The vision for the Infinity Branch had been clearly set early on: we want to build a school to help children who cannot have access to education get a fair chance in life – and then help others who want to do the same thing. A rough sketch on how to do this had been jotted down in a notepad. But they quickly found out they had more answers than question, so they would need to get help.

Given that they were very social they had both come across many different people in their life that might be able to help point them in the right direction.

The following year was filled with text messages to the like: “Hi – I heard from ABC that you do XYZ. We are in the early days of starting a school charity and I wonder if I could have the opportunity to buy you a coffee/lunch to learn more about your work?”

The responses were overwhelming. Every single person they reach out to offer the time. They started to understand one of the best things with the charity sector: even though people might be competing for funding, in the end they are all driven by wanting to make the world a better place, so are very willing to help with knowledge sharing to the best of their abilities.

Chuks and Gus met with everyone that had some small resemblance to what they wanted to do. There were charity founders in UK, accountants, lawyers, marketers, people working with youths in Senegal, a truly inspiring charity founder working with dance and movement in education across Ghana.

Little by little the picture became a bit clearer. Every meeting they came away with new knowledge but also with new questions. Although they found it daunting, and they had come far away from their rough notes from their first official meeting in 2018, the overwhelming feeling of inspiration and community was showering them. They now belonged to a large group of people who wanted to change the world for the better – one way or another.

This helped grow that early fire of inspiration they had already created. It was all getting real.