Transparency
We account for every contribution and report results openly. Trust is the currency of community work.
Our story
Built by the community, for the community.
Ihima Elites Initiative began with a simple conviction: that the people who know a community best are the ones best placed to lift it. Today we turn that conviction into healthcare, education and opportunity.
How it started
A few elites, one promise to give back.
A group of sons and daughters of Ihima — at home and in the diaspora — chose to pool what they had and return it to the place that raised them. What started as an annual village outreach has grown into a year-round community development initiative.
From medical missions and scholarships to skills training and village projects, our work is powered by members who pay their dues, volunteers who give their time, and partners who believe in homegrown change. Every programme is shaped with local leaders, so support reaches the people who need it most.
Our mission
To improve the quality of life of underserved people in Ihima, Kogi State and surrounding communities — through medical outreach, empowerment, education, skill acquisition and sustainable community development, delivered with transparency and dignity.
Our vision
A thriving, self-reliant community where every child can learn, every family can access care, every woman and young person can earn a living — and where giving back becomes a shared way of life for generations.
What guides us
The values behind every outreach.
Community first
Residents and local leaders co-design our work. We serve the agenda of the people, not our own.
Sustainability
We favour solutions that outlast us — skills, infrastructure and systems that keep on giving.
Compassion
We treat every person we serve with warmth and dignity, especially the most vulnerable.
Accountability
Clear goals, honest measurement and follow-through. We do what we say we will do.
Inclusion
Children, women, youth, elders and people living with disability all have a place in our work.
Our journey
Milestones along the way.
Steady, community-led progress — each year reaching a little further than the last.
See upcoming events2019
The first village outreach
A handful of members hosted our inaugural outreach in Ihima — food, clothing and a free health check for hundreds of families.
2021
Medical missions begin
We partnered with volunteer doctors and nurses to deliver screenings, treatment and medication at scale.
2023
Skills & scholarships launch
Vocational training and back-to-school scholarships opened new paths for women, youth and children.
2025
20,000 lives & growing
With members across Nigeria and the diaspora, our programmes now reach a dozen communities every year.
The people
Led by volunteers who care.
A council of members and volunteers steers our work — alongside the doctors, trainers and local leaders who make it real.
Samuel Adavize
Coordinator
Grace Onuh
Programmes lead
Dr. Yusuf Ozavize
Medical outreach
Patience Ekele
Membership & diaspora
CAC-registered NGO
Audited annual reports
100% community-led
98% reaches the field
In partnership with
Working alongside those who share the vision.
Kogi Community Health
Diaspora Givers Network
Ihima Town Union
Volunteer Doctors NG
CAC registered
Incorporated non-profit · RC pending
Audited accounts
Independently reviewed yearly
98% to the field
Volunteer-led, low overhead
300+ members
At home & in the diaspora
Be part of the story
Your hometown is calling. Answer it.
Whether you live in Ihima or across the world, you can help write the next chapter of this community.