Founded in 2016 and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Nigeria, the Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora (OCI) Foundation (International) is a non-governmental, non-profit and non-political organisation established with the aim of breaking down barriers to the attainment of excellence through a three-pronged action plan targeted on Education, Health and Empowerment/Charity Activities.
In June 2018, the OCI Foundation was formally registered as an Australian charity organization as well, by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), thereby according the Foundation an international status.
The headquarters of the Foundation is at Awka, the capital city of Anambra State, Nigeria, West Africa. Even though the activities of the OCI Foundation started with a focus on Anambra State, it is expected that, with time, it will reach the entire states of Nigeria and perhaps, the African Continent.
Our ultimate aim is to create a better society through the aforementioned tripod of activities. We desire to make a difference in these areas, and the push to excel stems from our Founder’s belief that “education is a great leveller,” and that “health is wealth”.
All our activities, appointments, and awards are done with gender-equity in mind. As such, we make conscious efforts to promote the female gender and ensure that the societies we serve do not leave anyone behind. A look through our list of officers and awards, results and activities, will attest to this.
The importance of education was concisely captured by Horace Mann, who, in 1848, said that “Education, beyond all other divides of human origin, is a great equaliser of conditions of men, and is the balance-wheel of the social machinery“.
The OCI Foundation aims to provide educational and financial facilities through:
i). Cyfed Undergraduate Scholarships:
Details of eligibility and application guidelines can be found here.
Our scholarships focus on brilliant, exceptional but financially challenged scholars, and the application and screening processes are designed to attract, identify and support these class of undergraduates. Eligible scholars will be awarded annual financial supports throughout the approved duration of their chosen programs in any university of their choice in Nigeria.
Recipients of the Cyfed Scholarships, also known as Cyfed Scholars, are expected to attend annual “Cyfed Dinners”, where the scholarship certificates will be doled out, and talks delivered by distinguished guests on topical leadership issues.
Over time, it is hoped that the associated event, talks and financial awards will create seasoned academics, technocrats and global leaders that will contribute to the development of the Nigerian Nation and Africa at large, and that they will form a “help chain” that will benefit many others in various capacities.
ii). THE IFOMSSA AND JAMB AWARDS:
The “Ifedioramma Okafor Memorial Secondary School Academic (IFOMSSA) Awards”, was established in memory of the late Mr. Ifedioramma Isaac Okafor (1939 to 2016), who was the father of the OCI Foundation Founder, and was a firm believer that Education holds the key to limitless successes, not just for individuals, but for the society at large.
This annual programme is designed to grant a one-off financial (or equivalent) award to senior secondary school students (Senior IFOMSSA Awards) preparing for their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) or the National Examination Council (NECO), as well as junior secondary school students (Junior IFOMSSA Awards) preparing for the Junior School Certificate Examination. Winners from the 2019 IFOMSSA Senior awards will also have their Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) Examination registration fees automatically covered, once they indicate interest in proceeding with this exam.
The idea is to encourage the recipients and spur students from the eligible schools towards the attainment of greater academic successes. This will be achieved by awarding financial benefits to academically outstanding students towards their school certificate exams (mentioned above).
Up till 2018, the IFOMSSA Awards was limited to State Government-owned schools in the Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria.
However, from 2020, all the schools in the Otuocha Educational Zone (which also includes Anambra West and Ayamelum Local Government Areas), will be participating. This is in keeping with our promise that the eligible schools will be expanded with time.
Please click here for more details.
iii). Cyfed Academic Donations:
The OCI Foundation, in collaboration with her partners, also hopes to make regular donations of academic materials to schools. These materials will include, but not limited to books, writing materials, library materials, recreational equipment, and so on.
2. HEALTH
The OCI Foundation, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, will work to foster a strategic, equitable, feasible and sustainable health system in the communities she serves.
We will aim to partner with local, national and international health agencies to promote health and prevent diseases at the Primary Care level through our activities, including, but not limited to:
i. Free but targeted Health Outreaches and Enlightenment Programmes on topical and endemic health issues. Our major intervention is the “Arm Our Youths Campaign”, which empowers high school teenagers on techniques of breast and cervical cancer preventive techniques in a sustainable and wide-reaching way. Details can be found HERE;
ii. Donation of basic, genuine, affordable and sustainable drugs and other health materials;
iii. Provision of cheap but affordable and sustainable health facilities like Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrines, good and sustainable sources of potable water supply (wells and boreholes);
iv. Fostering capacity-building, and the provision of basic health equipment (kits) for community health care providers like Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and their likes.
In 2017 and 2018, the OCI Foundation successfully organized a one-day health symposia on breast cancer, breast self-examination, and cervical cancer. Thousands of senior secondary school female students and dozens of their teachers participated in both events. A number of dignitaries were in attendance.
Details of the 2017 campaign can be found HERE, while a video documentary of the events is available HERE.
The 2018 details is available HERE.
From September 2019, the annual campaigns were replaced by a nationwide intervention called the Arm Our Youths (ArOY) Health Campaign. The ArOY Campaign was designed to reach out to senior secondary schools across all of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. This new intervention is evidence-based, and backed by the Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. Details are available HERE.
The OCI Foundation strives:
i. To reach out to the less privileged, including widows, orphans and other unfortunate members of the society through donations and charity visits;
ii. To sensitise the youth on proper conducts and discourage them from violence and other social vices;iii. To empower and mobilise the youths and other targeted groups with the aim of achieving economic independence through feasible, cost-effective and sustainable means.