Tani Adewumi, the eight-year-old Nigerian chess whizz who is now an internet sensation for winning his category at the New York State chess championsh
Tani Adewumi, the eight-year-old Nigerian chess whizz who is now an internet sensation for winning his category at the New York State chess championship, despite being homeless, has raised over $100,000 in just two days.
Tanitoluwa Adewunmi had been featured over the weekend in New York Times by columnist, Nicholas Kristof, who wrote extensively about the young lad’s rise in Manhattan, and how he just won the championship. The article also chronicled how his family reportedly fled Northern Nigeria I 2017 because of Boko Haram crisis, fearing attacks by Boko Haram terrorists on Christians such as themselves.
Kristof’s piece on Tani prompted readers from across the world to call the newspaper to help the young genius. A GoFundMe account was set up by Russ Makofsky, who oversees the P.S. 116 chess programme, to help Tani raise $50,000 to help Tani’s family secure a home where he can continue on his journey.
The account, which was set up on March 15, has been fund-raising for two days after it was set up, and has succeeded in raising $101,974 as at 8:44pm on Monday, with donations from 1,737 people in 2 days. This is more than double the initial target of $50,000. The fund-raising is still on.
