The love for humanity is a prolonged commitment with a futuristic commitment in return. When people think of philanthropic activities, the immediate thought is offering charity to non-profit organizations; philanthropy is much more than this. It’s about providing life necessities to less fortunate people regardless of race, religion, and ethnicity. It does not matter whether you know them personally; helping needy people by keeping their dignity and secrecy is all about philanthropism. The Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora (OCI) Foundation is a non-profit organization that fulfills all of philanthropy’s ultimate standards and parameters.
Founded by the noble hands of Associate Professor Chris Onyebuchi Ifediora on April 29, 2016, the OCI Foundation incessantly indulges in agenda that supports mankind. The Foundation has three targets to work on; health, education, and social welfare. The OCI Foundation is one of the most reputable non-profit organizations with trustees and partners worldwide, including Nigeria, Australia, Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, and North America, all vouching for the repute of the Foundation.
The flagbearer of humanity, OCI Foundation is perpetually serving humanity with the help of multiple organizations. The Innoson Group of Companies has recently granted the Foundation a significant discount on the purchase of a 7-seater IVM G-20 smart vehicle. This gesture helped promote the fast delivery of the Foundation’s projects across Nigeria. Moreover, Chukwuma (CEO of The Innoson Group of Companies) expressed gratitude and faith in Ifediora and his team.
In 2020, Ifediora raised his concern about the Human papillomavirus (HPV) condition in Nigeria. In an interview with a local news channel, the News Agency of Nigeria, in Onitsha Nigeria, he supported the plan to introduce vaccination against HPV into routine immunization for young women across Nigeria. The Foundation’s plan to deal with the country’s menace of breast and cervical cancer includes the pursuit of a nationwide policy to introduce the relevant teachings into the curriculum of all high schools in Nigeria before 2025, as well as the engagement of fresh graduates in the NYSC program. It is evident that Nigeria is one of the most exposed to breast and cervical cancers in women among all African countries. They make up the top most fatal cancers in Nigerian women. The effort of the OCI Foundation to eliminate or minimize the cancer burden is never-ending. On World’s Cancer Day, Ifediora advocated the importance of routine checkups for early breast and cervical cancer detection. In a telephonic interview with a news channel, he highlighted the importance of cancer tests even with zero symptoms, as cancer is a silent killer.
In collaboration with Swedish Associates from Gynius Plus Ab, OCI Foundation adopted a compact, lightweight, and portable device, the Gynocular. This is a device for digital cervical cancer screening. Ifediora also developed a free mobile application for cervical and breast cancers, the Cervi-Breast app. It features the most advanced technology, such as personal detection training, links to the best oncologists, and audio/video and text messages for disease prevention.
The OCI Foundation has gone too far in cancer prevention efforts in Nigeria. The Foundation initiated a legislative Bill to incorporate cancer teaching in secondary and high school syllabi. Around 72% of Nigerian youth are educated, so incorporating cancer teachings in syllabi is the best way to reach optimum results. The OCI Foundation brought the Nigerian youth together and empowered them. In 2019, Ifediora developed a program called Arm Our Youths Health Campaign, famously known as the ArOY Campaign. The campaign organized seminars and workshops in secondary and high schools to educate youth about cervical and breast cancer. The program was a huge success and has been a regular feature in the activities of all 261 high schools in Anambra State, to date.
A large chunk of the OCI Foundation’s humanitarian work is comprised of education too. Ifediora strongly feels about the challenges poor students face. To cater to this, he offers 6 sets of scholarship programs. One of those scholarships is for medical students in universities and is called the annual Literary Award for Medical Students (LAMS), designed to boost the growth of literacy skills among undergraduates.
In appreciation of the foregoing, the OCI Foundation has received multiple international awards and recognitions, including The Award of Excellence to Chris Ifediora on November 11, 2022. The OCI Foundation also won the Emerging NFP of the Year in Australia in the same year. It also received an award for The Most Impactful NGO of the Year from the prestigious Hall of Fame award in 2022. Also in 2022, the OCI Foundation was nominated for the Top 100 most impactful NGOs of the Year.
As they say, the results of philanthropy are beyond imagination; it suits best on Chris Onyebuchi Ifediora. He started the organization with his wife, Nkem Ifediora. Today, many national and international prestigious organizations and philanthropists are his partners and trustees. Since its inception, the OCI Foundation has been serving humanity, expecting nothing in return. His kindness and dedication to needy and unfortunate people reveal his empathy and compassion.