Lagos – The Charlie Marie story is indeed a unique one that is more than just an educational philanthropy. It stretches well beyond social, and humanitarian to that of divine instructions for the founder and proprietor of the Charlie Marie Group of schools, Ambassador Evangelist Adekunbi Akin-Taylor. When in 2010, the Proprietress, Adekunbi Akin-Taylor, purchased a piece of land at an underdeveloped remote village of Labori Oloja, a suburb in the Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, a location many described as “the bush,” she had no idea it would end up as a model state-of-the-art school.
Despite her long sojourn in England, she knew she would always retire home at some point in time. Adekunbi’s desire was then to have a mini-estate she could rent out and have an assured source of income for her upkeep which to her was simple and achievable. Unknown to her, God had other plans, which was a tougher option.
Ten years down the line, Charlie-Marie’s story is one of courage, resilience to survive challenges and remarkable testaments of overcoming the numerous hurdles all along the way. Dateline 2012, after surviving a major surgery that almost claimed her life, Ambassador Akin-Taylor recalls how God presented her with a vision, while in a wheelchair with several soul-searching questions. “What if you didn’t survive? What legacy would you have left behind? Have you done all that you were been created to do? These questions she says started agitating her mind.
The establishment of the school was a path of destiny and fate which was another avenue for the extension of her philanthropy through education as a divine God-given mission. In 2012, Evangelist Adekunbi Akin-Taylor went ahead and built a school in a mini-housing estate. Fast forward, to January 2014, after a lot of hassles, Charlie Marie opened her doors to the first school intakes with six children and six staff members.
It was a tough and rough ride from the onset. Two years down the line, by 2016, the fast pace of the school had secured her government approval for the nursery and primary school to the glory of God. Although Charlie Marie is a beautiful and safe school with good infrastructure, the proprietress says there was a unique challenge, as they were not charging high fees.
“What should have worked for us was being used against us. Mischief makers kept telling false narratives about us, dissuading parents from bringing their wards to us, saying we were very expensive. Charlie Marie’s family kept overcoming challenges and moving forward ever but backwards never,” the passionate educationist stated.
Following the successes achieved by the primary school, there was growing demand for a secondary arm which led to the commencement of Charlie Marie College in September 2018. In no time, the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) approved the school. In 2021, Charlie Marie added the Vocational section to her group of schools.
This comprises Tailoring and Fashion Design, Information Technology, Electrical Installations and Home Economics sections. As part of activities to commemorate the decade anniversary of Charlie Marie, a week-long lineup of programmes was put in place by the school’s management. The schedule of events included a Talent Hunt which afforded the students a high sense of creativity amongst themselves.
The second day of the outlined activities to celebrate the decade milestone of Charlie Marie featured keenly contested debates with very engaging topics of contemporary and national issues. The Debating Day was indeed one of fun that will remain in the memory of the children, staff and parents as gifts and prizes were presented to the winners in different categories. The Anniversary Games were also part of the special activities.
There were also novelty basketball and table tennis games. Other side attractions included doughnut and noodles eating, music, dance and participation by other neighbouring schools. The 10th graduation ceremony and Year Prize-Giving party were celebrated colourfully with four sets of graduands to different levels of education, namely from pre-school to Nursery, Nursery to Primary, Primary to Junior Secondary and Junior Secondary to Senior Secondary schools.
Some staff who have put in more than five years were honoured by the school Proprietress Evangelist Ambassador Adekunbi Akin-Taylor who showered them with plaques, cash and other material gifts. Expressing her gratitude, Evangelist Akin-Taylor appreciated everyone who had been part of the Charlie-Marie success story. “My special appreciation goes to God for His grace, our dedicated, diligent and persevering management and staff, who daily sacrifice to support the Charlie Marie vision and mission.
They have helped to provide quality education to our children, giving them a voice, a chance and a future,” she noted. We shall, together and with combined synergy, continue to build a brighter tomorrow for all our children, their families, our community and the nation at large,” she enthused..
