Historical Perspective
The area previously known as Awgu Division under the British Colonial Rule is now made up of three local government areas, namely: ANINRI L.G.A., AWGU L.G.A. and OJI RIVER L.G.A. The combined population of these communities is approximately 650,000 people according to 2006 Nigerian population census. It is estimated that the population of these three counties currently exceeds 1 million lives.
Under the colonial rule, two hospitals served the old Awgu Division. They are Joint Hospital in Awgu and a leprosy hospital in Oji River. A general hospital was later established in Achi in 1966 after Nigeria won her independence from Great Britain. The leprosy hospital was later converted and re-named General Hospital, Oji River at the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970. My late father, Dr. Lawrence O. J. Onuora served as the Medical Director at this facility in the mid 1970’s. These three hospitals were marginally operational at the end of the civil war in 1970. Under the repressive military regimes, which ruled Nigeria for over forty years after the civil war, these hospitals became dilapidated. Currently, they have decayed and are no longer functional.
In 1976, Dr. Lawrence O. J. Onuora, who was the first western educated physician in the old Awgu Division, established a Children’s Home in Nenwe. However, his dream never fully materialized because of his untimely death from complications of cerebral aneurysm in 1977.
Our Journey
I have done self-funded annual solo medical missions in the tri-county areas since 1997. In 2004, the people of Amoji, Nenwe, out of dire necessity donated to me over 10 acres of land at a prime location for the purpose of building a modern hospital, which will serve the communities of the old Awgu Division and other surrounding communities. Realizing the enormity of the responsibility, which has been trusted on me, it took me three years before I summoned up courage to seek architectural services. I was able to locate a Nigerian born architect based in Columbus, Ohio. After several meetings including trips to model hospitals, the hospital design started to take shape. Sometimes in 2009, I broached Mr. Edward Roth, III, the President and CEO of Aultman Health Foundation. He received the news of my desire to help my home community to build a US model hospital in Nenwe, Nigeria with a lot of enthusiasm. His support from the outset was strongly positive. He had previously made a personal generous donation towards the completion of a Church for Nenwe community in 2006. Upon his recommendation to seek tax exempt status for the hospital, I sought and enlisted the services of Attorney Sheri A. Peters. She too was very excited about the project. She prepared and filed all legal documents for the hospital on a pro bono basis. All required documents for tax exempt status were filed in the later part of 2012. On December 9, 2013, we obtained a tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity. Prior to our filing, I spoke to some people whom I believed would be core assets to this enormous undertaking. Each one of these highly respected men and women expressed their support with tremendous enthusiasm.
During my visit to Nigeria in January, 2013, I spoke with His Excellency, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu, CFR, Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria about our dream to build a hospital for the underserved areas in Southeast region of Nigeria. I followed up with a face to face discussion during his visit to Houston, Texas in August, 2013. Subsequently, we had a follow up meeting on January 17, 2014. His support for this project has been noteworthy and encouraging. He was happy to serve on the Board of Trustees with the other distinguished men and women, who have already generously donated their time and resources to make our dream a reality.
Our Goal
The Board of Trustees has been constituted to fulfill two critical functions. First and foremost is to oversee all aspects of construction on a seventy five bed ultra-modern US model Medical Centre of excellence in Nenwe, Nigeria. The second function of the Board is also to oversee the running of the hospital when it becomes functional. The Board is composed of nine members from the United States of America and three members from Nigeria. It is a diverse group from all walks of life. Each member has visible contributions to the wellbeing of our communities. While their talents are diverse, they complement one another. Please take time to check out the profile of our Board members.
We plan to establish a round the year medical missions from US trained physicians. Our plan also includes the construction of a thirty-room guest house within the premises of the Medical Center to provide accommodation for our medical mission teams. It will also provide accommodation to members of our patients at reasonable rates.
Our physician, who will represent various specialties will provide both medical care to our patients and will also be involved in the education of local physicians. We plan to engage the services of an organization here in the United States to vet and credential local physicians.
It is anticipated that our facility will be completed in three to four years and will open to provide the much needed medical care to over one million people in Nigeria, who currently do not have access to health care. It has been a cumbersome journey, but one which I found to be both fulfilling and gratifying. I hope that you can join us in this exciting journey by making a donation today.
God bless you.
