On a fateful day in the month of April 2023, Mrs. Madinat Adigun-Oladotun, CEO of Bayt El Jamaal, came across a hardworking Muslim woman on the streets of Ilorin; she was a meat seller. A series of events occurred, and during the course of their conversation, Rahmat (Rahmat Eleran), as she revealed to be her name, revealed that her biggest dream was to visit and pray in the holy land of Mecca. One will say that’s the day she met with favour.
Overwhelmed by the humility of this woman and her dream to partake in Hajj instead of otherworldly things, Madinat, in line with her passion and love for charity and philanthropy, took it upon herself and made it her mission to see that Rahmat’s dreams come true this year.
On that same day, Madinat started a crowdfunding scheme with the objective of raising the necessary funds for this lofty dream. To no one’s surprise, people turned up in numbers, contributing their tokens to support the dreams of this street meat seller.
The news was a wake to people far and near, as it spread like widefire across social media platforms, more people became interested in being a part of this woman’s success story and more donations streamed in. Madinat also didn’t fail to expend all her connections and resources to reach the right people to further this cause. Part of these connections included an immigration officer in Ilorin, who was instrumental in making the entire Visa processing ordeal relatively easy. With the assistance of Madinat, no stone was left unturned, as Rahmat followed all the due process and did all the necessary things before traveling.
On the second week of June, Rahmat flew to the Holy Land of Mecca, where her status changed from RAHMAT ELERAN to ALHAJA RAHMAT.
On July 21, 2023, Alhaja Rahmat returned to Nigeria, where she was welcomed by family, friends, and the team from Bayt El Jamaal. Her joy was profound as she thanked Alhaja Madinat Adigun-Oladotun for being responsible for making her dreams come true. she also thanked everyone who made donations to see that her dreams became reality.
On Friday, September 29, 2023, gathered at the office of Bayt el Jamaal: Alhaja Rahmat, the immediate former President of the Kwara Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (KWACCIMA), Alhaji Olalekan Ayodemeji, Dr. Oba Abdulkadir Laaro, and Acc. Raufu Musliyu Olasunkanmi. The gathering was held to hand over a sum of ₦500,000 to Alhaja Rahmat; the money, according to Accountant Raufu, was what was left from the donations gotten for Alhaja Rahmat. Mr. Raufau gave a detailed account of the entire contribution and gave a transparent breakdown of how the money was spent to the last kobo. The total amount of money that was realized from the crowdfunding was ₦4,619,000.01, out of which a total of ₦3,752,234.77 was spent on securing her pilgrimage and other documents, as well as bank charges et al. Out of the remaining ₦866,765.24, ₦366,765.24 was converted into spendable Riyal for her journey. Intentionally leaving the neat sum of ₦500,000.00 for her return.
Dr. Laaro gave his own bit of advice to Alhaja Rahmat on how to go from here. The aim is to continue doing good and following Allah while striving to develop her entrepreneurial senses and making sure all the efforts put into seeing her become a consistent success are not put to shame. Alhaji Ayodemeji concluded the handover by congratulating Alhaja Rahmat on this win and urging her to continue developing her goodness and strive to keep her hard work consistent.
Alhaja Rahmat expressed her profound gratitude to Mrs. Madinat Adigun-Oladotun and her team once again for making her dream come true. She also thanked everyone who made donations. Finally, the sum of ₦500,000 was officially handed to Alhaja Rahmat, and she received it with tears of joy.