NNEWI, NIGERIA

2012

Humanity Bridge
MEDICAL TEAM 2012

Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can. John Wesley

Humanity Bridge is a non-profit, community-based agency which offers community building services globally. Program activities are organized into eight service areas: Healthcare Bridge, Education Bridge, Spiritual Bridge, Adoption Bridge and orphanage Support, Economic Bridge, Agriculture/Food Bridge, Peace Bridge, and Clean Water Bridge. Program services are available to under-served communities and developing communities. Humanity Bridge has provided quality medical services to other countries for many years. The agency and its programs have received local, state, and international recognition. The founders actively work in the healthcare industry to bring life saving services to women that they would ordinarily otherwise not afford.

Visit: www.HumnanityNigeria.Tmblr.com

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DR. AFRAM IKEJANI Dr. Ikejiani was the first physician at StoneCrest Medical Center to be awarded HCA's prestigious First Humanitarian Award.
CARIANNA JOHNSON

Carianna Johnson is the 2009 national employee winner of Healthcare Corporation of America's (HCA's) Frist Humanitarian Award.

Nigerian- American Doctor Returns Home to Provide Health Care for his Village
Nigeria is a place where you have to adapt quickly to spontaneous situations or else you will nd yourself asking what happened and where are you. This West African nation borders the countries of Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger carrying the title of the most populous African nation in the world. Archeologist have discovered human habitation as far back as 9000 BCE with ancient kingdoms spreading across central and southern Africa. Out of all the countries I have visited Nigeria was full of complexities and adventures. I was in Nigeria documenting a group of American doctors and nurses who were performing surgical procedures and volunteering health care to a small village in the southern region called Nnewi. The trip was organized in partnership with the Tennessee based non-prot organization, Humanity Bridge and a Nigerian owned business factory called the Chicason Group. Chicason is a local consortium compromised of thirteen companies incorporating in manufacturing, trading and mining industries. This was not my rst medical mission but my rst one in Africa. In 2003 I worked closely with a group of physicians in the rural areas of Haiti and witnessed rst hand the
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unfortunate realities that many people face in developing nations where health care is minimal and almost non existent. Before visiting a foreign country I usually ask people who have already traveled there what were their experiences and what can I expect. The common answers for Nigeria was to expect the unexpected and dont use your credit card, with that advice it was up to me to see Nigeria for myself and learn why a group of Americans were going to volunteer services in a village the size of Cleveland performing surgery that would have cost thousands of dollars in the United States. The group consisted of two anesthetists, four surgeons, four nurses, one consultant and myself. Each morning we would wake up for an early breakfast, jump in the taxi van and head to two different hospitals. One anesthetist and two surgeons for each location, with a luggage full of medicine and supplies that were cargo from the United States. In a town like Nnewi the storefronts are lined side by side on dusty roads with potholes the size of craters, and food neatly shelved on top of wheel barrows selling bread, carrots, fruit and small packages of drinking water.

Patients usually camp out days before the start of the mission with lines streaming down the streets. Surgical procedures and reading glass programs are carried out from sun-up to sun-down in an effort to make an impact on this population that otherwise could not afford health care.

Dr. Alvin Singh talking to patients

People purchase their food openly and motorbikes run the roads with both men and women riding equally. Every morning you see children walking to school in small groups carrying their chairs or stools and wearing colorful uniforms. We were in the southern region which is a Christian majority and you can see churches located on every road and revival posters the sizes of billboards. Our mission was even sanctioned by the local Archbishop who formalized the partnership with public and private organizations to help the people of Nnewi received quality care. In 2005 Nigerian Americans Dr. Afam Ikejiani, M.D., an obstetrician/gynecologist practicing in Smyrna, Tennessee and his wife, Uloma, a registered pharmacist founded Humanity Bridge with a vision to return to their homeland bringing life saving services to people who would not have the means to
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afford them. There long term goal is to establish a modern health clinic on the land donated by the local chief in the Nnewichi community. Currently 3,000 Nigerians are practicing medicine in the United States alone, making Americas gain, at the same a loss for Nigeria. In Nigeria, I saw rsthand how the malaria epidemic is impacting millions of people worldwide and taking the lives of 300,000 children in Nigeria yearly. My task was to lm the special team working under challenging conditions in hospitals that were 60 years backwards in supplies and administration. When we rst arrived at one of the hospitals we noticed that all the lights were out and that patients were sleeping in the dark with no access to painkillers or medicine. Someone mentioned to the staff that the doctors were ready to operate and needed the lights on. I was then directed to ask a young man in the back of the

hospital to turn the generator on so that we can get power. Right then I remember reading that this oil rich nation is the worlds largest market for generators and electricity was scarce for over 160 million people. This was proof that without the generator people do not have power. Without power, productivity begins to decrease so people quickly adjust without any outcry or panic. Last year a few times we had to use a ashlight to operate, said David Johnson, a certied surgical nurse who often takes his vacation days volunteering in places where health care is a bare minimum. In 2010 he and his wife Carianna, also a registered nurse as well packed up just days after the Haitian earthquake to help the survivors and assist a global task force of doctors, humanitarians, nurses and development workers.

