TSTTVF known as the seed of the true vine has been a blessing to me from the inception of the organization till date.
The foundation has been helping not only me but all the other children who are a part of TSTTVF by affecting our thinking, our perception, and everything around us. It has shifted our mentality to think beyond the boundaries of Makoko unlike the other children in Makoko that may not have a particular direction in their lives. At TSTTVF, I learnt how to paint, how to believe in the talent that God has given me, as well as patience and strength.
Mr Damilola had always encouraged us when he came to teach us that a day would come when we would sell our works but we never really believed him.
M ore importantly, TSTTVF is not an organization that helps the underprivileged but also stands with them when they need any support. I prefer TSTTVF over the organizations that have been coming to the community because when any of them come, they just share foodstuffs and go away, but TSTTVF is not after sharing food or anything else but after shaping your God-given talent that will help us be independent financially and spiritually both now and in the future. These are only some of the reasons from many why I consider TSTTVF a superior organization over others that have come to us at Makoko. Even when we don’t have enough, we are encouraged to use what we have to still make a difference.
There’s a particular experience that encouraged me greatly and that’s when I sold 4 of my works for a million naira. Mr Damilola had always encouraged us when he came to teach us that a day would come when we would sell our works but we never really believed him. This is because there was nothing like art talk less of an artist that survived by painting, we didn’t know or understand it’s value, but we could see in Mr Damilola how art has sustained him, enabled him be a responsible father to his wife and kids so we believed him anyway.
In 2019, I moved to his studio in gbagada, I moved from graphite to pastel, and from pastel I started painting oil colour. My first pastel work was sold at 15 thousand naira and then towards the end of 2021, a collector of one of his IT students came around and bought 4 of my pastel works for a hundred and sthn thousand. After he bought the works, I used the money to get oil materials and started painting in oil and my first 4 oil painting was bought by the same collector for a million naira. That completely changed my mindset and made me take this work seriously. It really encouraged me and other children in makoko and since then, we have continued to push forward for more believing that we can be all God wants us to be just by pursuing the different talents HE has given us, be it art, fashion, sports etc.
