Season 1 of the Sunshine Project was incredibly awesome and after successfully raising over half a million naira, (at home and abroad), the team was able to clothe more than one hundred children from a public school located in Egbeda, Lagos in December 2012.
However, December 2013 brought about greater responsibilities as the team embarked on a more tedious task of doubling up the number of less privileged children to be catered for last Christmas. Parents of these kids strive hard to get them through public primary schools and struggle even harder to put food on their tables, buy them school uniforms and books, hence, getting them clothes during Christmas seasons may be an uphill task.
Last December, the Sunshine Project team visited two public schools, one on Lagos mainland and the other on the island, where they delivered sets of new clothes. Colourful T-shirts (designed & donated by Kids for Kids, a child support initiative based in Europe), new skirts and trousers made by the Ayo van Elmar production team, as well as brand new shoes were all donated to these amazing kids as they all excitedly jumped up with joy and happiness. Most importantly, the team brought smiles back to their faces once again.
The Sunshine Project is an initiative of the fast rising Nigerian born, Austria based fashion designer, Ayo van Elmar, who out of sympathy for the needy and absolute love for kids embarked on a journey towards styling less privileged kids in Lagos for Christmas. Ayo van Elmar had showcased her most recent collection at the Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2013, and has also been at the London Fashion Week as well as Vienna Fashion Week.
She made headway on the project by collecting all leftover pieces of fabrics after styling contestants of the Nigeria’s Got Talent (2012) that year. And with support from families and friends, home and abroad, who all contributed in cash and kind, Ayo was able to kick start the project.
After a successful first outing, Ayo decided to make the project a yearly thing as there are thousands of less privileged kids out there whose parents cannot afford new wear at Christmas. Understanding the profound Christmas culture in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria where most children get new clothes, the Sunshine Project has decided to play a great role in helping these kids achieve the heart desires.
Even though we distributed in December, sharing love to the less privileged is not restricted to any particular season, as long as you put a smile on someone’s face.