MISSION STATEMENT
BLAZINGRACE Foundation is a nonprofit, humanitarian health and spiritual ministry. Dedicated to improving the quality of life through a balance of technology, medical knowledge, exemplarily service and multifaceted holistic care to our local communities and a diverse international population. Our health ministry is dedicated to serving all persons , regardless of age, race, creed, gender or ability to pay. We believe that our first obligation is to the patient and families that we serve improving their lives through compassionate care and patient education. We dedicate ourselves to those we serve knowing “to the world you are just one person but to one person you can mean the world.”
History
It all started in 1989 during my community medicine posting at a small community 45 miles east of Enugu, the capital of Enugu State, (then Anambra State):
A shout………..
Another scream………
More screaming…………..
And more wailing and screaming and crying…………
That means another life is on the edge of being lost and ………..
That means another family will loose a loved one, a father, or mother, or bread winner.
And that means the statusquo of some ones future is on the edge and may be finally shattered for ever. (If you don’t intervene. If you don’t allow yourself to be used of the Almighty in a very dynamic and profound way to do your very best. You cannot predict the outcome. But just be willing to do your very best. God in His infinite mercy always determines the outcome).
A man was brought into the make shift health care facility (school hall).
The eye witness account was that the man screamed of headache and then fallen to the ground. He then convulsed. And then could not open his eyes, or talk or move his body at all. He could not blink. The eye witnesses, a man and another lady that had been hired by this downed gentleman for the days work and hopeful for a pay that will provide for their family, precious needful food they had foregone for 2 or 3 days. Now faced with the grim future of loosing their employer and having their family starve.
We ran out to the van that brought us to the community, placed the downed man into one of the back seats and asked the driver to speed up back to the teaching hospital (remember 45 miles away) through the busy highway and streets/roadways of Enugu. You can tell the outcome.
It was worth the trial.
We did what we could in the instant and with what resources that we had.
The driver returned 4 hours later to get the remainder of us back to campus.
While the crew left, we continued our mission there. Having the people come through, tell us what ailments they had and get the little help we had to offer. Most of which was education of what health condition they had and how they can work on addressing their issues. Two big huddles which though we identified, but no one had a way to resolve that: And that was the problem of accessibility to that care that we proposed. And secondly affordability.
As I was home in March 2002 for medical mission in my hometown of Enugwu-Agidi, about 60miles south of Enugu and 20miles from Awka, the capital of the new Anambra State, a lady came in to visit with my mother, her face twitching with the facial muscles and lips pulling to the left side of face. My mom called my attention as she realized this friend was having serious problems. The friend stated that her symptoms started early that morning (a couple of hours ago). Her speech was affected too. I checked her BP and it was 260/150. She was also diabetic.
I was told later that she was fine and had been using the medications that I had given her. And that she had wanted to know when I will be coming back next as her medications are running low.
In 2006, I was home again. The need this time was even more tremendous than in the 80s or in 2002. And did I mention, my mom had passed, and likewise her friend.
Back in the days of my medical school training, people got sick sparingly even though most that did died. Now, more people get ill; gravely ill. And still many of these die too. Most of these were conditions that would have been controlled if identified and taken appropriate care of earlier before more complications arose. The common denominator here remains the same as before: lack of accessible and affordable healthcare.
Of certainty is the upsurge in the incidence and prevalence of hypertension and worse, diabetes in the communities of Nigeria and worse the eastern part of the country. And now, diabetes and its untold complications have surpassed hypertension as the #1 killer in these parts. And colon cancer (previously sparingly seen) is now on the rise. And breast cancer. And HIV/AIDS which have reached epidemic proportions.
One of the major causes of these trends in the disease and complication pattern is the absence of appropriate health education amongst the entire cadre of the population. This trend is not different from that observed in many third world countries and in particular Africa. But with appropriate administered health education and public awareness programs, the expectation is that the trend will reverse as seen in many other communities/societies. This will be one of the biggest tasks of Blazingrace. And with your help, these areas of our goal will be met.
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