Ideas for random acts of kindness

• Notice who in your street or building struggles with heavy loads, such as an older woman fetching water or a man climbing stairs with shopping.
• Offer at a regular time, for example every Saturday morning, so they can count on you.

Example: A secondary school student in Ajegunle fills two jerrycans for her elderly neighbour every morning before school. In a city apartment, a young professional carries groceries up four flights for the retired couple on the ground floor.

• Visit a housebound neighbour, a widow, or a patient with few visitors. Thirty minutes is enough.
• Bring conversation, not pressure: ask about their life, read to them, or share news.

Example: A young man spends Sunday afternoons with an elderly widower on his street, listening to his stories and helping him call his children abroad.

• Find a child who is falling behind or not in school. Ask the parent first.
• Use what you have: a stick in the sand, old newspapers, a phone, or a chalkboard.
• Meet for 20 to 30 minutes, two or three times a week.

Example: A university student holds an evening reading circle for five children under a streetlight in her compound, using old storybooks collected from friends.

• Offer to walk with children whose parents leave for work early or return late, especially on busy roads or unsafe routes.
• Always agree on this with the parent or guardian first.

Example: A trader who passes the primary school on her way to market walks three neighbours’ children there each morning.

• Pick one spot that affects everyone, such as a blocked gutter that floods, a littered path, or a dirty playground.
• Bring a broom, a shovel, or gloves, and invite one or two people to join.

Example: Two friends clear a blocked drainage channel before the rainy season, preventing flooding in their street. In a city, neighbours pick up litter in the local park every first Saturday.

• Offer to hold a place in line at a hospital, pension office, bank, or government office.
• Call or message them when their turn is near, so they can wait at home or in the shade.

Example: A young woman arrives at the general hospital at 6 a.m. to take a card number for her pregnant neighbour, who comes later and avoids hours of standing.

• Offer a few hours of childcare to a single parent, a mother with a newborn, or a parent working an extra shift.
• Keep the children where the parent agrees and knows where they are.

Example: A grandmother looks after a young mother’s two toddlers every Wednesday so the mother can sell at the market.

• Notice someone who seems burdened: a friend who lost a job, a parent with a sick child, a student who failed an exam.
• Ask how they are, then listen without rushing to give advice. Offer to pray with them if that fits your faith and theirs.
• Send a short message of encouragement later in the week.

Example: A deacon calls three members of his congregation each week who have been going through hardship, simply to check on them.

• Pass on opportunities you hear about: job openings, free medical outreaches, scholarships, government programs, or skills training.
• Share them in community WhatsApp groups, at community gatherings, or directly with someone who needs them.

Example: A woman who sees a free eye-screening notice forwards it to her street’s WhatsApp group, and eleven elderly neighbours get free glasses.

• Find your nearest hospital blood bank or blood donation drive.
• Check that you are eligible: generally healthy, of a minimum weight, and not recently ill.
• Donate regularly, as often as your blood bank allows.

Example: A group of friends donates blood together every three months at the teaching hospital, where mothers and accident victims often need it urgently.

• Keep a small amount set aside each week specifically for this, so you are ready when you see a need.
• Buy the food directly rather than giving cash when you are unsure how it will be used.
• Sit and eat with the person if they are open to it. Dignity matters as much as the food.

Example: A bus driver buys rice and beans for the boy who washes his windscreen at the motor park every Friday. In a city, an office worker buys an extra sandwich and coffee for the man who sleeps near the train station.

• When you cook, make a little extra and set aside a plate for a neighbour who is struggling, sick, or living alone.
• Deliver it warm, with a friendly word, so it feels like sharing rather than charity.

Example: A mother cooks an extra pot of jollof rice every Sunday and sends plates to two elderly neighbours and a widow with young children.

• Ask a teacher or school head which children miss school because of transport costs or lack of supplies.
• Cover one child’s weekly fare, or buy a set of exercise books, pencils, and an eraser.

Example: A shop owner gives a pack of exercise books and pens to five pupils at the local primary school at the start of every term.

• Offer a small top-up or data bundle to someone job hunting, someone in hospital, or a student who needs to submit an application.

Example: A young man sends data to a neighbour who needs to attend an online job interview and has run out of credit.

• Go with the person to the pharmacy, or ask the pharmacist to tell you the cost of their prescription.
• Pay for the prescribed medicine only. Do not buy or recommend medicine yourself.

Example: A woman at the pharmacy counter notices an elderly man counting coins for his blood pressure tablets and quietly pays the difference.

• Put together small hygiene packs: soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, sanitary pads, and a small towel.
• Give them privately and respectfully, especially sanitary pads for girls, so no one feels embarrassed.

Example: A women’s fellowship assembles 30 hygiene packs and hands them to girls at a secondary school, so they do not miss classes during their periods.

• At a food stall, bus stop, pharmacy, or supermarket, quietly pay for the person behind you.
• Leave a small note or say “Purple Love: pass it on” to encourage them to do the same for someone else.

Example: A customer at a roadside akara stall pays for the next three people’s breakfast and asks the seller to tell them to pass the kindness forward.

• Sort clothes that are clean, mended, and in good condition. Give what you would be happy to wear.
• Give them directly to families who need them, or through a church, school, or orphanage.

Example: Three families on the same street wash and fold their children’s outgrown school uniforms and give them to the head teacher to pass on to pupils who need them.

• Choose one day before resumption and announce it in your area, at church, or on a community WhatsApp group.
• Set a limit you can manage, such as the first 20 children.

Example: A barber in Mushin offers free haircuts to children every last Saturday before school resumes, and a hair salon owner in the same street plaits girls’ hair for free.

• Offer to fix torn school uniforms, adjust hand-me-down clothes, or sew simple items for families in need.

