Michael ‘Faith Child’ Ayo: How a broken home fixed my life (30 Days, 30 Voices)

Faith Child

I was a mistake, in which, the night I was conceived, my mother had a coil in her and my father used a contraceptive, but I still managed to come through.

Its all down to perception. Do you view your glass as half full or half empty? My mother was a single mum, working 3 jobs round the clock to feed and clothe 5 growing children. Suffering at the hands of domestic violence, she cleaned toilets in London with an 8 month old pregnancy, having left Nigeria at the top of her field with a Masters degree.

Heading to the UK with the dream life in mind, that fairytale soon withered. Forced to raise 5 children on her own, she did that which she needed to do in order for us to survive. She would do without, so we could do with.

Fast forward 20 odd years, she is now the proud mother of 5 graduates! An employer to many. A founder of a school for children out of education. A respected Leader of the Faith. A wife, having got married at 40+ with 5 children. Who is my mother?  She a fighter.

My mother is a huge inspiration to me. A woman that never says never. A woman who believes anything is possible if you work hard for it and believe in yourself. A rebel that goes against the grain and will do what she needs to do to get that which is in your hand.

Having learnt about the hardship my family went through, it gave me the drive to make my family proud. It gave me the drive to stay up till crazy hours of the night perfecting my craft. It gave me hunger for my children to never lack. It gave me a motive.

I am just one piece of a bigger picture. A picture in which everyday a different stroke is being added. A picture in which I determine the final image. The mind is a powerful thing and the two most important words that come out of your mouth are the words that proceed after ‘I can’ and ‘I will’.

My sister was a straight A student on a scholarship and was told by her lecturer she would never be a lawyer, because she was black and also a female. This crushed her dream, the very thing she had devoted her life to becoming, but thank God for mothers! Hope was restored, and having worked extremely hard, she became a barrister at one of the top chambers in the United Kingdom!

My family story is one of many. Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was “too stupid to learn anything”. Steven Spielberg was rejected from his dream university three times. Albert Einstein didn’t speak until age four and didn’t read until age seven. His teachers labeled him “slow” and “mentally handicapped.” Oprah Winfrey was fired from her television reporting job because they told her she wasn’t fit to be on screen. But look who had the last laugh! I was a mistake, in which, the night I was conceived, my mother had a coil in her and my father used a contraceptive, but I still managed to come through. Having went for an abortion, God intervened and told my mother to keep the pregnancy. I soon learnt God can turn a mess into a message! He’s in the business of making a cornerstone from the stones the builders rejected.

What is hope? Hope is that feeling within that gives you that push and ability to turn a negative into a positive. To see a hurdle as a stepping stones, instead as a set back. To see every difficulty as an opportunity. Be encouraged.

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Michael ‘Faith Child’ Ayo is more than a rapper, he is a born performer. A skillful drummer, a versatile MC as well as having a humorous disposition ensure his music is creative and innovative. Not to mention his skills in other areas of performing arts which include drama, dance and mime. His performing arts group ‘Trans4maz’ are a testament to this. With over 10 years experience in the industry, having won ‘Best Hip Hop/Rap’ at the 2010 Gospel Music Awards, been nominated ‘Best Gospel Act’ for the MOBO Awards 2010 and for a Dove Award in the States early 2011, accolades including Channel AKA smash hits and successful tours in the UK and abroad.

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30 Days 30 Voices series is an opportunity for young Nigerians to share their stories and experiences with other young Nigerians, within our borders and beyond, to inspire and motivate them.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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