Twenty-five years after beginning with a programme dedicated to vulnerable older people, the O. B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation is marking its Silver Jubilee with an estimated 2.12 million people reached through healthcare, education, elderly care, economic empowerment, access to justice and other humanitarian interventions.

The Foundation says it has spent more than ₦3.52 billion on humanitarian programmes since its establishment in September 2001, directly reaching 281,937 people during the period.

Its 25th anniversary was marked with a series of activities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, including its 50th Free Medical Mission, a thanksgiving service and a conference examining ageing, dementia and brain health.

For Founder and Chairman, Dr Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs, the anniversary provided an opportunity to measure not only the organisation’s expansion but the individual lives behind its statistics.

“These figures are more than statistics. Each represents a human life and a story of need, care and renewed aspiration for living,” she said.

The Foundation was established to give an institutional structure to a tradition of philanthropy associated with her late husband, High Chief Dr O. B. Lulu-Briggs.

According to Seinye Lulu-Briggs, her husband believed that society had a responsibility to support people facing vulnerability and that such assistance could contribute to national development.

“A legacy is not preserved merely by speaking about it. It lives when its values continue to produce good in the lives of others,” she said.

Healthcare has become one of the Foundation’s largest areas of intervention.

The organisation marked its anniversary with its 50th Free Medical Mission, continuing a programme that has taken consultations, medicines, diagnostic services, screenings and surgical procedures to communities where access to healthcare can be constrained by cost or availability.

According to figures presented by the Foundation, its 50 medical missions have reached 171,752 people, while 1,723 surgeries and specialised screenings have been conducted and 35,133 eyeglasses distributed.

“Behind every surgery is someone who received another chance at life. Behind every pair of eyeglasses is a person who can see more clearly. Behind every consultation is a family relieved that a loved one could receive care,” Lulu-Briggs said.

The anniversary mission followed the Foundation’s 49th medical outreach at the Medium Security Correctional Farm Centre in Elele in July 2026, where services were provided to inmates, correctional officers and members of their families.

In March, its 48th mission in Ogu, Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State, attended to 5,112 people within five days and carried out 149 surgical procedures, according to figures supplied by the organisation.

The Foundation said its medical programme relies on doctors, nurses, pharmacists, surgeons, laboratory personnel and other health professionals who provide their services during the outreaches.

Before the medical missions developed into a major part of its work, the Foundation’s first programme focused on older people.

Care for Life was established in 2001 to provide assistance to elderly people facing financial, health and social vulnerabilities.

Over 25 years, the Foundation says 781 older people have been enrolled in the programme, receiving support that includes medical visits, food supplies, stipends and, in some cases, caregivers.

At its Biokpo Recreational Centre for the Elderly, the organisation says it has served 191,345 weekday meals.

Ten homes have also been built for elderly beneficiaries, while recreational centres provide spaces for care and companionship.

“The care of our elders remains especially close to my heart,” Lulu-Briggs said.

“Too many older people who spent their lives raising families and contributing to their communities find themselves without adequate support. They are not invisible. Our elders deserve security, companionship and dignity.”

That focus on ageing also shaped another of the Silver Jubilee events.

The Foundation partnered with Peace Haven for the maiden International Peace Haven Brain Health Conference at La Sien Pavilion Royale in Port Harcourt.

Held under the theme, “The Dignity of Ageing: Brain Health, Changing Societies and the Future of Care in Nigeria”, the conference examined dementia, brain health, elder care and the social conditions surrounding ageing.

Lulu-Briggs argued that care for older people should extend beyond food, shelter and medicine to include emotional health, memory, human connection and continued participation in family and community life.

Peace Haven co-founder Dr Sominjiba Amonia Gasper spoke about dignity, connection, choice and purpose in elderly care, while UK-based American anthropologist Dr Jennifer Randall delivered the keynote address.

Other contributors included Professor Hope Bell-Gam, Dr Tomba Martyns-Yellowe and Esther Ajeh-Benson.

Beyond healthcare and elderly care, the Foundation has expanded into education, livelihoods, water and sanitation, access to justice and humanitarian assistance.

It says 33,437 people have been reached through educational programmes.

Among its interventions are 974 Nigerian Law School scholarships and support for 1,634 students preparing for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The organisation has also constructed or renovated schools, provided science laboratories and built a National Youth Service Corps lodge.

Through microcredit, vocational training, entrepreneurship programmes and agricultural assistance, the Foundation says 1,076 people have received livelihood support.

