Ifeyinwa Erhabor, OCI Foundation’s Health and Logisitcs Officer, Arrive England to assist Team UK with roll-out of Foundation’s activities (January 2025)

The OCI Foundation’s Health and Logistics Support Officer, Mrs Maryann Ify Maryann Erhabor,  has arrived Liverpool, United Kingdom, as part of the plans to expedite the roll out of the Foundation’s programs across England and Wales.

Ahead of her mission, Mrs Erhabor embarked on a brief tour of London in the company of her husband, Mr Ayemien Erhabor. Mr Erhabor flew in from Auckland, New Zealand, and will be accompanying the wife down to Liverpool (where the OCI Foundation UK’s headquarters is domiciled) where Maryann will be staying ahead of activities for the Foundation.

Mrs Erhabor holds healthcare certificate qualifications and work experience from Lagos (Nigeria), Sydney (Australia), and Auckland (New Zealand). She plays vital, behind-the-scenes roles in many OCI Foundation activities across Nigeria.

The OCI Foundation International is deeply grateful to its Trustees in the UK (Marvin Oshiegbu, John Nweze and Kin Akwara) for their immense role in facilitating this mission and sustaining the Foundation’s projects to date.

The OCI Foundation UK plans to significantly expand its activities across England from 2025. Some of its planned projects therein include:

1. The LAMS UK: The Literary Award for Medical Students (LAMS) is an annual essay competition designed to boost literary and research skills among medical undergraduates. This is a major project being planned by the OCI Foundation UK. Courtesy of the OCI Foundation Nigeria, LAMS has been functional in Nigeria for the past 4 years (since 2020). The British version (LAMS UK) is being worked out, and medical schools across the UK are already being reached out to regarding this. An Australian version of LAMS, for medical schools in the Australia, is also being planned by the OCI Foundation Australia.

2. The OCI Foundation’s Arm Our Youths (ArOY) Anti-Cancer Health Campaign is also being planned for British communities known to have poor health outcomes with breast and cervical cancers. The OCI Foundation UK plans to engage officials in the British Parliament to see how aspects of the ArOY Campaign Bill can be integrated into British Law, in ways that will minimize the poor outcomes in disadvantaged British communities on breast and cervical cancer indices. The ArOY Campaign has been functional in parts of Nigeria since 2019. In 2023, a legislative bill making it compulsory for all Nigerian schools was passed by the Nigerian Parliament.

3. Cyfed Postgraduate Scholarship UK: Support for postgraduate students enrolled in tertiary institutions within the UK. The OCI Foundation currently offers six sets of scholarships to students at various levels of study in Nigerian schools, ranging from Junior Secondary Schools all the way yo the completion of first degrees in universities or tertiary institutions.

4. Promoting SGBV Preventive Measures: Promotion of teachings regarding preventive measures on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (also known as SGBV) among vulnerable communities within the UK. This is designed to arm vulnerable groups of all genders with the knowledge of preventive measures against incidents of SGBV. Recently (in 2023), a legislative bill was passed to promote the SGBV preventive teachings into the curriculum of all secondary schools in Nigeria. A similar project will be embarked on in the UK from 2025.

The OCI Foundation International has legal presence in the African (Nigeria, 2016), Asia-Pacific (Australia, 2018), and European (United Kingdom, 2023) continents. The Foundation also has trustees, partners and endorsements from North America (the USA and Canada), alongside the earlier-mentioned continents.

The Foundation was primarily established to Advance and Promote Health, Advance Education, and Advance Social and Public Welfare among underprivileged communities. In the past few years, it has received multiple international awards, including those from UN-affiliated bodies, as well as institutions in Africa, Europe and the Australasia. Details are available HERE.