I listened with rapt attention as a 48+ year old man spoke passionately about the fact that though as a child he had dreamed of flying and seeing the world. Though as a child he had created his own aircraft designs and made his own flying toys, he was only going to have his first ever aircraft experience at the ripe old age of 46! Ofcourse, it was too late to begin to pursue his dream of being a pilot, but at least, haven broken the ice he can at least be a world traveller. 3yrs later, at the point of his sharing his story, he had virtually lost count of how many flights and night buses had become a thing of the past. He joked that the people in his flight commented that the flight was quite turbulent, he marvelled at how peaceful he felt his first flight was, at least compared with a luxurious bus on the Benin-Ore road 🙂
I recollect quite fondly my first flying experience as well. I had finished from university, and had gotten my first Job before I ever saw the inside of an airplane. That was 10yrs ago! Today, I literally fly every week, locally and internationally. Flying has become what it is, an effectiveness and efficiency tool. The educational value of experiencing new things, of going to new places and of seeing new sights is beyond the ordinary.
It was with this in mind, that I decided to start a project. A project called First Flight. I have started already, and my goal, is to help one person every month achieve their first flight! God has used me to give a few people different first time opportunities around travel, first flight, first flight outside the country, first flight into particular destinations e.t.c. I have done a first Uyo and a First UK in the last 2 months for example, and can remember quite a number in the last 2yrs. I enjoy the way people feel when they have these opportunities. It’s like opening a new chapter in the story of their lives. I want to be involved in more of that.
I believe that in the 21st century, opening someone’s eyes to an opportunity they might not have noticed is equivalent to helping the blind to see. I believe that helping someone who is immobile or unable to travel to do so, is as important as helping the lame to walk. I believe there are many things we can do in the 21st century that can be literally miracles to the people they were done for, without being more supernatural than the fact that many of us won’t normally do them.
Why am I sharing this with you? Well, I have 2 reasons.
The first reason is so you know, and make yourself available for the opportunity. Ofcourse the number of people who have never flown in their lives and who may never fly are many. So the selection criteria needs to be quite stringent if all I can do in a month is 1 for now. To qualify, all you need to do is show commitment and consitency in showing up for our free weekly FREE personal development event at 71 Allen Avenue. Once a month we will identify one person to support.
The second reason is, we may be able to do more than onea month, if anyone out there is also willing to support. So if you are reading this and it feels like something that you should be a part of, you can simply buzz me on skype (adeoluakinyemi) or send me an email indicating your interest to support in creating more firsts! Trust me, the satisfaction of making a difference in someone’s life cannot be bought with money.
While this sounds good, some people are naturally prone to wonder why we can’t do something else. Well, the answer is I am one person, and can only start with a little. In the next few days, I’ll also be sharing with you about thougts in the line of – First Sight (helping people who are blind by curable cataract, to see for the first time in their lives), – First Scholarship (helping good students who have poor parents, get their first ever scholarship), and the lists of first good things that we do can truly be endless.
Let’s do this together!
