BACKGROUND
The Cyfed-Bradley Hope (CBH) Undergraduate Scholarship Awards is the 5th tier of Award by the OCI Foundation. It was established in January 2020, following the sad passing of Bradley John Hope (2003 to 2019). Brad was a kind-hearted, 16-year old Australian who tragically lost his life following a freak domestic accident in December 8th, 2019. Less than 3 weeks after this incident, his heart-broken father, Mr Troy Hope, a patient of the OCI Foundation’s Founder and President, Dr Chris Ifediora (who is a medical practitioner), donated the sum of A$300 (three hundred Australian Dollars) on behalf of the Hope Family to the educational activities of the OCI Foundation. The money what was to be part of the late Brad’s shopping money for the 2019 Christmas, and was accompanied by a hand-written note to the signed by Troy Hope to the OCI Foundation. The gesture was recognized by the OCI Foundation in a media post released in December 2019, which is available HERE.
Bradley John Hope
On behalf of the Hope Family, Troy promised to make regular donations to the OCI Foundation in honour of his late son’s memory. This will be a way of showing support to the educational activities of underprivileged but brilliant youngsters in Nigeria, something Brad himself would have been proud of had he been alive. Moved by this gesture of unparalleled generosity in the face of deep and irreparable pain, the OCI Foundation’s Directors and Trustees, in conjunction with Mr Troy Hope and the entire Hope Family, decided to immortalize the memory of Master Bradley John Hope by establishing the Cyfed-Bradley Hope (CBH) Undergraduate Scholarship Awards. In life, Brad was kind, generous and caring, and this Award fully represents the principles he lived for. His full profile is available HERE.
The CBH Scholarship Award will be funded by the Hope Family, primarily through funds accruing from the annual savings that would have gone to Brad’s annual upkeep had he been alive. They also plan to have occasional fundraisers, and the OCI Foundation has also promised to support this Fund to ensure that it is perpetuated in a way similar to what was done for Mr Ifedioramma Isaac Okafor (1939 to 2016), the late father of the OCI Foundation’s Founder and President, Dr Chris Ifediora.
Mr Troy Hope and Dr Chris Ifediora
Brad's Family at his 17th Posthumous Birthday (July 2020; Gold Cost, Australia)
Brad's Older Brother and Father
ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION DATES
In agreement with the Hope Family, the CBH Scholarship Award will be available to intelligent but financially less privileged indigenes of Anambra State, Nigeria, who are in the first year of their undergraduate study in any Nigerian tertiary institution. Annual applications will commence automatically from the midnight of February 22nd, and end at 23:59 hours on April the 26th (GMT). These dates were chosen so as to keep it in line with the Cyfed Undergraduate Scholarship (CUS), one for the 4 existing scholarship schemes of the OCI Foundation. As is with the CUS, recipients of the CBH Awards will be able to renew the Scholarship annually, subject to academic (GPA 3.0) and character satisfactions.
Unlike the CUS, however, the number of winners and the amounts they receive may vary from year to year (depending on the dispositions of the Hope Family), but there must be at least two new winners every year, and each will receive a cash amount will not be less than N100,000 (one hundred thousand Nigerian Naira) every year. The Award is also not limited indigenes of Anambra East Local Government Area, as is the case with the CUS. Apart from these differences, other eligibility and application criteria are the same with CUS, and details are available HERE.
OTHER FACTS
In the midst of their tragedy and grief, Troy and the entire Hope Family have decided to touch lives, and through the OCI Foundation, they have taken a big step in supporting the education of some less privileged youths in Africa. Bradley might have had his life cut short, but, in death, he stands tall in lifting the lives of people he never met. Anyone can contribute to the CBH Scholarship Award by donating HERE and indicating the purpose of the Award. All donations to the OCI Foundation are fully tax deductible, as the body is fully registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), and has a Deductible Gifts Recipient status.
Follow developments on this and the other OCI Foundation’s scholarships by following the OCI Foundation’s Facebook Page. Click HERE to “Like” the Page and follow it.
To apply for this award during the eligible dates, click HERE.
