Voices from the Movement: Meet Ade

What does a village in West Africa have to do with the streets of Coventry? For Ade, the connection is everything. Early in his career as a census enumerator, Ade went door-to-door in his hometown, witnessing firsthand the devastating human cost of political neglect and broken systems.

When he arrived in the UK, he realised that despite being a developed society, the exact same socio-economic inequalities exist here too. Driven by a lifelong search for answers, Ade brought his passion for systemic change to Connecting for Good. In this edition of Voices from the Movement, Ade shares his journey, his vision for reshaping Coventry's local economy, and why he believes a community only rises when it protects its most vulnerable.

Step Up

Very early on in my career, actually in my very first paid job after university, I worked as a census enumerator, and I chose specifically to work in my hometown/village where I grew up. As a census enumerator, my role was to go door-to-door with my iPad and interview households, not just to collect quantitative data, but also to ask very emotional and deeply traumatic socio-economic questions, such as how many infant deaths had occurred in the home, how many children had access to education, and whether there had been early pregnancies, etc.

For context, I had left my hometown/village because my dad could afford to send me to boarding school. That's how I was able to go to university and advance my education. This wasn't the case for most of my former classmates, and some of these interviewees were people I had gone to primary school with. They remembered me, and many of them had already started families, were raising their fifth child, and looked much older because of the hardships they had faced in life.

As you can imagine, this made me think deeply, and I became angry at the system, especially the political leaders who were doing very little to improve people's livelihoods. Cases such as the death of a mother and baby during childbirth due to a sudden blackout and the lack of a backup generator at the main hospital in the neighbourhood deeply affected me.

I can say this was an eye-opener very early in my career. However, coming to the UK, although it is a much more developed society, I've realised that there are still many socio-economic inequalities, and this gives me flashbacks to the situations I faced back home.

Part of getting involved with CFG is my search for answers to these social inequalities that exist in society.

This is a path that became clear to me very early in my career.

Speak Out

I know this is a bit greedy and may seem like many things rolled into one, but that's how I think. I tend to see things in an interconnected way, and so does the local economy, and so does society. In my work experience working with communities, I've quickly realised that we rise and fall together.

There's no me without us. It's all connected – homelessness, joblessness, the cost of living, health inequalities, isolation, etc.

For sustainability's sake, you can't rise up as a community without caring for the most vulnerable. They say: "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."

Shape Coventry

I'm doing this for the wonderful, hospitable, resilient and proud people of Coventry.

I'm doing this for the Coventry residents who made me feel at home when I was a bird that had left my country's nest to explore what the world had to offer. Coventry people are people who value relationships, and this is where destiny has reunited me with so many memories.

I'm doing this together with my friends and fellow human beings who call Coventry home.

I am filled with hope because, when I walk around the city, I meet people who truly believe that we are in this struggle together. True comrades!

I love the people of Coventry.

Call to Action

Join us in the CFG ecosystem that seeks to make Coventry a better place; an ecosystem where relationships are valued, where everyone feels they belong and where humanity is put first, above everything else.

Join the CFG ecosystem: a safe and supportive ecosystem that makes you feel like you belong, and where we stand and fall together.

Are you searching for answers, too?

Ade’s journey reminds us that no matter where we come from, our struggles and our successes are completely interconnected. We cannot build a stronger Coventry without standing shoulder-to-shoulder with one another.

If you want to be part of an ecosystem where relationships are valued, humanity is put first and everyone truly belongs, come find your place with us.

Get in touch with the team to get involved