Ayomide Samson
PISTIS Foundation (PF), a non-profit, social enterprise vehicle established by The Elevation Church (TEC), has recorded several successful surgeries for patients in the just concluded UBOMI 2.0, the second edition of its flagship annual medical and surgical outreach, as the foundation celebrated three years of dedicated service to humanity.
Launched in March 2019. UBOMI is an annual free mega medical and surgical outreach that caters to thousands of beneficiaries within a one-week period in a target community.
“Healthcare is one of the most basic human needs, yet it remains elusive to many due to financial constraints and lack of adequate facilities amongst other factors.” said Godman Akinlabi, Chairman, Pistis Foundation and Lead Pastor of the Elevation Church. “Through Ubomi, we are expanding our impact beyond the confines of the church to reach thousands of underserved and vulnerable people with critical health services free of charge.”
To achieve this feat, Pistis Foundation strategically collaborates with Hospitals, non-profit organizations, corporate bodies, multinationals, SMEs, Government agencies, et al., with shared ideologies to impact the lives of target beneficiaries. According to the General Manager, Leonard F. Thomas, “UBOMI 2.0, which was postponed in 2020, due to the covid-19 pandemic, was executed in collaboration with the Benjamin Olowojebutu Foundation, Paelon Memorial Hospital and Chion family medical Centre”.
At the end of the outreach, a total of 115 surgeries (77 fibroid and 38 hernia) had been successfully conducted and patients were undergoing post- operation care.
UBOMI 1.0 impacted the lives of 3695 economically challenged people and successfully conducted over 240 free surgeries with a total of 7335 interventions within a one-week period. The weeklong project also played host to about 150 volunteers, including renowned medical practitioners from different parts of the country.
In her three years, PISTIS Foundation has provided scholarships to over 50 students across primary, secondary and tertiary levels, covering the cost of their education, with over 45 of them as long-term benefactors of the program. This has largely been achieved with the unwavering support of the foundation’s individual and institutional partners including partner schools such as Chalcedony Schools, Pedrisi Schools, Genesis Schools, Living Fountain School, and Excelling Schools for Great Kids, to mention a few.
The Shelter arm of the Foundation also recently launched its pilot phase of a Kids Off the Streets (KOTS) home, with the support of the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development. KOTS is a programme designed to re-habilitate homeless/street kids and successfully reintegrate them back into society. The 22-bed fully equipped shelter is staffed with trained personnel and became home to its first set of beneficiaries in June this year. In addition to daily feeding, clothing, nurturing, and housing these kids, the foundation provides full educational scholarships and healthcare for them. The KOTS vision was borne out of the growing situation of homeless children within the foundations’ target communities in Lagos and is driven through strategic collaboration with established individuals and institutions with shared ideologies, willing to invest in a better Nigeria.
Amongst other notable feats of PISTIS foundation in 3 years, is the distribution of over 6000 food bags to vulnerable and economically challenged households (during the covid-19 lock down in 2020), totalling over 120,000 meals distributed across 20 Local Government Areas in Lagos. Today, the foundations’ food bank has provided over 142,910 food bags to economically challenged families, distributed 500 mosquito nets, trained 103 teachers, sponsored 875 dental procedures, dispensed 504 free eyeglasses, trained over 2000 persons on health promotions, provided grants to both qualified individuals and institutional partners to mention but a few.