Clockwise: Top left: His Highness ObiGeorge A.Onyekaba (Obidiugwu), with Dr. Ikejani. Top Right: Ana Cobiella Olson working the reading glass program. Local nurse assisting with surgery. Local doctor consults his patients. Operation under challenging conditions

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When we arrived in Haiti, all of the hospitals were destroyed in Port-Au-Prince said Carianna who was welcomed with open arms in Nnewi because of the friendships she established last year with the hospital staff and locals. As I maneuvered between the two hospitals I rode with our driver who was also an employee of the Chicason Group and we visited the local markets so that I could see what an average day is like for Nigerians. At the hospitals many of the patients were waiting for over a year to receive their operations ranging from uterine broids, tumors, hernias to a six pound ovarian cyst on a 13 year old girl. Sometimes during the operations the electricity would turn off and the only light or air would come from the windows inside the theaters or operating rooms. The expertise and quick thinking by the surgeons and nurses was astonishing and edgy at the same time. Watching them do what they do best under challenging conditions was like watching a full season of ER in one hour without commercial breaks. I advise any medical students looking to learn their craft to spend a week working on a medical mission just as some Army medics intern in urban cities for trauma gunshot wounds before going into the battleeld. There is no shortage of people to help and many of the people of Nnewi just have basic questions and concerns that often go unanswered due to the low ratio of doctors in the area. Dr.Ikejani was born in Nnewi and although living in America he still nds time to return to his village and help the people who inspired him to become a physician. He has worked tirelessly to make sure that as a civil society organization he builds the correct partnerships and invites those who have an open heart to helping people in developing nations. He often spoke about his vision of building a state of the art medical facility that would one day make a major difference to many lives in his home state. For now he calls upon friends, co-workers, and volunteers to join his medical mission and experience the local culture of Nigeria every year.

Every day at the Chicason-Mannyon Hospital, Dr. Umeh is the administrator, head physician and full time coordinator managing patients, the hospital staff and the specialist team visiting for a week. With his Nokia phone in hand he made and accepted phone calls from sun up to sun down. When one of the surgeons asked for a special instrument in order to continue the operation he sent a runner to the market to get one. When the doctor asked how long will it take for them to get it, Dr. Umeh replied between 15-20 minutes. This is the organized chaos that many people speak about in Nigeria but to Nigerians its a way of life and a means of survival. Which is why Humanity Bridge wants to close that gap when it comes to quality health care and continue to bring medical professionals so that the people of Nnewi can live healthier. Organizations like Humanity Bridge give people a sense of hope and optimism to know that they could live longer than the disheartening low life expectancy ratios. That despite their poverty they are worthy to have a skilled professional assist them with a threatening dilemma. Small acts of kindness make huge impacts in villages, hospitals, and refugee camps across the world and Humanity Bridge represents a small portion of this elite group. The real heroes are the men and women who take the time to listen ad with little support or equipment they still perform their best for those who need it the most. The mission didn't stop at performing over 49 surgical procedures and included donating supplies and blankets to the Nnewi Motherless Babies orphanage, a reading glass program where over 700 pairs of reading glasses were dispensed and a site visit to the land allocated for a future clinic. To see the pictures and video clips from the mission visit www.HumanityNigeria.Tumblr.com. If you want to learn more about Humanity Bridge and ways you can help contact at 615-768-9004 or visit www.humanitybridge.net or email admin@humanitybridge.net

Alvin Singh II is a multimedia journalist who resides in Johannesburg,South Africa and has a blog www.Bookido.com Contact him thru email: Alvinrsingh@Gmail.com

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Q&A
How can I volunteer or support your medical missions?

Contact Humanity Bridge: For more information please contact Humanity Bridge at 615-768-9004 or visit
What is Humanity Bridge and the work you do? Humanity Bridge organizes, leads, and carries out medical missions. We seek to develop and manage hospitals, clinics, comprehensive healthcare centers, rural health clinics, assisted living facilities for low income adults, and other healthcare facilities. Humanity Bridge educates and trains medical and nursing staff. HB also develops programs aimed at prevention and management of HIV/AIDS and other preventable diseases What were some of the accomplishments of the 2012 mission trip to Nnewi, Nigeria? We performed 49 surgical procedures, screened and fitted 700 pairs of reading glasses, consulted and advised 25 patients. Donated blankets and supplies to the Nnewi Motherless Babies orphanage.

www.humanitybridge.net. Contact Afam Ikejiani, M.D. Office 615-768-9004 Email admin@humanitybridge.net

Website www.HumanityBridge.net

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