The Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation (SEOF) has called on well-meaning individuals and organisations to key into its vision and mission of impacting the health, education, and socio-economic well-being of Nigerians and Africans.
The Founder and Chairman of the foundation, Sir Emeka Okwuosa, made this call on Saturday in Lagos during the foundation’s flagship Gala Night in commemoration of its accomplishments across the country through healthcare, education, and socio-economic programmes.
Delivering his keynote speech, Okwuosa stated that he is humbled to acquaint Nigerians with their work, the people they have impacted through their programmes and their dedicated team and partners who have been a crucial part of the foundation.
He said the foundation believes that facilitating sustainable community development is essential for creating long-lasting change, adding that intentional collaboration is needed to achieve the foundation’s plans, which will require partnership and fundraising.
SEOF has been impacting lives and communities in over 14 states in Nigeria: Anambra, Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Abuja (FCT), Kogi, Oyo, Ekiti, Edo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Delta, Imo, and Abia.
Okwuosa noted that the foundation has awarded scholarships, and prizes, and provided education tools to over 1,500 primary and secondary school students.
In healthcare, $217,939 open-heart surgeries have been performed on 34 patients at the Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital (DIOMH) in 2022; and over 566 beneficiaries have been offered primary healthcare in the same year.
Okwuosa added that with EOF’s partnership with the Texas-based Vincent Ohaju Obioma Memorial (VOOM) Foundation, subsidised and free healthcare services have been provided to over 4,000 individuals across Nigeria.
Executive members of the VOOM Foundation spoke virtually. Dr Vincent Ohaju, Founder/President of VOOM; Shawn Andaya-Pulliam, Executive Director of VOOM; and Adanna Akujuo, Medical Board Member of VOOM said their partnership with SOEF and the Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital is impacting Nigerians in sustainable ways that will last a lifetime.
Okwuosa stated that the foundation’s socioeconomic impacts have helped many individuals and communities to earn a modest living adding that in 2024, SEOF will introduce other programmes such as the Women Enterprise Programme and the Agro Cluster Cooperative Programme that will help individuals and families improve their lives and businesses.
The Board of Trustees of the foundation vowed that they remain dedicated to communities, the country, and Africa at large as they expand and seek to accomplish more within their areas of focus.
They added that they are committed to delivering their projects and programmes indiscriminately for the betterment of all.
The Trustees noted that the bedrock of what they do is sustainability and that this cuts across everything from local and international partnerships to funding.
Chibundu Okwuosa-Nwadei, a member of the Board of Trustees, emphasised that lifting people and communities has always driven the work that they do to sustainably impact the lives of individuals they encounter.
She said that the funds raised from the event would go into their various programmes so that they can continue to create sustainable change in more communities across Nigeria.
During the screening of the three-part documentaries at the event, some of the Board members, staff, and beneficiaries of SOEF shared their stories, encounters and experiences of how the foundation impacted them, and improved their livelihoods and people in their communities.
In the course of the events, the artworks of Janet Adebayo and those of Kanye Okeke – a 13-year-old boy living with autism – were auctioned. Mr and Mrs Tagbo Okeke, parents of Tanye, appreciated Sir Emeka Okwuosa for supporting their son’s art and craft, and for sponsoring his works in international exhibitions.