Example: A tailor sets aside one afternoon each month to mend uniforms for children at the local primary school, and turns donated fabric into dresses for girls at an orphanage.

• Run simple free checks: blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, or basic health advice, within your training.
• Refer anyone with worrying results to a clinic or hospital, and keep their results private.

Example: A nurse sets up a table at the church gate after service on the first Sunday of each month and checks blood pressure for anyone who stops by. Several people discover high blood pressure they did not know about.

• Ask your church, neighbours, or community group who has a broken tap, faulty wiring, a leaking roof, or a car they depend on but cannot repair.
• Give your labour free, and ask the community to help cover parts if needed.

Example: An electrician rewires a widow’s home after a fault left her family in the dark for weeks. A plumber fixes a leaking pipe for an elderly couple on his street at no cost.

• Offer free lessons in a subject you know well, especially before major exams such as WAEC, NECO, or JAMB.
• Use a classroom, a church hall, a compound, or a front porch.

Example: A retired mathematics teacher runs free Saturday classes for SS3 students in her community. Most of her first group pass their exams.

• Help people who are not comfortable with technology: job applications, school portals, scholarship forms, bank apps, or ID registration.
• Never keep or share anyone’s passwords, PINs, or personal details. Let them type sensitive information themselves.

Example: A young man at a business center helps parents complete their children’s online school registrations for free during admission season.

• Offer one hour a month to a secondary school or university student, talking through career paths, CVs, and interview preparation.
• Share contacts and opportunities when you can.

Example: An accountant meets two university students monthly by phone, reviews their CVs, and helps one of them secure an internship at a bank.

• Contact the hospital’s matron, social worker, or children’s ward first to ask what is allowed and what is needed.
• Bring simple, clean items: coloring books, crayons, small toys, storybooks, biscuits, or juice, as the ward permits.
• Spend time with the children: read stories, sing, or play quiet games. Do not photograph children without the hospital’s and parents’ permission.

Example: A youth group visits the children’s ward of a teaching hospital every quarter with gift bags, and spends the afternoon reading and singing with the children and encouraging their parents.

• Confirm the need directly with the hospital: ask for the bill or speak with the billing office.
• Pay the hospital directly wherever possible, rather than giving cash.
• Rally friends, family, or your congregation to share the cost, and report back to contributors once the bill is paid.

Example: When a mother is detained at the hospital because she cannot pay her delivery bill, her congregation contributes, verifies the bill with the hospital, and pays it directly so she can go home with her baby.

• Identify a student who is at risk of dropping out or missing a major exam because of fees.
• Pay the school or exam body directly, and get a receipt.
• Stay in touch with the student and encourage them through the term.

Example: Four coworkers split the WAEC registration fee for their office cleaner’s daughter, who goes on to pass her exams and gain university admission.

• Help someone whose business collapsed after illness, a fire, flooding, or a family loss.
• Ask what stock or tools they need, and buy those items with them rather than giving cash.
• Check in after a month to see how the business is doing.

Example: After a market fire destroys her stall, a pepper seller receives a starting supply of stock from her neighbours. Within two months she is trading again and supporting her children.

• Contact the home or ministry first to ask about visiting rules and what they most need.
• Bring practical items such as food, toiletries, clothing, books, or school supplies, and plan time to sit, talk, and listen.
• Respect privacy: no photos of residents without permission, and no sharing of personal stories.

Example: A fellowship group adopts a local orphanage, visiting every month with groceries, helping children with homework, and celebrating their birthdays together.

• Choose a place where people are hungry: a motor park, a market, a hospital, an underpass, or a community with many struggling families.
• Agree on a simple, filling meal, the number of packs, and who cooks, packs, and distributes.
• Collect small contributions from everyone involved.
• Distribute in an orderly, respectful way, and pray with or encourage people if they welcome it.

Example: Ten coworkers each contribute a small amount, cook 150 packs of rice and chicken on a Saturday, and share them at a busy motor park, with bottles of water.

• Pick a date and a clear area: a street, a market, a school, a beach, or a drainage channel.
• Talk to community leaders or the local council for support and waste collection.
• Gather gloves, brooms, rakes, sacks, and drinking water, and assign groups to sections.
• Share before-and-after photos of the place, not of people, on the Purple Love map.

Example: Young people in a neighbourhood clear three blocked gutters and two years of rubbish from the street in one Saturday morning, and the street no longer floods when it rains.

• Choose what to collect: clothes, shoes, school bags, uniforms, textbooks, or storybooks.
• Set a collection box and a deadline of two to three weeks, and announce it widely.
• Sort out anything damaged or dirty, then deliver to a school, orphanage, shelter, or families in need.

Example: A secondary school’s students collect 400 used textbooks after exams and donate them to a rural school with an empty library.

• Gather a small group of trusted people, for example 10 friends or members of a fellowship.
• Each person contributes a fixed small amount each month.
• Each month, the group chooses together one person or family to support: a hospital bill, school fees, rent, or business stock.
• Keep simple, open records so everyone can see where the money went.

Example: Twelve women in a market contribute a small amount weekly. Each month they pay one need in full, such as a child’s school fees, a widow’s rent, or a member’s hospital bill.

• Pick a date and invite your friends, family, church, or street to take part.
• Wear purple to make the day visible and spark conversations.
• Choose activities from this guide: a meal outreach, a clean-up, free haircuts, health checks, or visits to the sick.
• Share your story on mypurplelove.com and pin your location on the map so others can see the impact and be inspired.

Example: A congregation in Port Harcourt holds its first Purple Love Day. Members dressed in purple serve 200 meals, check blood pressure for 60 people, and give school supplies to 40 children, then post the day on the map.