Dreams from the slum

By Oghenede Fidelis:

You say they come from the slum
That they are poor and desperate
You call their clothes rags with tatters
Glorified pieces of rubbish they wear,
like Joseph’s robe of many colours
Dirty they look, filthy their hair
Starved so much they’re fleshly skeletons
Out of school, they’re pilgrims of the street

Do they have dreams to soar like Eagles?
Or are they bound to the ground like chickens meant for slaughter?
Will they blossom into butterflies?
Or will they forever remain moths…

Release the dreams from the slum!
For they are lofty and full of promise
They are ideas with endless boundaries
They can change reality as we know it
Pay heed to the words of the Holy Bible:
For out of Bethlehem, came the saviour

Release the passion within the slum!
It lies burning inside slum’s children
Driving them to act quickly
With sparks of creativity unbound

You call them filthy beings of grime?
I call them raw diamonds from ground
You curse them that they’re pale as death?
All I see is untested gold
You say they come from the lowest rungs?
Crude oil comes from the deepest depths
Nothing good comes ready-made
Leather shines when polished hard

Water the grounds of the slums you see
Sow your seed on fertile soil
Gently nurture that desert shoot
And see it become a mighty oak

Release the dreams from the slum I say
For they are rockets that must be launched.

NOTE: This poem urges the reader to look beyond appearances of children from the lowest rungs of society and recognize the greatness in all of them. It stresses on the importance of developing a child if you have the means. It takes a verse from Micah5:2 and likens the slums to Bethlehem, citing that Jesus the son of God was brought up from a slum and changed the world forever.
Dreams from the Slum challenges the reader to change his or her perception and realize that no matter the environment, a person can become successful. The poem also encourages the reader to help children that are out of school in poor communities.

He is an avid writer and has wowed people with his ideas. He volunteers for Dreams From The Slum initiative, a non profit organization that caters for out-of-school children living in the slums of Ajegunle, Lagos Nigeria and vulnerable citizens in the slums.

He loves whispering sweet poems online and when he’s not doing that, he’s looking for a million ways to feed his ever hungry mind. He refers to himself as an extroverted introvert and eats ideas as his breakfast, lunch and dinner.

He has a rented online apartment @ Facebook.com/oghenede.fidelis where he has his way with words and he plans to build a permanent home online very soon.