Skip to content Several years ago a childhood friend of mine mentioned that he was travelling from the UK to Nigeria to attend the funeral of a prominent wealthy man in our home town, Ondo. Initially I wondered why he wanted to do that considering the fact that aside not being related to the deceased, he was a new migrant to the UK who was still trying to find his footing in the UK.
My friend then mentioned a very important point that I wasn’t aware of before then. He said he owed much of his success in life to the man who had just died. By virtue of living in the same street with the wealthy man whilst growing up, the deceased through his benevolence gave my friend who was from a poor background opportunities he would not have had.
Research has shown that forming friendships with others from a different social class helps people to achieve social mobility – break the cycle of poverty, move up the socio-economic ladder or attain greater heights than those attained by their disadvantaged parents.
According to research, children from poor backgrounds are more likely to become successful in life by attending the same schools as children from rich families than attending the same schools with children from other poor families.
Apart from schools, another important place where people are likely to form the kind of friendships that facilitate social mobility is in religious settings such attending the same church, mosque or synagogue as those from wealthier backgrounds.
What helps these children from poor backgrounds to achieve social mobility is not just the education or religious teachings they receive but also the opportunity to form lifelong relationships with the rich that opens doors for them later in life.
In general the more the poor children are segregated from the rich children, the less their chances of social mobility.
My name is Ayo Adebamowo. Author, Speaker and Techpreneur. I’m here to walk your success journey with you. Subscribe to my newsletter for regular nuggets or check out other empowering articles on my blog to help in that journey. My latest book is Accelerate, a primer on personal and professional development.
Written by : Ayo Adebamowo
About the Facilitator – Ayo Adebamowo Ayo Adebamowo is an Author, Speaker and Tech Entrepreneur. He is the founder of MyMedicalBank, a health technology company promoting digital access to healthcare through creating innovative digital solutions.
A Nigerian-British national, Ayo has been named as one of the 70 Most Outstanding Healthcare Professionals in the United Kingdom.
Having started and run various businesses himself in healthcare, technology, agriculture and publishing, Ayo very much understands from a practical point of view the pains, struggles and mistakes aspiring and established business owners often make that delay their success. He therefore brings his wealth of experience coupled with years of experience and research to help other entrepreneurs succeed in their journey.
