Aisha Janki Akinola is a graduate of architecture from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom and a recipient of the Mastercard Foundation scholarship. In this interview, she spoke on how the use of crowdfunding in the diaspora has helped to sustain her mother’s dream of feeding the less privileged in her community in Wamakko Local Government of Sokoto State.
What influenced your decision to set-up the Ramadan feeding donation?
I grew up in Wamakko Local Government of Sokoto State and for as long as I can remember, my mum ran a yearly Ramadan project to provide Iftar for our neighbours and community members. For the first couple of years, it was just hot Hausa koko and then over time she added on moi-moi. Unfortunately, due to the 2020 pandemic impacting her business, she was unable to afford the expenses anymore. I had moved abroad for my studies and couldn’t physically be there to help. Knowing how many people relied on this project for iftar, I turned to crowdfunding online to keep the project going.
I leveraged my social media to promote the page and cold message people with the link to donate. For the past three consecutive years during Ramadan 2021, 2022 and 2023, we raised about £5,000 and fed hundreds of people. This year InshaAllah, we plan on raising £2,000.
What has been the feedback since you started?
The feedback has been very positive. I have received direct messages from other young people who feel inspired by my campaign and I have received support from strangers who believe in the vision of the project. Without them resharing the crowdfunding page, engaging on my social media campaign posts, or generously donating, we wouldn’t have come this far.
What are the challenges you faced while doing it?
The biggest challenge I faced was in communicating the cause without engaging in poverty porn.
As an African in the diaspora, I am conscious of the western image of Africa and Africans as poor people needing saving and I didn’t want to play into that narrative. I deliberately chose a messaging that empowered the vulnerable people we support, and minimised using graphics images of starving kids. Yes, it is a fundraiser to feed the less privileged, but they too should be afforded the same dignity as everyone else. They are not to be pitied or looked down upon because of their circumstances. It is a privilege to be able to help another person and I believe it is a selfless act because we get rewarded for it particularly in the month of Ramadan.
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What strategies have you employed to reach more people?
When I started I had a small social media following, I made the most of it but writing a compelling story of the project that clearly showed why it was a cause worth donating to. I would directly message people with the link to the page, post it on group chats I am on, reshare it on all my social media platforms. Essentially, I left no stone unturned. Once I had started talking about it, there was a ripple effect due to people resharing it too, enabling the story to reach more people.
In the first year, I succeeded in getting featured on a local newspaper in Edinburgh, which furthered the reach.
Will the success you’ve over the years spur engagement in social activity?
This is my fourth year running this campaign and the dream is to rebrand the project into a not-for-profit organisation aiming to transform the lives of orphans (Almajiris) and the less privileged through community creation and social inclusion.
It doesn’t just end with Ramadan, there will be other activities outside to advance our aims. We will be able to run zakat project as well as the food packs project. We will also create job opportunities and empower the community further.
We will be able to leverage the power of the diaspora community abroad and middle class citizens in Nigeria to create grassroot social impact.
What are you planning differently this year?
This year we want to expand the reach to also encourage Nigerians to donate to this noble cause. We all know the reward for this. Also, the prevailing economic situation shows we need to help ourselves to come out strong in this trying time for people to believe in humanity. Though, I am not currently in Nigeria but I could be reached through my email; [email protected].
