In celebration of the International Volunteers Day 2021, the Lagos Food Bank Initiative organized a two-day (4th and 5th December) weekend getaway in Badagry to celebrate the achievements and efforts of its volunteers and also to encourage nationwide volunteerism. The getaway was tagged ‘Maximum enjoyment, Minimum effort’ by volunteers before leaving for Badagry. “It has been a very stressful year. I am here to unwind, relax and bond with other volunteers while also impacting the lives of vulnerable people”, said Funmilayo, a volunteer.

The getaway started with a community outreach in Topo community reaching hundreds of residents with food, relief and personal care items. The president of Lagos Food Bank, Michael Sunbola while addressing the volunteers said “We are not just here to have fun, this is a unique opportunity for you to share values with fellow volunteers and promote striding efforts of good work amongst yourselves while having loads of fun at it.” The upbeat energy and hard work of our volunteers during the intervention were indeed commendable. After the outreach, the volunteers headed for the beach and had maximum fun and enjoyment playing outdoor games like sack race, “how low can you go” and so on. “I doubt if I have had this much fun this year, there’s so much to eat, drink and play with and we’re not even halfway done” exclaimed Tolu.

After leaving the beach, the volunteers were also engaged at the night party with music, ice breaker games, and various other games that brought out excited cheers from the volunteers. With lots of food, snacks and drinks to go around, it was indeed a great way to end a fun-filled day. The award ceremony occurred on International Volunteers Day (5th December) and was anchored by the president, Mr.Michael Sunbola, who gave a welcome address and then explained the purpose of the awards. He presented 3 award categories for Leadership Initiative, Continuous engagement and Silent Workers to Adetayo Talabi,  Mojisola Ajayi and Olusegun Olayeye respectively. “While our decision was such a difficult one, we are delighted that everyone present here can identify that the awardees truly deserve the award because our system is driven by merit, objectivity and data.” said Mr. Sunbola after the presentation of awards. The weekend getaway ended with a tour to the Slave Trade Museum where volunteers learned about the history and saw physical and pictorial evidence of the slave trade in Nigeria.