A not-for-profit, the Men of Joyful Order (MOJO) has been commended for pursuing initiatives that futuristically secure the wellbeing of young people and empower them to succeed in life.

This avalanche of plaudits by the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, Anengi Claude-Wilcox, and the Amadabo of Finima, Aseme Alabo Dagogo Lambert Brown, splashed on MOJO on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at Community Secondary School (CSS), Finima in Bonny LGA.

The occasion was the groundbreaking ceremony for a block of five classrooms and unveiling of the design for CSS, Finima, which was performed by the Chairman of Bonny LGA, assisted by the Amadabo of Finima and ABC (President) of MOJO, Birinengi Harry.

Performing the ceremony, the Bonny LGA Chief Executive, who was represented by the Secretary to the Bonny Local Government, John Gabriel-Pepple, urged the Men of Joyful Order (MOJO) to keep up the good work of emplacing social impact projects that positively impact the youths who are the future of society.

She stated that the project aligns with her administration’s vision for sustainable and futuristic education for children and youths in Bonny LGA, noting that the Local Government under her watch will continue

On his part, the Amadabo of Finima, Aseme Alabo Dagogo Lambert Brown thanked the Men of Joyful Order (MOJO) for the good gesture, saying, “as a community, we are very grateful to MOJO, Men of Joyful Order”, noting that it is the joyful person that decides his mode of expressing that joy.

In his goodwill message, the General Manager, Technical Services, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Ekeinde Ohiwerei expressed his delight in the project, commending MOJO for their thoughtfulness and futuristic disposition, noting that education secures the future.  

Speaking earlier, the ABC (President) of Men of Joyful Order (MOJO), Birinengi Harry explained that the group decided to not just build a classroom block but also develop a masterplan for the school, expressing the hope that other interested stakeholders can leverage it to continue the development of the school.

“MOJO means ‘Men of Joyful Order’, and this is a group of friends who come together to have fun, play together and have a few drinks here and there.  But eventually, we developed from just being friends who sit down and have one or two drinks to friends who want to help the community.”

“We decided that for every single bottle of beer we take there must be something we keep aside for charity and as a result we have been able to raise funds and intervene in different areas. We have intervened in many schools, motherless babies’ homes, homes for the elderly. We have intervened in IDP camps in different places around the country.”

“This time around MOJO has decided to do something a little bit bigger and that’s around building these set of five classroom blocks for the Finima Community School. We’re not just building the classroom block; we are also using the opportunity to first of all create a masterplan for the development of the school.”

“That masterplan includes their school field, the principal’s office, the admin offices, even as a school develops to eventually have a place like the hostels and so on. We factored all these into our masterplan.

“The whole essence of the master plan is that any other group or any other company or even government that wants to support the school can follow the masterplan and continue to develop this school until it becomes one of the best schools in the country.”

He also used the occasion to express his gratitude to members of the group, especially, the MOJO Charity, saying their efforts at identifying areas of intervention, sourcing for funds and galvanizing members to act was worthy of commendation.

Expressing her gratitude and that of her fellow students, Senior Prefect of Community Senior Secondary School (CSSS), Finima, Grace Brown, said the initiative of MOJO to construct new classrooms for them would greatly enhance their learning environment, thanking the group for its innovative gesture.

“I want to establish how I feel about what MOJO is doing. It is a very creative, a very great work they are doing for us. We don’t have much classrooms and some students don’t have where to sit to learn.”

“With the building they are doing for us, we can learn better. We are really grateful for everything they have done.”

On his part, the XYZ-A (Chairman) of the MOJO Charity Committee, Adeka Ikwue extended deep appreciation to the Amadabo and his Council, the Finima Development Committee (FDC) and the School Management for the support provided to the Committee leading to the success of the event, while thanking friends and well-wishers who traveled from Port Harcourt and other places to grace this epochal event.

The Men of Joyful Order (MOJO) continues in its decided trajectory of utilizing social impact initiatives such as infrastructural development, interventions in healthcare, palliatives provision, and educational support, amongst others to further the development of society, albeit etched on mutual sacrifices by its members.