Hey friends, I’m back on Twitter(X). Grateful for everyone who checked in and sent kind words while I was away. There…

Hey friends, I’m back on Twitter(X). Grateful for everyone who checked in and sent kind words while I was away. There are indeed things we can only see and feel when we slow down. I feel inclined to share a few reflections and some of the things I’ve been up to lately. 🧵

Earlier this year, we took 5 kids from the chess in slums project to compete in America. From Georgia to New York City, they won several medals and even clinched Gold at the United Nations chess championship. It was indeed one of the greatest moment of our lives, and what seemed like the final chapter in an 8 year story since we started the chess in slums journey. If this were a movie, it would be the happy ending with closing credits, the music swells and everyone claps . The kids had finally proved their mettle and shown the world what they were truly capable of greatness if given the right opportunities. But real life doesn’t work that way sadly. It became clear to me that there are no permanent happy endings. The kids still had to return to their normal lives and back home to their families. For us @chessinslums , there was still so much work to do because for every child we save, there are many more thousands who continue to fall into deep poverty. When both applause and criticism fades, we’re still responsible for the education of hundreds of children on a daily basis, with very limited resources and infinite hope. But I was also going through my own personal evolution/distortion and had started to feel deep burnout and compassion fatigue almost to a point where I felt like I had nothing more to give. I had given the best years of my youth to doing this one thing and let everything else suffer deeply. It started to take its toll both mentally and physically so I had to step away from everything.

Life is humbling. It teaches through Joy and devastation alike. Over the past few months, I’ve had to sit quietly with my thoughts and wage war on everything I thought to be true about myself and find new meaning in the work God has placed in my hands. It’s been hard, but God has remained kind to me. I’m in a much better place now and ready to give it everything again… And if you’re a dreamer like me, with a fiery passion to change a broken world, I can only pray you never lose hope. Defend it fiercely and never give in to the world’s cynicism. You must keep the courage to believe in what you cannot yet see, and have unwavering faith in your ideas. But above all things, you must learn to be still. what makes music beautiful is the distance between one note and another. What makes speech eloquent is the appropriate pause between words. From time to time, we should take breath and notice the silence between sounds. The subtle pauses in our lives where we give ourselves to nothing but rest is where we find the much needed clarity. So please take breaks when you can and share the burden that you carry adequately with the people you love. I’m also learning to lean on others when my strength isn’t enough. Nothing is easy, but I’m still here,loved, held and used by God. With immense gratitude and a childlike sense of wonder. My friend Russ shared recently in our conversation that Love is gravity, and it’s the only thing capable of anchoring us when everything else trembles. There’s a lot of darkness in the world truly, but I cannot run from it. I will continue to hold my candle and nurture this little light of mine with all the love and kindness in my heart until the whole world comes into it. My commitment to the dreams of every child who has been told that there is no place for them in the world is new again and I’m ready to fight alongside them, even when there are no permanent happy endings. “We cannot tell the children that there is no hope”. This is Day 1❤️

Now to some of the exciting things I’ve been up to in the last three months… I completely my IVLP fellowship program on Youth and civic education alongside 19 exceptional young people from around the world. This was a life altering experience for me and one I’ll remember fondly.

Flew to Capetown for a Hennessy campaign with the incredibly talented Tems.

Took a few Nepo kids to an orphanage in Makoko to volunteer with me and share books and gifts to the children in the community. I’ll tell the details of this story sometime next week.

Spent some more time at our Chess Innovation hub training with the kids. We now clearly have one of the best junior chess teams in Nigeria. Also came top 17 in a science fair competition where the kids built a tech enabled irrigation system for farms in rural communities.

Had the privilege of giving the keynote speech at both the PMI summit in Kigali and the Mastercard foundation Baobab summit in Nairobi.

Celebrated my birthday with some of my favorite people.

When Aunt Lola @lolashoneyin first reached out to me about writing a children’s book inspired by my story, I hesitated. I didn’t think it was time yet, but I was wrong. The book has since gone on to win Children’s Book of the Year at the Akada Book Festival. Grateful ❤️

Visited Jamaica for the first time for a book festival where our children’s book was set to be launched. Sadly, The event had to be cancelled due to hurricane Melissa, but we made it out just in time. My heart goes out to the good people of Jamaica who were affected.

Still selling and delivering chess boards to build a free school for children. We are done with the design and production for the next drop. Excited to launch soon!

Had my first rollercoaster experience at 6 flags theme park in Atlanta. I don’t even have the words to begin to describe what happened on this day😅. Let’s just say I have finally conquered my fear of heights to a reasonable degree and a complete loss of Steeze.

Had the privilege of playing a small part in the Empowering Futures launch of Opay’s 1.2 Billion naira scholarship support to young people.

Went back to Nairobi to visit Michelle — a brilliant young girl I met two years ago in the Deep Sea slum during our @thegiftofchess outreach. When we first met, she had dropped out of school. Today, she’s back in class on full scholarship.

I’m currently in Dubai for the African Marketplace exhibition with Madam Ibukun Awosika where I’ll be playing a simultaneous chess match against 50 people. It’s my final trip of the year and i can’t wait to be finally back home 🇳🇬. Pain demands to be felt, but never stop. Day 1