Its water and sanitation projects have included boreholes and mono pumps across four community locations, as well as water purifiers supplied to 21 communities.

Another 15,350 people have been reached through partnerships focused on access to justice, including assistance to widows and other vulnerable groups, according to the Foundation.

It also reports supporting 1,069 beneficiaries through unconditional cash transfers and directly reaching 35,700 people through humanitarian assistance.

Activities undertaken during 2026 included programmes marking the International Day of Education and World Book Day, an inter-school quiz competition in Abonnema and an inclusive Children’s Day programme in Port Harcourt.

For Lulu-Briggs, the range of programmes has not changed what she considers the organisation’s fundamental measure of success.

Recalling a question she was asked during the Foundation’s 10th anniversary in 2011, she said her answer remained the same 15 years later.

“My response then, and now, remains simple: being of service to our communities,” she said.

“Each household that gains access to clean water, and each person who receives medical care, represents a practical expression of that calling. These are the achievements we choose to count.”

The anniversary activities also included a Silver Jubilee Thanksgiving Service attended by beneficiaries, partners, traditional rulers, volunteers, clerics, government representatives, staff, friends and members of the O. B. Lulu-Briggs family.

“I welcome you all with great joy and a heart full of thanksgiving to God Almighty as we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the O. B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation,” Lulu-Briggs told guests.

“Today is a day of gratitude, remembrance and a day to renew our commitment to the service of humanity.”

Rivers State Deputy Governor Professor Ngozi Nma Odu was represented by her Senior Special Assistant on Administration, Doris Oyil.

Odu commended the Foundation for sustaining its humanitarian programmes and interventions in vulnerable communities.

The anniversary sermon was delivered by Rev. Christopher Delvan Gwamna, Presiding Pastor of The King of All Kings Church of the Capstone, Kaduna, who spoke about human dignity and the value of life.

Beneficiaries also shared accounts of the assistance they had received.

Elder Basoene Awore spoke about support provided through the Foundation, including food, healthcare and financial assistance.

Staff and volunteers were recognised for their service, while Lulu-Briggs acknowledged the contribution of government institutions, professional bodies, traditional rulers, community leaders, partner organisations and volunteers to the Foundation’s work.

“Our record of service is therefore not the Foundation’s achievement alone. It has been built through the trust, commitment and shared effort of many people and institutions,” she said.

“To the beneficiaries of our programmes, you are at the heart of this story. Your courage and testimonies continually remind us why this work matters.”

Much of the Foundation’s work has been concentrated in the Niger Delta, a region where the contrast between natural-resource wealth and persistent development challenges continues to shape the lives of communities.

Lulu-Briggs said environmental degradation, insecurity and inadequate access to healthcare, education and economic opportunities remained concerns in parts of the region.

“The gap between the region’s resource wealth and the lived reality of its communities continues to widen,” she said.

The Foundation describes its role as complementary to that of government and other development organisations, particularly in communities where essential services remain inadequate.

That approach has required partnerships with healthcare professionals, community leaders, government institutions and other organisations.

The Foundation says it intends to expand such partnerships as it enters its next phase.

A quarter of a century after Care for Life received its first beneficiaries, the O. B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation has grown from an elderly-care initiative into a humanitarian organisation working across several areas of social development.

Its own figures provide one measure of that expansion: more than ₦3.52 billion spent on humanitarian interventions, 281,937 direct beneficiaries, an estimated 2.12 million total reach and 50 free medical missions.

The figures have not been independently audited for this report, but they provide the Foundation’s account of the scale of its work over the past 25 years.

For Lulu-Briggs, the anniversary is also an opportunity to consider what remains unfinished.

Families continue to face barriers to healthcare, elderly people require greater social support, students need educational opportunities and vulnerable communities continue to contend with challenges involving water, sanitation, livelihoods and access to justice.

“Against this backdrop, we reaffirm our commitment to do more for the underserved and vulnerable in Nigeria and beyond,” she said.

The Foundation, she added, intends to expand its outreach, strengthen existing programmes and pursue partnerships capable of extending its reach.

“Our twenty-fifth anniversary must therefore be more than a remembrance of past achievements,” Lulu-Briggs said. “By the grace of the Almighty God, it must mark the beginning of a greater season of service.”

Twenty-five years after the organisation began, its anniversary provides both a record of the people it says it has reached and a reminder that the social conditions which made those interventions necessary have not disappeared.

For the Foundation, the next phase will be measured not simply by how much larger it becomes, but by how effectively its programmes continue to reach people at the point of need.