ABOUT US
ORIGIN : Agape World Missions organised the first trip in August 2007 to the Presbyterian Joint Hospital, in UBURU, EBONYI STATE, SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA. The hospital, located in a rural Ohaozara community in the then Eastern Nigeria was established by the Church of Scotland Mission. A British Medical Missionary named Dr. J. W. Hitchcook pioneered this work in 1913 in a place he described as the ‘City of salt lake’.
During our mission trip in 2008 to the same health facility, two pregnant women who were brought late to the hospital while having complications during delivery died the same day.
These women, due to poverty and unable to afford the fee at the hospital, opted to have their delivery with unregistered birth attendants. When complications developed, they were then rushed to the hospital. We were informed that these were not uncommon in the area.
OUR MISSION:
Following those early medical mission trips, our work now involves:
- Education Missions to disadvantaged and economically deprived communities in developing countries.
- Striving to serve as the missing link from disease to health for individuals, families and poor communities to enable them pursue their economic activities and reduce poverty.
- Working with local communities to explore the use of culture and tradition oriented positive lifestyles for disease prevention and control.
- Working to strengthen local health systems through training and manpower development.
- Keeping in constant touch, through social media, with local healthcare providers where we operate with necessary updates and follow up.
- Aiming to touch individual lives and needs.
OUR MISSION TRIPS:
We have carried out many trips in the thirteen years to Ohaozara in South Eastern Nigeria, working with the local schools and health systems.
We also have a dental clinic that we operate in collaboration with the Mission Hospital, Presbyterian Joint Hospital, Uburu, Ebonyi State. Agape Missions also operate in Mukuru slum in Nairobi, Kenya. We work with a local school that is doing a fantastic job catering for and educating children in one of the most deprived areas of that region. At Agape, we are always looking to expand our reach and our work to the deprived communities.
Nne’s story:
The story of a lady we shall call Nne, who we got to know during our trips can shed some light on situations in some of the areas we operate.
Nne, a widow in her 40s with three young children was diagnosed at the local hospital with breast cancer. She was referred to the teaching hospital at the state capital about 40 miles away. As medical treatment in most of Africa involves fees at the point of use, she was unable to travel to access this treatment. When we got to know about this during our visit, we provided her with some funding to go to the teaching hospital. We promised to see what we can do once we know what is involved and costs. The next information we received was that she had passed away. These three children had to be distributed to three relatives to raise them.
This type of story is not uncommon in these poor deprived communities.