Helping others is the hallmark of humanity. Helping needy people boosts your happiness, health, and mental well-being, and such noble activities come in sundry forms; charity, donating, fundraising, volunteering, or any act of kindness. Helping others is the best way to put your life into perspective. When you help someone, the human body produces endorphins and happy hormones that nurture your positive emotions. It is proven that helping someone makes you feel good: we say the best way to help yourself is to help others. When talking about helping others, Chris Ifediora is a renowned philanthropist who comes to mind promptly.
Founded on April 29, 2016, by Chris Ifediora, the Nigerian Corporate affair Commission registered the Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora (OCI) Foundation as a non-governmental, non-profit, and non-political organization. The founder and associate professor, Chris Onyebuchi Ifediora, aimed to establish the foundation in a way that breaks the barrier to accessing three basic necessities of life; health, education, and social welfare. The slogan of the OCI Foundation, “We rise, By Lifting Others,” encapsulates their official aims, which are to “Promote and Advance Health, Advance Education, and Advance Social and Public Welfare,” and clearly speaks volumes for the foundation’s mission statement. The OCI Foundation took one step ahead on June 4, 2018, by extending its wings internationally and was officially registered in Australia too.
The Nigerian health statistics scream the misery of the people’s health conditions. Despite modernization in the health sector, the country is facing one of the worst in Africa. Keeping this in mind, Chris Ifediora primarily focused on the health sector. To align with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the OCI Foundation works to deliver an equitable, strategic, feasible, and sustainable health system to underprivileged Nigerian people.
The primary motive of the OCI Foundation is to work on breast and cervical cancers. According to a study, cervical cancer ranks as 2nd most frequent cancer among women in Nigeria, and women between 15 and 44 years are mostly affected by it. In 2019, the OCI Foundation initiated a health promotion campaign named the “Arm Our Youths Health Campaign”, or “ArOY Campaign”, to improve the conditions. The campaign targeted high school students to educate them about breast and cervical cancers because about 72.8% of Nigerians aged 15 to 24 are literate, so schools were identified as the best option. The ArOY Campaign was designed with inputs from the Harvard Medical School, Boston, the United States of America.
In 2019, the OCI Foundation launched a 3-day campaign from 10th to 12th September, targeting the 261 high schools in ‘ ‘Nigeria’s Anambra State. The event occurred at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University’s main auditorium, Awka, setting a landmark for the ‘ ‘foundation’s plan to organize the rest of the anti-breast and anti-cervical cancer campaigns rest of anti-breast and anti-cervical cancer campaigns of the states in the country.
In addition to the above, the OCI Foundation also developed the Cervi-Breast mobile Application that is freely available on Android, Google, Apple, iPhone, and IOS App stores. The application accumulates unique features like customizable reminders, informative messages, links to cancer service providers, and methods of self-examinations for breast cancer.
The CerviBreast App indicates that the OCI Foundation always tries to merge technology and healthcare. The Gynocular Project is another contribution. On February 1, 2022, with the partnership of FCT-PHCB, OCI Foundation launched this high-tech product service. The Gynocular has LED technology and advanced optics, allowing tranquil cervical detection tests. It is a portable, small, lightweight device perfectly suitable for rural areas. It can be used with brief instructions and training, so paramedical staff and laymen can use the Gynocular.
The multi-dimensional OCI Foundation also works on education. In 2017, OCI Foundation awarded scholarships to 52 junior and high school students to help them academically. 15 high school students received cash sums to augment two of their Senior Certificate Examination Wfees, while the 37 junior students got sums for their Junior Certificate Exam fees. Among the beneficiaries were Miss Chinenye Chris and Master Obiorah Chukwuemeka, who both praised the OCI Foundation’s efforts.
The global lockdown of COVID-19 could not stop the philanthropist, Chris Ifediora. During the hard times of COVID-19, OCI Foundation distributed food, ration bags, medicines, and equipment to needy and poor Nigerian people. In 2020, the Foundation also offered various awareness programs against COVID-19 in Nigeria. They also regularly sponsor a soccer group in Nsugbe, the hometown of its founder, Chris O. Ifediora, among other things.
OCI Foundation is an internationally and critically acclaimed foundation, which is why many prestigious names and organizations are associated with it. Anambra State Government of Nigeria, The World Health Organization, The Harvard Medical School, The Nigerian National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Women Affairs are a few of many names that collaboratively work with the OCI Foundation.
The efforts and hard work of the OCI Foundation are nationally and internationally recognized. Hence, it won many noble awards, including the Award of Humanitarian Excellence from CENDASNER, UNIZIK, Nigeria, Emerging NFP of the Year in Sydney, Australia, and Most Impactful NGO of the Year 2022 at the Puma Hall of Fame Awards in Lagos, Nigeria.
Since its inception, the OCI Foundation has been incessantly working for the betterment of mankind. It works 360 degrees, from education to healthcare to social activities, coming to a full circle. Its projects, like Cervi-Breast mobile Application, Gynocular, and scholarships to poor students, are praiseworthy. The collaboration and partnership of various prestigious international organizations with the OCI Foundation are enough for the eminence of the OCI Foundation. Chris Ifediora and his team make an impression of kindness and empathy on humanity.
