Helene's Golden Word For Today is courtesy Happivibes Services CEO Chukwuma Gemdeconq Ezeh 

Let me tell you a story. 

A story of defiance, of creativity, of unity of purpose, and of finding beauty in ashes.

2020 came with a pandemic that put the world on hold. Billions of people were forced to stay home. Apart from the actual covid19 disease ravaging parts of the world, a lot of people experienced loneliness, anxiety and depression during the lockdown. 

However in that same period, a young Iyenyorochi Obi created a facebook group, YorochiTv. He invited his friends, me included, to join and together we kickstarted a movement to build one of the most vibrant, active communities of young people on facebook Nigeria. It was beautiful what we created. An online melting cultural pot of all tribes, ethnicities & religions in Nigeria. Yorochians they were called. Everyone accepted, loved & tolerated each other. It was simply amazing. 

It was on this same platform that I thought of an idea, Happivibe Services to help people reach out to their loved ones via phone calls, and launched it. 

Yorochians rallied round me and started pushing and promoting the idea and brand as if was their own. Hundreds of them would volunteer to join my company and contribute in whatever ways they possibly could. Those who could speak well we hired. Those who could write or design or create video content or anything at all that could help push the brand we accepted and put on payroll. 

Slowly but surely, the brand grew. 

Today, we've made over 10,000 calls to humans in almost every country & every inhabited continent on planet earth. We've directly employed dozens of young people & indirectly engaged over 300. With just phone calls we've mended broken homes, reconciled hundreds of enstranged lovers, settled sensitive family disputes, restored hope to scores of bereaved people, strengthened thousands of relationships bonds, and put smiles on the faces of tens of thousands of our clients & followers across multiple social media spaces. 

And we are just getting started! 

We've been able to do all these organically without any external funding or investment or sponsorships. Just young brilliant people coming together to create something amazing with what they have without depending on the government or any other body. It goes to show how powerful we are. Even with our sapalized accounts, when we come together, under one goal, under one vision, to make the world a happier place, we'd inevitably create magic. 

This is a post that says THANK YOU.

Thank you to our amazing team and community at Happivibe. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time, creativity and energy, no matter how little, to see this dream grow. 

Thank you to each and every client who with their N800 and N1k booking of calls provided the oxygen this company desperately needed in other to breathe, grow and thrive. 

It is true Nigeria is a messed up place. 

It's a burning house. Everyday we hear terrible news upon terrible news. 

But today I want to once again say 

Thank you, for coming together and helping build up this service that proves that beauty can come from ashes and that greatness can come from a small place. 

Thank you. 

May your lives & endeavours be filled with nothing but love, joy and Happy vibes. 

Amen.  

PS: As we celebrate customer appreciation week, we would like to appreciate you by giving you a discount on our services. 

From Friday 8th October till sunday the 10th, all domestic Happivibe calls will be booked at N799 only. 

Yes. N799!! 

Simply send a message to +2349032330115 or +2347043498312 and your order will be booked. 

Dalu 

Growing up, I had the problem of wanting to fit in. Wanting to belong. 

We attended this small church then. It had about 80 members made up of parents and their children. I did not think much about it then, until we got invited to this big church in the urban area. It had about 7000 members, and that was where my inferiority complex started manifesting.

My dad had a motorcycle then, the other kids dads had cars, so I found myself hiding whenever he came to pick us up.

The kids actually accepted me because I was funny even as a kid, and my taste in music, movies and life generally were beautiful. So, I did not want to lose the respect they had for me because I was too sure they would push me aside if they found out that I was not on their level. What did I do then? I started denying my own family. 

I did not even think of trying to balance the two situations. That I could be friends with the cool kids and still be proud of the people that matter most to me. And I think that is the problem most of us are facing; trying to create a balance. Say you are in school where you have all the freedom to behave as you like, to make your own decisions, what kind of decisions do you make? The one every other person is making or the one that connects with your moral values?

Sometimes, I make money and I want to spend it on myself, have a good time yunno, but I think of my dad who has a lot going on, my mom too, my brother and sister in school, and I find myself planning my budget around them.

End point is, no matter what you are going through, you do not have a mom, you do not have a dad, you do not have both parents, don't hide it, don't run away from it. If anything, use those weaknesses to fuel yourself. Encourage yourself to do better, everything good will come. And in everything, please do not lose your values.

May your weekend be beautiful.

Iyenyorochi Obi