FOUNDER'S NOTE
A
gust of nostalgic emissions enveloped my mind, as I flipped the pages of my childhood and
I am forced to admit that change is perhaps the only permanent phenomenon in life. New
paragraphs and chapters on the history of life are written for posterity as days and years
roll by. This explains why a chapter in history at this moment captures my solemn story.
It was Socrates who noted that an ‘unexamined life is not worth living and so I took a peek
into my past and my mind rested on the 10’ by 12’ room space of my humble beginning; A space that
served as a sitting room on one hand, a dining space at will and the bedroom I shared with my
mother and siblings for many years in Toru Orua, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The space, though like a matchbox, housed dreams in the limelight today.
The credit of course goes to my mother, Mrs Goldcoast Dickson, who enveloped her family with
love.
Daily, she burrowed the creeks and forests of Toru Orua, to ensure that her family had the
best life she could offer. For many mornings, my younger sister Keme and I woke up to the
absence of mama, as she had sailed at dawn to strive for her family. For the sake of her
children, mama’s body and soul grew tougher for a beleaguered life to crack; a dogged mother
who stared at the face of hardship and refused to bow. As fate would have it, I left the
village at the age of nine in the 90s to live with my brother Henry Seriake Dickson, who
was just a humble policeman trying to eke out an existence in the city of Port Harcourt.
How
frail and frightened I was, to witness the mystery of a vehicle and
motorbike in motion for the first time, after reading about it in Onuora
Nzekwu’s Eze Goes to School. Truly like the city of Rome, I have grown
since my humble beginning and I am overwhelmed by the mercies of God.
I remember how I lurked around my school premises, waiting to get the
notebooks of my colleagues, simply because I was chased out for not
paying my school fees. I remember how I laughed and wished people looked
beyond the splash of dentition, to hear the cacophonic thoughts of rage in
my voice. I was desolate and in despair but I knew I was not alone. I was
surrounded and filled with love. Mama’s virtue of love, hope and goodness was enough.
When I stepped out smiling in the morning, I wished they could see beyond the stripes of
pain inflicted by my sleeping mat. My nights were always pregnant with wishes the mornings
craved could come to fruition and so I resolved to smile in the face of uncertainty.
In all those years, just like my siblings, I held onto faith, anchoring my
hope on the love of God Almighty and the sheer resilience of my ‘soldier’
mother and brother H.S. Dickson. But for their love, my soul passed through
the furnace of penury . Again, but for their self-sacrifice, my pride sailed
through the torrents of shame, shame in the midst of whispering needs. My pride
was dragged like a worthless effigy in the stinky mud of poverty, yet their steadfastness
kept me going.
Oprah
Winfrey says, ‘It's up to each of us to get very still and say this is who I am.
No one else defines your life, only you do.’ Hence, I give God Almighty the glory
for blessing me with a loving mother and brother who laid the solid foundation
that yielded the man I am today and tomorrow. Mama’s unflinching advice like her
hurricane lantern at night illuminated my path. Her admonitions wrapped in love
encouraged me and my siblings to soar beyond our 10’ by 12’ room space.
It
was Walter Leavy who notes that “at some point in all our lives, we stumble and
fall. But the true test of character is how you respond to that fall.” Circumstances
in my younger years summate that life is perhaps 10% of what happens to you and 90%
of how you respond to what happened.
By God’s grace, the storms of life established my inner passion to respond positively
to the needy in society. Thus, to God’s glory and in honour of my now Late Mother who
never had any formal education but was full of native intelligence, the Goldcoast Developmental
Foundation was established in 2012 and legally registered in 2013 to serve humanity under three
key program areas; education, promote healthcare and strategic youths empowerment in furtherance
of the ideals my mother stood for; godliness, love and service to humanity.
Since
its formation, Goldcoast has met the health and educational challenges
of so many in the Niger Delta region especially in Bayelsan State where it is
based. It has provided varying medical support and care, Supported students
through many educational projects, provided relief materials and support to
flood victims from the ravaging floods of 2012, 2018 and now, 2022 and other
impactful endeavors.
Like my mum will always say, ‘Do the little you can to help the situation.
' Consequently, I urge you to join us to continue to touch lives by volunteering
your gift of time and expertise, material and cash donations and collaborations
in line with our program areas.
So, in this organization, as in the hearts of all whose lives she has touched,
the memory of Goldcoast Dickson aka Mama Gogo lives on.
Welcome to Goldcoast Developmental Foundation, where Humanity comes first.
- Moses Oruaze Dickson President/ Founder 20th November 2022.
- Moses Oruaze Dickson
President/ Founder
November, 2022.