Eniola Akintola is the CEO of Kids Party Packs Planet, an outfit she floated after she left Globacom Company in 2014. The company is into kids event, party parks/souvenirs, educational toys & gifts, charity party, funfairs, entertainment, decorations.
This pretty lady has carved a niche for herself in catering for disabled kids as she recently threw an elaborate party for over 350 children, including many physically challenged kids.
Eniola who has just signed a lucrative contract that will further reward her kindness to kids, spoke to City People’s Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE and Senior Reporter, ISAAC ABIMBADE last week, on how she got into event planning, strictly for kids.
READ ALSO: ‘I Have Ability In Disability’ – Disabled Gospel Musician, Prince Emmanuel
Can you tell us your review of how your last party for kids went?
It was awesome, absolutely awesome. I know a lot of people do things for less privilege people, orphanages. But I just realised that there is a lot of challenged children. People with special needs, that are not really being catered for. They don’t celebrate their birthdays so much you hardly see them out.
And the idea actually started from a friend of mine who was relocating one time to the US and she was complaining about the ticket fee, that she has 4 kids and I was like 4 kids! That I know you have 3 kids you brought to my sons’s birthday party and she said I have an adopted child but she said she doesn’t take the child around because of the tantrum. But eventually when she relocated to the States, everything became better. She could take him out, because they treat him better over there.
At a point, my Pastor started talking about reaching out to people, touching souls and I am a very compassionate person. I had an event last year, Christmas kids funfare, the turn out was quite impressive and that was the first.
So I said why don’t I do something you don’t get money from instead of what you get money from and derive more joy with it. I don’t want to do orphanage, my uncle has an orphanage which I visit regularly. My grandmother has an orphanage home. Who can I do things for and I thought of doing it for special children. Children with special needs and I said let me do this and let me get companies to support. People should know it should be part of social responsibility and I started writing to companies. I got good responses but eventually you see them calling we are sorry we are cancelling event sponsoring for the year, you know the way the economy is and all of a sudden everything became “wow” and I started calling friends, writing to friends, sending messages and we did it. The challenge was enormous but when I saw the children when they brought them from different schools, the joy at the end of the day was nothing to be compared to the challenge I had. It was awesome.
Like how many children came?
Over 300. Maybe about 350 children because I had children from 12 schools. Some 40, 30, 15, 60. Even the teachers, the head of schools, they were really excited because I involved Lagos State Basic Educational Board and they thought it was a joke that how can you do all these for the children. Even we had to pay their transport to bring them down.
I think people should care more for these people. Because I realised children have hidden talents. If you see these children with dancing drum, they dance better than able children. One even pushed the girl aside and he challenged me on Azonto. People were so happy. I was just thanking God for helping me to do the event. If this is the only thing I did, I am fulfilled and I said that day I want to make this annually. It has to be an annual event and I will get more people to participate.
Today, I called the event place to book the place again before anybody comes to book that place.
Why did you develop special attention for kids?
Funny enough, I never thought I would go into Children events but what I have realised is that, what you fear most is where your success lies. I worked with Globacom for 10 years. I left Globacom 2014 and I was only into Human Hair. My friends call me Jack Of All Trades. I was actually bringing my own brand of hair, fashion bags, jewelry, shoes but the way babe owe money! So I wanted something one can just come pay you and they go. So my friend said to me I can be doing party packs and I said all these 10 naira things. From 70-80 thousand Naira bag to N200 party packs and she said you will be shocked that when someone comes to buy, he would probably buy in dozens and they pay you instantly. Reluctantly, I said let me try this. I had my Chinese Visa, when I was there, a shop opened up for me and I paid for the shop. On coming back that was August, I was trying to set up the shop to my taste, next thing my father died. The following year February last year was when I registered it. I now realised the power of marketing in me and I also went into on-line marketing before you know it, a lot of people got to know me.
I can tell you that 85 percent of my sales every month is outside Lagos. I pay heavily as well for on-line, at least I get the result.
Are you doing wholesale or retail?
We do both wholesale and retail and we do delivery nationwide. Whatever you do, focus in that area. When you try to digress you will just be like a Jack Of All Trade master of none. It was from party plan and I said you have to expand. One thing I have dreaded so much is event and I was always said the stress is too much I can’t do this. But I just went to a wedding in February, at that event, I decided to break the barrier, and challenge myself. I was driving my children to school the next morning and I was like you want more money and you want to do the same thing the same way, you know you can’t, you have to change. Aspire and pursue. That is why I now did event, the kid fun fare. I said let me do what nobody has done before and touch lives, and I would derive joy out of it and even in so doing, meet a lot of people, go for events and in the process of doing it you will meet a lot of people. You can do the one that would be free. In the process of doing it free, whenever they want to do anything they will think of you who always do it free and they can now patronize you. If you are helping a child with a special issue that won’t probably be the only child the parent have, when they want to do party for the remaining children, they think about you. I used my money to do a lot of things trying to get sponsors and friends. I can really understand them with the economic situation but from no where someone called me, from London and the woman said she wants to help me with money and also to handle an event for children. That was where I was really really being compensated and I was really happy.
The event was actually on the same day. So from Ilupeju to Makoko, Yaba Local Government, we were in collaboration with them. There, I catered for over 500 people, here over 500 people as well.
At the end of the day people were calling me to say it was a glorious event. The women called me on her way to Airport and said I just want to thank you personally, you will be the one handling everything. And I was “like” can you imagine in just doing a small thing, see what God is just doing. Since then and now things have actually improved.
What can government do to help?
They need to help these kids by giving them good educations and take care of the environment where they learn. When I went to some of those schools, their classrooms are not conducive at all and when you have children with special needs, you can just have 2 people attending to them. You need more people to assist. In the course of planning this, some people invited me for a program, it was for educators and parents of kids with special needs and they were so talented and it was a training for teachers on how people can deal with these issues. Even me I learnt so much on that day.
Appreciation goes to Fountain of life church, Pastor Taiwo & Nomthi Odukoya, Pastor Tayo Kujore, Tonnies Rentals, PZ Nigeria, Marian Akintola Senior Citizens Care Home, Hon.Bayowa Foresythe , Kazeem Salami (Kaz oil), Mr Fola Adedeji (D.P.O Ilupeju Police Station), Mr Seye Kehinde (City People Magazine), Style X, Mr & Mrs Alabama (Funtasticaland, Akin (Party Booster, Mrs Ibiwunmi Akinnola, Princess Toks Duro, Pastor Paul Briggs, Mr Farouk Aaliyu, Mrs Wande Muoyo, Mr Dammy Olarinde, Mr & Mrs Adeboye, Biodun Chiedu, Mrs Titi Olujobi, Mudiaga, Korede Durosinmi, Taiwo Hassan Shote, Mr Mohammed Dele Belgore, Leye Ademoye, Mr Niyi Adejola (Coca-Cola Plc.), Mr Saeed Afolabi (Hillside Gardens ),Mrs Oladele (Stephanie Clothings), Mrs Sunbo Ajose, Mrs Dotun Akande (Patrick Speech), Mrs Helen Oshikoya (Nobel Ovagradani), Lagos State Universal and Basic Education Board (Subeb), Mr Phillip Adeleke (Ojuwoye Inclusive Unit) , Mrs Rose Mordi ( Down Syndrome Foundation ) and all the children and representatives of the 12 selected schools.
The post “Why I Hosted About 350 Disabled Children To A Party” Kids Events Planner, Eniola Akintola Explains appeared first on CityPeople Magazine Nigeria | Nigerian Celerbrities | Entertainment | Stars.