Founding History: How It All Began
Boys Without Borders was born out of a conversation between two close friends, Solomon Idowu and John Dare Okafor, then undergraduates at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In January 2020, Solomon paid a visit to his friend at his hall of residence, Independence Hall. Amidst their conversations on diverse life issues, the issue of the boy-child came up, and they both shared their experiences of navigating through boyhood and adolescence. They discussed how the issue of sexual abuse was often overlooked, with boys being victims of sexual abuse and males being the major perpetrators of the gruesome act of rape, largely due to a lack of proper orientation from boyhood.
John shared his desire with Solomon: to see the boy-child adequately represented and catered for in the future, as there were few to no organizations at that time paying attention to the needs of the boy-child.
However, it wasn’t until the brutal rape and murder of 22-year-old microbiology student, Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, in May 2020, that Solomon reached out to John to remind him of their previous conversation. The incident sparked outrage across Nigeria, and the demand for justice for Uwa trended on social media for weeks. As people and institutions pointed to boy-child as the major perpetrators of rape and other crimes in society but failed to provide any solution, Solomon prompted John, believing it was the right time to act on their desire to make a difference.
Initially, John responded in the negative, saying he wasn’t ready for such a cause. But in the early hours of the next day, after a turbulent night brooding over their previous conversation, John called Solomon, and they both felt it was the right time to go all out advocating for the cause of the boy-child. From that moment, they have been chasing their cause with passion and dedication.
The organization’s name, Boys Without Borders, was decided upon that same day and they began their journey to create an organization that would cater to the needs of the boy-child. For Solomon and John, Boys Without Borders is more than just an organization; it’s a passion, a calling, and a legacy — and these form the basis of the organization’s culture and approach. Boys Without Borders is driven by a deep sense of empathy and a desire to make a difference in the world, one boy-child at a time.
