8-Year-Old Homeless Christian Boy Wins Chess Tournament; Pulls Family Out of Poverty

Will Maule : Apr 2, 2019
Faithwire.com via CBN News

"We take our blessings and give them back to God and to the World." -Kayode Adewumi

(New York, NY)—[Faithwire.com] A young homeless boy who immigrated to the United States from Nigeria has been lifted out of poverty through the most unlikely of hobbies: chess. Fearing that, as a Christian family, they would become victims of Boko Haram militants, Tanitoluwa Adewumi and his family fled the West African nation in 2017, attaining asylum in New York City. Becoming residents of a local homeless shelter, Adewumi began to teach himself chess as a way of passing the time. After a little while, the extremely bright young man began to excel at the game. (Image: Tani/GoFundMe/via CBN News)

In just a little more than a year after first learning the game, Adewumi managed to secure first place at the 52nd New York State Scholastic Championships tournament for kindergarten to third-grade players. An astonishing feat for a little man who has been through so much—but that is not where this story ends. Adewumi and his family still remained holed up in New York's homeless shelters, which is no place for such a young boy.

Incredibly, that's when the public stepped in to offer a helping hand. From the press coverage Adewumi received as a result of his chess playing successes, a GoFundMe campaign was set up and quickly began to gather steam. In just ten days, some $246,000 was raised for Adewumi and his brave family.

"To whom much is given, much is required," wrote Tanitoluwa's dad, Kayode Adewumi, in an update on the page, noting that all the family's needs had "been met." They now had a house, legal assistance, jobs and living costs... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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