Bernice Oasis Outreach and transformation of African communities

With Nigeria currently seeing emerging trends in different facets of its national life, the need for a holistic, indigenous, and humanised solution continues to rise with fewer people ready to pick up the gauntlet. While many have bandied different figures and position of Nigeria on the poverty index globally, the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises published by the Food Security Information Network showed that over 24 million Nigerians face acute hunger in Nigeria.

Saddled with the responsibility of coordinating with communities to elevate their standing and provide agency for sustainability, the projects conducted at the outreach are built on the core values of selflessness, empathy, audacity, social conscience, and innovation. The works done are rooted in the themes of the first four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) —No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, and Quality Education.

Since its official registration under the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria in 2019, the vision of the founder and the outreach has been of an unwavering commitment to fostering a fulfilling life for the needy that effectively drives its innovative, people-centric initiatives. In 2021, through the support of partners, donors, and community volunteers, the BOO established a game house in Egan Junior Grammar School under ‘The Fun While Learning Project’ which has benefitted over 1,200 students through chess, scrabble, and other gains that improves cognitive abilities of pupils. The game house helps school children to have a mental relaxation that keeps the mind sharp, teaches coordination and cooperation, and fosters communality. This project boosts the interests of student in the school environment as it helps assimilation in learning.

With more successes recorded across communities, the ‘Beautiful Feet Project’ of 2023 remains one of BOO’s key achievements. The project addressed the immediate needs of children and contributed to their mental, moral, and social development in the long term towards providing agency for underprivileged communities. The project beautified the feet of over 260 children in Lagos, symbolizing hope and enhancing their self-esteem.
 
In Ibadan, Oyo State, the ‘Oloya Wellness Project’ impacted more than 400 residents as medical check-ups, diagnostic tests, and free medications were offered to improve physical health and prevent diseases. Such interventions like the Oloya Wellness project become imperative in a country where over 70% of her population pays out-of-pocket for healthcare expenditures. Unfortunately, such expenditure further worsens the economic situation of the people thereby instituting a reinforcing cycle of poverty that could derail their socio-economic well-being.
 
To contribute to a sustainable and healthy future, the Tiny Tummies, Big Future supported 350 children and their families with essential baby food and groceries to ensure children receive proper nutrition for healthy growth in 2024. As we tackle the remote and distant causes of the widening gap in our society, we dare to dream big as exemplified in the ‘Boomerang Project’. This ambitious program sponsors the entirety of children’s education, ensuring access to learning opportunities for generations to come.
 
With the big dreams, there are attendant challenges that affect the work we do. Regardless, the Bernice Oasis Outreach is learning from its challenges as they are translated into real life experience that shape the way we help communities surmount their most pressing need. Not resting on our oars, from providing educational support to delivering essential healthcare services, BOO has touched over 6,000 lives, with a vision to double this impact by 2025.
• Onwuji wrote in from Lagos.