There is a particular kind of courage it takes for a child to stand in front of strangers and speak about something that matters. Not the courage of climbing a tree or jumping off a step, but the quieter, harder kind that comes from believing your voice is worth being heard. This past month, two of our children at Tabitha Home found that courage, and we could not be prouder of how they carried it.
The Asido Kids Challenge is a youth public speaking competition designed to develop confidence, critical thinking, and communication skills in Nigerian children. It brought together 49 children from different homes and backgrounds across Ibadan, all given the same topic to wrestle with: Stop Bullying Early. Two of our children at Tabitha Home, a child welfare organisation based in Ibadan that cares for over 60 vulnerable children, were selected to represent the home.
Bullying is not an easy subject for an adult to unpack, let alone a child. It often hides in silence, in the things children do not say because they are afraid, embarrassed, or simply do not know how to put what they feel into words. Asking children to speak openly about bullying prevention means asking them to be vulnerable in front of their peers, in front of judges, in front of people they have never met. Our two representatives did not shy away from that.
They prepared, they practised, and on the day of the competition, they stood before 47 other children and spoke with a clarity and conviction that surprised even those of us who already knew how capable they are. One placed 4th overall. The other came in 6th. Out of 49 young participants competing from across the state, both finished comfortably within the top ten.
Award Day: Recognising Courage and Excellence
In June, the two children received their official certificates of achievement at a formal award ceremony organised by the Asido Foundation. The ceremony honoured all the young participants who showed up, prepared, and competed, but our children stood out. They did not just receive pieces of paper that day. They received something far more lasting: the experience of being publicly recognised for doing something hard and doing it well.
Why Anti-Bullying Work Matters at Tabitha Home
Stop Bullying Early is not an abstract theme for the children who live at Tabitha Home. Many of them understand, in ways no child should have to, what it feels like to be on the receiving end of unkindness, whether at school, in their old neighbourhoods, or within difficult family situations before they came to live with us. Speaking publicly on this topic gave them a chance to turn something painful into something useful: to take their own experiences and use them to encourage other children to speak up, tell a trusted adult, and stop bullying before it grows roots.
At Tabitha Home, our work in psychosocial support and child welfare means we see every day how deeply bullying affects a child’s self-image, academic performance, and emotional health. Participation in youth advocacy competitions like the Asido Kids Challenge is one of the ways we help children shift from surviving their stories to owning them. And that shift matters enormously for their long-term wellbeing.
What This Means for Child Development
Public speaking competitions for children do far more than produce confident talkers. Research in child development consistently links opportunities for structured self-expression to improved emotional regulation, better peer relationships, and stronger academic outcomes. When a vulnerable child is given a platform and supported to use it, the effects are felt across every area of their life.
At Tabitha Home, we are deliberate about creating and encouraging these opportunities. Whether it is our monthly family meetings where children are encouraged to voice their opinions, our reading culture programmes, or our participation in external competitions like the Asido Kids Challenge, every activity is chosen with one goal in mind: to help each child discover just how capable they truly are.
A child who learns to stand before a panel of judges today is a child who will find it easier to ask for help, advocate for themselves, or defend a friend tomorrow. These are not small things. They are the building blocks of the kind of adults we hope our children become: thoughtful, courageous, and unafraid to use their voices for good.
Supporting Vulnerable Children in Ibadan
Tabitha Home is a non-governmental child welfare organisation based in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. We provide residential care, education, psychosocial support, and holistic development programmes for over 60 vulnerable children. Our work is built on the belief that every child, regardless of background, deserves a safe home, quality education, and the chance to grow into who they were made to be.
Moments like the Asido Kids Challenge achievement are only possible because of the generous support of donors, volunteers, and partners who believe in our children as much as we do. If you would like to be part of what we do, whether through sponsoring a child, making a donation, or simply sharing our story, we would love to have you alongside us.
Visit www.tabithahome.org to learn more or support our work.
