philanthropist who dedicated her life to caring for orphans and abandoned kids
Despite her exploits and uncommon contributions to society which were enough to earn her special humanitarian service award, Mama Janet Ekundayo lived in relative obscurity until 2003 when she had an encounter with celebrity photographer and singer Toyin ‘TY’ Bello.
From her small community in Isanlu in Yagba East local government area of Kogi State, she lived a life of an unsung hero. Yagba is one of the Yoruba-speaking areas in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria.
At Isanlu where she had the Ekundayo Children’s Home, she cared for orphans and abandoned kids from different parts of the country. Her kind of philanthropism was rare and still remains a reference point, she didn’t have so much, but from her widow’s mite, she made a commitment to give hope to the hopeless and the little kids who have been condemned by the circumstances of their birth. True to the meaning of her name Ekundayo, she turned what would have been their sorrow into joy and gave them hope for a brighter future.
The journey started in 1969 when she took the decision to spend her last four decades on earth caring for orphans and abandoned kids. For her, it was a calling and she heeded not minding the size of her pocket. By 2007 she admitted the 469th kid into her orphanage and cared for about 500 before her death in 2009. Her pocket was small but through support from other members of the society and institutions, she made a huge impact in the lives of many kids who would go ahead to become generations.
“My joy overflows, my whole life has been filled with joy. I still don’t know why God called me,” Mama Ekundayo said in a 2008 documentary shot by TY Bello.
She had five biological children, but by 2009 she had mothered nearly 500 children who looked to her as their mother. Dejected and abandoned, they had no one to lean on, Mama Ekundayo was all they had and she cradled them under her roof, up till when they could walk through life on their own.
She was a noble mother, an inspiring model and an unsung hero. If angels come in human form, Mama Janet Ekundayo was one who walked this land leaving a giant footstep in the lives of many who will never lose the memory of her role as a mother.
Nothing gave her joy like caring for abandoned children, “But I’m most fulfilled by my work with the children, I haven’t done this by my own wisdom I keep asking God to show me how and He keeps working miracles,” she said.
TY Bello discovered Mama Ekundayo in 2003 when as Director of ‘Link-a-child’ the NGO was in search of orphanages in the country to give support. The Link-a-child is an NGO dedicated to propagating information on orphanages in Nigeria and soliciting sponsorship on their behalf.
Recounting how their paths crossed, TY Bello said in the 2008 documentary on Mama Ekundayo; “In 2003, I took a journey with Toyin Subaiya and Bukola Olaoye. Olaoye had gone around the country looking for orphanages in distress and I discovered this woman called Madam Ekundayo.
“After talking to her for about 10 minutes, I just started to cry because I felt so empty, you know there is something about her that is very peaceful, very wholesome. You can tell that she was happy, but I felt that my whole life was just about me and my project and the things that I wanted. That feeling stayed with me for a very long time and then one day I wrote a song about it,” she said.
TY Bello’s encounter with Mama Ekundayo was the inspiration that birthed the song ‘Ekundayo’ in her popular ‘Greenland’ album released in 2007. The 15-track album also has popular songs like ‘Green Land’, and ‘Funmise’ among others.
She said after her encounter with Mama Ekundayo, her daughter expressed fears that Mama may soon depart this world.
“Mama has so much remained with us because she’s been waiting for someone to hand over the orphanage to and her daughter told me that ‘TY once I take over this orphanage, Mama is going to be gone’,” TY Bello said in the 2008 documentary.
Mama Ekundayo died in 2009, a year after the ‘Ekundayo’ music video and documentary were shot.
TY Bello’s penchant for bringing beauty out of what many see as mundane could be described as second to none. Through the lens of her camera, she discovered Olajumoke Orisaguna, a bread hawker who strayed into her street photoshoot with London-based rapper, Tinie Tempah, in 2016. Olajumoke would later drop the tray and street hawking for the runway as a popular model.
