Taking Responsibility: The Liberating effect of Words

The power of words will forever remain a mystery. It is amazing how a word that isn’t ‘hurt’  has the power to cause pain and how a word that isn’t ‘love’ can still be held so dear. In an effort to build our world, words become our foundations, words also form the blocks with which we build and depending on our choice of words, our buildings either remain rock solid or come falling at the slightest tempest, made up of words still.

We are ruled by words. The direction in which a nation goes is determined by how convinced the people are in one man’s choice of words. With these words, we are either sold into slavery or led to freedom. We are only as
fashionable as the words we put on and as healthy as the words we digest. Our nights are defined by the words with which we make our beds and our lives are characterized by the words we hold on to. When lost or in doubt, words form the questions or become the maps that guide us towards self-awareness.
Words aren’t just words, especially when they form the lines of our favourite songs, poems, quotes, books or movies. I have become addicted to words and even more so, amazed by how people use words to tell powerful stories that inspire change.

Kendrick Lamar’s new album title ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ is explained in the song ‘Mortal Man’ inspired by words from his good friend who said, “The Caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it. It’s only job is to eat or consume everything around it, in order to protect itself from this Mad City. By consuming it’s environment, the Caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive. One thing it notices is how the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly. The butterfly represents the talent, thoughtfulness and the beauty within the Caterpillar. But having a harsh outlook on life, the Caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a ways to pimp it to its own benefits. Already surrounded by this mad city, the caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes him. He can no longer see past his own thoughts. He’s trapped. While trapped inside these walls, certain ideas take roots such as going home and bringing back new concepts to this mad city. The result…wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant. Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered… ending the eternal struggle. Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same.”

Coincidentally, these profound and thought provoking words lend a voice to the Butterfly Mind Initiative’s belief that the emerging dreams of young people should be tended to with love so that they can progress smoothly from being caterpillars into beautiful butterflies.

I write this piece, not knowing where it is headed but like every other narrative I have written or shared, I hope it inspires us to craft our own words into a song, poem or story that gives wings to every butterfly within reach.

Taking Responsibilty: International Women's Day

Over the years, there have been increased advocacy for the rights of women and girls in many countries of the world. This year, it was remarkable here in Nigeria as we witnessed more men joining the campaign in support of women's right and the need to celebrate women in various fields of endeavour. There were posters and pictures filled with goodwill messages  and future expectations in the area of the promotion of women's right. It was interesting to see that more men especially in Africa where issues like this are usually met with cultural barriers had become more involved and were advocating for increased female empowerment and participation in many sectors of the society.

In the spirit of the international women's day, the #ichoose campaign has witnessed more young people especially women taking responsibility and being more open about their passions and how they intend to change their environment using those things that appeal most to them.

From the campaign photos, we could see that the themes that young people presented were mostly centered around religion and music as a meaningful tool for impact in the society.

Indeed, religion can be a powerful tool for positive social change as religion has the power to form a person's values and attitudes towards life. Many notable religions of the world encourage their followers to build good relationships with people and to respect their environment. We would like to Imagine the outcome if  all paid attention to the positive instructions of the holy books. What better campaign for change can there be?

Again, majority of young people that participated last week on the Facebook page, expressed how they could use their music to change the course of events by sending positive messages through their song lyrics. Music as we know is a universal language that makes messages and communications between people harder to ignore. People have bonded over having similar choice of music making it true to believe that it is indeed the key to the soul.

It was good to see that many young women participated well and were eager to have their voices heard and their stand known  among their peers and globally as well. They had decided to take responsibility towards the development of their country and had also encouraged their friends from other countries to pledge their quota to their country's development. This post is a celebration of these young women taking the initiative and standing up for what they believe in. Happy International Women's Day!!!

Gallery

Taking Responsibility: #ichoose Campaign

After the February volunteer program with the kids, the butterfly project team realized that the kids were deeply and negatively affected by the prejudice around them. We are in an election month, and prejudice will likely get stronger especially on social media. People will likely engage in political, religious and cultural animosity through their words and actions and they will do so without considering the effect it will have on the younger generation. Apparently, with what we saw in the February volunteer program, the young kids are not only watching, they are learning real fast  without a filtering mechanism. God knows what we might be breeding in the nearest future. The saddest and most pivotal issue is that the persons spreading this animosity are not even aware of the consequences of their actions.

It is in light of these circumstances that the butterfly project has decided to commence the #ichoose campaign. The #ichoose campaign is an avenue for people to take responsibility for their actions. It signifies understanding the effect your words and actions might have on people around you and the younger generation looking up to you. It means standing up for something and working towards it. This campaign is built on hope, belief and responsibility. 

To join the campaign, 

1.  Like the Butterfly project facebook page http://on.fb.me/1FMIL8d

2. Take a picture of yourself holding a paper or cardboard stating what you choose to stand for. it should start with #ichoose. Here is a sample

3. Share the picture on the butterfly mind initiative facebook wall http://on.fb.me/1FMIL8d, write something brief on the wall about the reason for your choice, make sure you put the keyword #ichoose in your writing then end your post with #butterflyproject #YouthNow. This way we can see your post and share directly on the timeline.

4. Get your friends involved.

Remember if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.