13/06/2025
Title: “The Boy Who Wove His Destiny”
In the small village of Umuohia, there lived a boy named Chika. He was an orphan—his parents had died in a fire when he was just five years old. Left with nothing but a faded wrapper and a wooden flute, Chika was raised by the village. But no one claimed him as their own. He did odd jobs, fetched water, swept compounds, and sometimes went to bed with nothing but moonlight in his belly.
Despite his hardships, Chika had one gift—he was a master weaver. Using raffia and palm fibers, he could weave mats, baskets, and even beautiful cloths that shimmered like the morning dew. One day, while weaving by the roadside, a wealthy trader from Onitsha passed by and noticed the fine detail of Chika’s work.
“Who taught you this?” the man asked, lifting one of the mats.
“My spirit,” Chika replied simply.
Impressed, the man bought all of Chika’s goods and gave him extra coins, telling him to make more by the time he returned in two weeks. Chika worked day and night, weaving not just with his hands, but with the dreams he had locked in his heart since childhood.
Over time, the trader helped him set up a shop in the town. Chika’s woven designs caught the eyes of buyers from all over the East. His fame grew. He began training other orphans, giving them what he never had—a place to belong.
Years later, Chika became one of the wealthiest men in Anambra, not just in riches, but in heart. When asked the secret of his success, he would smile and say:
“I had nothing but hope and my hands. The world gave me sorrow, but I wove it into gold.”
And so, the boy who once slept under trees built a mansion called Ulo Ndu—The House of Life—where no orphan ever lacked again.
