How and why I started my own foundation, The Johnson Organization Foundation Inc USA) and Johnson Eboigbe Foundation Nigeria by Pastor / Dr Johnson Eweka Eboigbe
It was a very, very long time ago in 1980, just a little after my baby sister (ESE) was born. My mother was sitting outside in my father’s compound when an old man just walking along our street,came to my mother and started saying to her, “You have a child and that child was going to be the light of the family” at that time I was only 10 years old and my mother has five( 5) children, I can still remember the face of the old man in disdain then the old man left.
Then seven years passed , on a Saturday afternoon as I was hanging out at the beach ( bar beach) in Lagos Nigeria, there came a lady dressed in full white garment ringing her bell preaching to the people when she saw me , she came towards my direction and approached me saying” I saw a very big bird and this bird open up it wings and took you to a very very far land and when you got there, you became very successful and started helping thousands and millions of people” I just looked at her in amazement and didn’t know what to tell her, she then cried out “ Go Go my son the lord is your strength” she instructed me to go into the water and use my both hands to take water out of the ocean and place in my head seven (7) times , I walked into the ocean/beach water, and did exactly as she instructed, before I could raise my head after the 7th time, the white garment shepherd lady has disappeared from the site, I started looking for her all over the place, but I could not locate her , then I went home that evening.
A year later, I found myself in New York, at JFK international Airport with eight (8) US dollars in my pocket and no address to go to, no body picked me up at the airport because I knew no one in the USA but the only two family friends that I knew then, one in Texas and the other one in New York city did not know I was coming, I didn’t even have their phone numbers, talk less of their house addresses, it was someone , another African man that I ran into at the airport that gave me an additional $100, he told me that he was going to Canada from here because he heard that Canada is more easy for African immigrants to make it than in America, we wished our selves good luck and then said good bye. That night been that I do not have anywhere to go, I started talking to people and asking questions about where I should pass the night, I didn’t want to go to a hotel with the $108 in my pocket, but I was thinking if I use this money to lodge in the hotel, what will I eat with, food was more important than where to stay and passed the night as I kept asking questions, a lady (white lady) now said to me “ You can take the subway and if you don’t have anywhere to sleep, you can stay in the subway/train and sleep and just be taking the subway/train from their starting point to their ending which at least in most ride is two hours” I took my $8 and bought a train/subway token and continue riding on the train all night, I did this for three nights , before something came in my mind to ask the people where I can find African people at least, a community where most African lives, finally someone on the train told me to go to Bronx new York, in the morning , I took the train to Bronx.
When I got to Bronx, my mind told me to look for a place where African go to do stuff or meet, I decided to look for African restaurant, someone told me there is one at grand concourse in Bronx, I went over there, I shall continue with this next time on TV/Radio show. One thing lead to another that I and my family ended up in Evanston in Chicago Illenous, I was now a member of the Illenous army national guard after completing my active duty services in Missouri and Kentucky, at this time my marriage was rocking, I met this 80 years old white lady and I started talking with her, telling her about everything that was happening in my life, after engaging her in a 45 minutes conversation, then the lady said to me “ Open a foundation” then I asked ma, what is a foundation, She said “ You brought your brothers to America, now everyone is doing their own thing not coming together as one with you, now your marriage , you suffered bringing your ex-wife here from Edo state Nigeria to America, now she is about leaving you with your kids to start a new life with someone else”, Then she continued,” Since you have the passion to spend your time and your hard earned money to help bring these people you called your family and wife here and they all disappointed you, why don’t you turn this your passion for charity, selfless service into a business ,foundation is business, in foundation you can be helping others and making your own money as well, you will be happy that you are helping others because all I can deduced from talking to you for the past 45minutes is your PASSION”. I said okay madam.
When I got home that evening I got into my computer and Google what is a foundation and how do I start a foundation business, and the rest was history. Here I am after 11 years that I started this foundation/humanitarian business, I am still going stronger, even though I have been investing my own thousands and thousands of dollars/money into this business, now you know how and why I started my foundation, you can start your own too. If you have the heart, patient, and a lot of money to invest in it, thanks for reading, On the 2/23/2021 as I was paying my office rent at 30 wall street in Manhattan New York, the property manager Mrs. Dona asked me if I have a church building , I told her not yet because of finance, She then said” Try and gather your flocks, it is very important as a shepherd, gather your flocks”, She said it to me several times ,the fact is that in 2011, I was sharing a church space with another pastor a good friend of mine, but at that time I was going through what I was going through In life, I hope you guys understand, the members I was having were like 5,8 and 10 In every Sunday service and my rent was $1200 per month, here I am just getting out of active duty military, marriage issues and not a very strong source of income and the load that breaks the camel’s back was seeing my poor members single parent , women, donating what is left of them to our church, I couldn’t take it so I had to let it go at that time.
God was using Dona to message me that its time to come back and serve him and his people/ children, I have decided to find a space as a church /office to start preaching to the chairs at the beginning if no one comes, thank GOD that he has being blessing me lately to be a blessing to others of his poor children. Now I strongly believe that God has a message to the world through me. a gift inside of me that I have to share to the world before I live the earth and go into heaven, so if you want to follow me into Gods house/heaven where we will be spending eternity, Halla at me my brothers and sisters, remember, we are all going to die one day. (1 day) RICH OR POOR.