Honoring the lives of children we have lost but will never forget.
The Fallen Angels are the children whose lives were brief but precious. This page exists to honor their memory, to celebrate their impact, and to ensure they are never forgotten. Each name listed here is a reminder of love, hope, and the importance of protecting every child.
Though their time was short, their memory lights the path for all of us.
Daniel Paul James
It is with great sadness we share the devastating news of the passing of one of our children, Daniel Paul James. Daniel sustained a severe injury after a piece of iron had pierced his leg and he died shortly after.
We met Daniel during one of our Pathway Home programs around the Bogobiri area. After series of successful counseling, We located his family but weren’t able to reunite him on the set date due to scheduling conflicts. We lost Daniel 2 weeks after. Full of humour and life, Daniel never missed a chance to make others laugh, his jokes always lighting up the crowd. Today, we mourn the loss of that light. We have one less smile in the world, and it hurts deeply that we will never get to see Daniel’s face again.
We have connected with his family and broken the news to them. Daniel’s father and younger sister were deeply affected by the tragic news. Their grief, a painful reminder that behind every child on the streets is a family, a story, and hearts that break when they’re gone.
JOSEPH AKPAN
For us as an organization, when we count our wins, we count the smiles on the faces of each child we have been able to impact. Sadly, today, we have one less smile to count. It hurts that we’d never get to see Joseph’s face again. Joseph was one of the children we met during the pandemic in 2020. He had a smallish stature but possessed an energy that could fill the whole room. You just had to notice this little boy who was quite smart for his age and did extremely well with activities at the community center.
After a while, we noticed Joseph had stopped attending Center Programs, we discovered he had been sick and a good samaritan had come across him during this period and tried to help him. We quickly took him to the hospital to run some tests to see what was wrong and when the test results came out, to our dismay, we discovered that Joseph was suffering from a terminal illness. We were heartbroken because we understood that we didn’t have the magnitude of resources to cater for these situations, but we were determined to try our best and ensure Joseph got better. Through the help of the General Hospital we were able to get access to medications that could help improve Joseph’s health.
Our biggest challenge was our lack of a community center where Joseph could be housed and treated with proper supervision. Although he was made to stay with the good samaritan who provided him with shelter and feeding while we catered for his academic needs, he snuck out back into the street after a while and since then we had to manage the situation at that level.
Recently, during our street corner activities, we learnt that Joseph was gone. This news hit our camp so hard and has left us completely heartbroken. It’s been a few weeks now and we are slowly coming to terms with the reality that we will never get to see Joseph again.
Unfortunately, We may not have been able to save Joseph completely, but we can ensure that hundreds of other children living on the street are not met with the same fate.
JOHN OKON EKONG
Our hearts are crushed as we bring you the news of the demise of one of our children, John Okon Ekong, who suffered a deep injury to the head while being accused of stealing and died days after.
John was an amazing kid, who didn’t want to miss out on anything. He was present and willing and eager to learn during center activities, and despite the hardships and distress faced on the streets, was never caught without a smile on his face.
His death shouldn’t have happened and it’s our vision to prevent such from the children’s final circumstance
NDUKE
On the 16th of June 2016, it must have been 3pm, Nduke had spent the whole day really trying to come out of a haze that he was in. He had taken a few too many tablets of tramadol and overdosed on it.
His heart rate had slowed down, he could hear and see everything around him but couldn’t speak. It was painful for him to breathe and each breath became so painful and crucial.
Some people assumed that he was asleep, his eyes were half open and he was breathing painfully.
Finally, James Okina (Our founder) figured out that something was wrong and attempted to get him some help. They rushed him to the hospital and got there in time for Nduke to take his last breath. (This is a picture that was taken just after we got into the hospital).
The doctor said the tramadol tablet he had swallowed had knocked his heart out, and that was what led to his ultımate demise.
EZEKIEL NDIFREKE
We met Ezekiel Ndifreke during our pathway home program on the 8th of October, 2024
along the Marian axis of the Calabar metropolis. His physical health looked very disturbing and we knew we had to act immediately. On taking him to the hospital and after proper diagnosis, it was discovered that he had Stage 4 Paediatric aids with a co-infection of tuberculosis.
He was admitted in the Paediatric medical ward of UCTH where he began medical treatment. We did a crowdfunding campaign to help raise funds to foot his medical expenses and help stabilize his condition.
His situation became critical amidst the medical attention being received and In the early hours of Wednesday, 16th of October, 2024…we received a call from the hospital
informing us of his death.
We wrote to the Police force and social welfare informing them of this recent incident and our next steps towards laying his body to rest.
Why This Matters
Every child deserves safety, love, and opportunity. The memory of our Fallen Angels fuels the mission of Street Priests to protect, care, and advocate for children in need. By remembering them, we honor their lives and strengthen our commitment to creating a safer world for all children.
These tragedies highlight just how critical, timing and access to resources are in the work that we do. We hope these untimely losses inspires more people to join us in building safer, more responsive communities for children where help is not only available but timely enough to save lives.
