OUR HISTORY
Place of Liberty
Was inspired by the Very Reverend T.A.J. Oluwole and his wife of 62 years, Mrs. Modupe Olabisi Oluwole, both of blessed memory.
Papa and Mama Oluwole were very generous people who had a passion for charitable giving. One of their greatest passions was caring for children with special needs. They contributed every year to special needs programs and even attended and participated in annual events. Until his death, papa was invited every year to give the opening prayer at the Christmas fundraising event of Ile Aanu, House of Mercy, a school for the physically disabled.
One act of generosity that started it all…
On October 25th, 2020, about 6 weeks after Mama Oluwole’s death, a Principal from CMG Companies, who was a boss, friend, and “brother” of Mama’s son, Ladipo Oluwole, donated $5,000 towards mama’s favorite charity. This generous donation led to something much bigger than anyone could have predicted.
Ladipo and his siblings (Funmi, Funke, and Soji) agreed that the donation should go towards special needs children from Indigent families. They also decided as a family, to remodel and offer up for free use, their family house at 1 Alhaji Masha, as a free school for special needs children from indigent families.
Since this initial donation, CM Life has become an integral part of Place of Liberty and continues to be a primary supporter and a major donor.
Once the decision was made by the Oluwole family to press forward, some very wise and seasoned advisors in the special needs space, specifically Dr. Odiakosa and Chief Femi Somolu, suggested we seek the help of the Anglican Diocese, of which members of the Oluwole family have been members for over 100 years.
Naturally, because the building was situated on the Lagos mainland, the diocese of Lagos Mainland happened to be the logical choice. Coincidentally, the Lord Bishop of Lagos Mainland Diocese (Right Rev. Akinpelu Johnson) is a relative of the Oluwole family, who also preached the sermon at Papa Oluwole’s funeral.
A bigger coincidence, and certainly spiritual, was the fact that the theme of the most recent diocesan synod, Amos: A cry for Social Justice was consistent with the vision at Place of Liberty. Thankfully, the Bishop and the Lagos Mainland Diocese agreed to take on the challenge of powering the special needs school, and in partnership with the Oluwole family and CM Life, the vision has come to life.
On May 11, 2021, the Bishop, the Registrar of the Lagos Mainland diocese, Lady Chikwue Ochiagha, and Mr. Ladipo Oluwole, met at the Bishop’s office to align on a name. The Bishop directed them to the Bible book of Isaiah 61:1-3:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim LIBERTY to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified”
After a few minutes of brainstorming, the name Place of Liberty was birthed and the vision and mission statements were formed around this bible passage.