Meet 17-year old Nigerian that raised N1.4 million for a Charity Foundation selling Arts

Kamal Kadiri recently raised over one million Naira through his photography exhibition and he gave the money to charity.

He donated the proceeds from the exhibition to Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice in Surulere. Hearts of Gold Children's hospice is home to several children who were abandoned as kids because of one birth defect or the other.

Talking about why he chose to donate the money to charity, Kamal shares a story from when he was 14 years old and at BIS in Lagos. After a visit to the hospice, he knew he had to use his privileges to make a difference.

Currently a rising senior at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville Connecticut, USA, Kamal shared with BN his inspiration for holding a photography exhibition and why he decided to dedicate the money from the exhibition to the Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice in Surulere, Lagos.

Read his words below.##
"Several years ago my passion for photography was fully realized when I received my first professional camera as a Christmas present and, this ever-growing passion has been one of several contributing driving factors behind my exhibition.

In order for one to fully understand the inner workings of my mind that created this exhibition, one needs to understand my prior experiences with the Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice as well as my appreciation of female strength, which lead me to exhibition's theme.

Before I started attending The Hotchkiss School, in Lakeville, Connecticut, I was enrolled at the British International School, Lagos. During my third year in 'BIS', our religious studies class began reading about biblical suffering; however our over-privileged minds could not fully comprehend the misfortune that these people had faced. In order to gain a firm understanding of this idea, our teacher decided to coordinate a visit to the Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice in Surulere, Lagos.

As soon as my fellow classmates and I entered the hospice's dormitories we were awestruck; we encountered a plethora of children abandoned by their parents due to their disabilities. While some of my peers simply looked away, I reciprocated the smiles the children greeted us with and feigned a sense of comfort and happiness.

At that moment, my fourteen-year-old self saw face-to-face what some people go their entire lives without seeing: the extent of life's inequity. As soon as I had that epiphany, I made a vow to help those I meet in my life who have not received the amount same blessings as I have.

Looking back at this experience, it only seemed fitting that I made my exhibition charitable and donated the proceeds the Children's Hospice.

Afterwards, deciding on a theme was quite simple; I chose to capture 'the essence of a woman' because of my close relationship with my mother. Growing up, I constantly watched my mum make tremendous sacrifices and even when she would deprive herself of certain things in order to make me happy, she would still maintain a cheerful demeanor.

My mum inspired me and showed me the lengths which mothers go through for their children; regardless of the magnitude of the sacrifice they make, women still manage to stay happy, it is their true enduring, light-hearted nature.

Combining my passion of photography with my influential life experiences to make this exhibition a reality has proved to be a true reflective and rewarding experience. During the exhibition, I was so content when I saw so many women pleased with their portraits and, I felt even more delighted when I realized the extent to which the funds I raised would impact the lives of the children at the Hospice."

Source: BellaNaija