Managing Director of United Kingdom-based actual property agency, AGFRO Restricted, and Founding father of Aganga-Williams Basis, Mr Olawale Aganga-Williams, on this interview with ABIODUN SANUSI, talks about his basis’s purpose to offer low-cost houses and meals banks for the underprivileged
Inform us about your self, the OAW Basis, and your works.
I’m Olawale Aganga-Willams, an actual property entrepreneur. I’m the Managing Director of AGFRO Restricted, and Founding father of Aganga-Williams Basis. I used to be born and bred within the Ojo space of Lagos the place I had my main faculty schooling, and later moved to Ijebu-Ode for my highschool schooling, earlier than emigrating Nigeria to the UK. I began the OAWF to assist mitigate the issues that poor individuals face because it pertains to employment, feeding and housing.
As Nigerians, we now have too many issues that should be solved, that was why my crew and I began the OAWF with the feeding of the underprivileged, via our meals financial institution palliative scheme, and now we’re graduating into coaching them to grow to be employable, after which they’d have the ability to afford getting a roof over their heads via our low-cost housing scheme. As we can not afford to do that alone, we’re partnering some charities in the UK and a few companies, and we plan to provide grants to individuals in want to assist them survive and begin companies.
Our companions have proven pursuits in offering monetary grants, and important wears comparable to footwear and garments for the needy. My basis is registered in Nigeria, and I’ve been doing this for about six years, and it will quickly be registered within the UK.
Inform us about your actual property firm based mostly in the UK.
My actual property agency, AGFRO Restricted, based mostly within the UK, offers in properties. We purchase properties, break them down and switch them into self-contained residences for college kids and different individuals to stay in their very own personal house. We promote lodging, purchase to let, and likewise assist in buying business properties with a goal to assist college students get inexpensive houses as a result of most college students have points getting a house once they transfer to sure areas for college schooling, they discover it tough to safe rooms and a few individuals don’t need to stay within the hostels as a result of they need a spot of their very own. Now we have properties in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Leicester. I began actual property enterprise as a result of I used to be as soon as homeless. I used to be as soon as homeless in London and slept within the automotive for a while. Till you’ve skilled a scenario, you gained’t perceive what different individuals undergo. Nevertheless, my homelessness was as a result of my private resolution.
What impressed you to begin the low-cost housing scheme?
I began my low-cost housing scheme to assist the underprivileged get roofs over their heads. Thousands and thousands of individuals throughout Nigeria don’t have any residence, and I made a decision to begin from the world that I spent my childhood. The difficulty of housing is essential, and rising up in Ojo opened my eyes to so many dehumanising situations that frequent individuals undergo. Lots of those that we grew up collectively won’t ever think about that one thing good might come out of the world, therefore I’m doing this as a means of giving again to society. Though we plan to develop and attain extra individuals in different areas inside Lagos, I began with Ojo as a result of I’m conscious of the situations of many individuals who stay there. We began this yr with feeding 3,000 individuals, and our goal for the yr is to feed 10,000 individuals, and we now have educated 20 individuals. If we construct one shelter immediately, it will home about 500 individuals, and we’d additionally prepare them to get expertise to additional combine them into society. We additionally obtained crutches and wheelchairs for the physically-challenged, and we’d quickly make distribution to people who wants them.
How do you propose to attain housing individuals at inexpensive prices?
Housing individuals at low-cost is our long-term plan. Our short-term plan is to feed individuals, and we now have achieved that to some extent, and we’re nonetheless doing that. Our subsequent section is to coach individuals to ensure that them to grow to be employed and have the ability to afford renting or shopping for the inexpensive houses. As a result of we now have restricted sources, we’re doing it progressively with the help of our companions, and we’re additionally liaising with native governments and councils in Ojo. Just lately, we secured 500 hospital gear for the final hospital. I’m pondering of a 20-year plan. I’m obsessed with housing the homeless as I’ve been capable of obtain such via my partnerships in the UK through the years.
Do you assume that your basis might assist tackle the difficulty of housing deficit, unemployment and starvation?
In all honesty, the OAWF can not resolve these issues alone, nonetheless, we’re doing our half and the federal government must do their half by ensuring that folks get educated, are supplied jobs, and inexpensive housing. I’ve pushed previous youngsters who don’t go to high school, strolling round with no footwear and I felt dangerous. We’re keen to even grant these youngsters scholarships if they’re prepared to return to high school. With the sources that this nation has, I imagine we are able to do extra for our residents. Though homelessness shouldn’t be peculiar to Nigeria, the UK provides over 2bn in international help but a few of their residents are nonetheless homeless, nonetheless, we have to do higher as a result of the main motive for homelessness over there is because of a scarcity of sufficient land to construct on. My groups put money into programmes that cater to individuals’s wants, aimed toward serving to avenue youngsters grow to be higher and spend their time studying, buying expertise slightly than roaming the streets and inflicting nuisance in our society.
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