“I came to the United States in 2016 from Nigeria. As a missionary, I’ve been to Ghana, South Africa, and Uganda. I love to meet new people and explore new places.

My philosophy in life focuses on the past, present, and posterity. In the past, somebody took care of you. That’s why your presence is like this. Someone fed you emotionally, physically, and intellectually, and that’s why we can talk and relate to one another today. I see it as my responsibility to take care of those in my present so that I may predict my posterity, my future, either directly or indirectly. 

So I look at every child as my biological child, because if we can take care of the children today, we can predict the future. If I can care for a thousand kids, maybe one of them will be a physician or health care provider who will care for me when I’m old. Or a manager at a facility like this library when I need to find a book. Every child I see is a potential leader. That child just needs some guidance and mentorship.

Growing up, my father was an electrical engineer, and I would often stay with an older woman named Christiana, whom I called Grandma. She was one of the most important people in my life. She wasn’t with my tribe; we spoke different languages, but I would help her with chores and farming, and she shaped my upbringing.  

She always talked about leadership and taking responsibility. Her house was organized. She would give me a piece of paper, send me to another city, and tell me that nothing must happen to it. I would hold it out for the entire trip, and when I came back, she would check and see if there was a stain or a wrinkle. This built responsibility in me. 

I’ve been with CHA since 2023, and I’ve met hundreds of kids. Recently, I was at our summer camp, and I met a child with behavioral issues. He had an attitude and at some points would become uncontrollable by everyone. One time I tried to help him, and he ran away from me and out of the building. So I ran after him and brought him back. I told him that I was not going to leave him that day until something changed. He was yelling and fighting with me, and he had something on his wrist, a watch of some kind, and it pierced my hand. I told him I would have to call 9-1-1. Then something in him shifted. He pleaded with me not to call the police, and I realized there was trauma there; something happened psychologically. He was only 9 years old. 

So we started to talk. I sat quietly beside him as he told me about his home environment. I told him I was his friend and that he could always talk with me. By the time camp was over at the end of summer, the boy had no more situations on his report. All because he had a friend, someone he could trust. 

That’s what I do with every child in our program. I sit with them, I talk to them, and they know I am a friend. So it’s so much more than just snacks. It’s helping these kids find their way.” 

– Daniel Ajayi is an Afterschool and Summer Food Service Specialist for the Children’s Hunger Alliance, an organization that is leading the charge to end childhood hunger in Ohio, providing healthy meals and nutrition education to children right where they are, every day of the year.