- Joeboy recalled how his inability to pay school fees as a child inspired him to open his foundation to pay the school fees of children in a similar position.
- Joeboy revealed that his childhood gave him the inspiration to ensure that other children do not suffer the same embarrassment he did.
Nigerian singer Joeboy shares a heartwarming story of how his childhood struggles inspired him to open a foundation to support children in similar situations.
In a recent talk with Isi Ijewere on the “Backstage Banter with Isi show“, Joeboy recounted his experiences of being sent home from school due to unpaid fees and how this motivated him to make a positive change.
Joeboy revealed that during his junior secondary school days, he frequently owed school fees, leading to embarrassing situations. He shared a particular incident where his classmates would tease him, anticipating that he would be sent home due to unpaid fees.
This experience according to him, left a lasting impact on him.
He stated that this painful memory sparked a desire in him to help others who face similar challenges.
He said:
“When I was younger, I used to owe school fees a lot and it used to get embarrassing. When I was in jss3 , the secretary that used to come names of those owing fees came and before she even began announcing, the whole class said my name ‘Akinfewa joseph’. It pained me!.
“It hurt me so much and I went back home and told my parents that I was never going back to that school again. I didn’t care, I pulled myself out that I wasn’t going anywhere.
“That gave me the dream to do something, which was to help people who can’t afford to pay their school fees so I just opened a foundation; the young legend foundation. I opened it two months ago and we’ve been paying people’s school fees, so my inner child is very excited about that. It’s crazy what something like that can do to someone mentally. I mean it’s not the child’s fault that they can’t pay their fees right? But people made it seem like it was my fault and it was embarrassing and it paid me that time.”