Two years of Matured Like Minds called for a celebration. But true to form, MLM celebrated not by looking inward, but by reaching outward. On 11 February 2023, members visited Treasure Home Orphanage in Karu, Abuja, bringing with them donations of food, clothing and toiletries for the children who call the home their family.
Treasure Home Orphanage in Karu is home to children who, through various circumstances, have found themselves without a family unit. The staff and carers there work tirelessly to provide safety, education and love — but additional resources are always needed, and always welcome. MLM’s second anniversary visit was planned to address some of those everyday essentials.
What the children received
In the weeks leading up to the visit, MLM members collected and contributed a wide range of practical items. The donation included bags of rice, beans, garri and other foodstuffs; bundles of clothing in various sizes; and a large stock of toiletries including soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sanitary items and skincare products. These are the kinds of things that orphanages always need but rarely have in surplus.
The items were carefully sorted, packed and transported to Karu by members who gave their weekend to make the handover happen. On arrival, the MLM delegation was warmly received by the orphanage staff. The goods were inventoried and accepted, and the children gathered to meet their visitors.
More than materials
The donation mattered enormously, but so did the visit itself. For children in an orphanage, the arrival of a warm, energetic group of adults — who come bearing gifts but stay to talk, to laugh, to play — is an event that stays with them. MLM members spent time with the children, listening to them, encouraging them, and making them feel, at least for that afternoon, that the world beyond the orphanage walls had not forgotten them.
Members later described the visit as one of the most grounding experiences the group had shared together. “You go there thinking you are the one giving,” one member reflected, “and you come back knowing you received just as much.”
Building on year one
The first anniversary, celebrated in February 2022 at Destined Children’s Orphanage Home in Kado Estate, set the template: MLM anniversaries would not be self-congratulatory dinners, but acts of community service. The second visit deepened that commitment and broadened MLM’s reach to a different part of Abuja and a different institution.
This accumulation — of experience, of impact, of relationships with communities in need — is how Matured Like Minds has quietly built something of genuine value over five years. Each anniversary adds a chapter to the story of what this group of friends is for.
“We are driven by a passion for creating a space where individuality is celebrated, mutual understanding thrives, and personal growth is encouraged.”
From the MLM Mission
Thank you
Heartfelt thanks to every MLM member who contributed time, items or funds to make this visit possible. And to the staff and children of Treasure Home Orphanage, Karu — thank you for welcoming us. We hope to return.
If you believe in the power of genuine community, come and be part of it.
