One weekend in 1994, I made a choice during a visit to Ogoloma, my home town. I’d heard that a lovely, teenage girl who had an angelic voice had died from complications of pregnancy termination. Same weekend, a young lad was brought to me with urethral discharge most likely gonorrhoea from unprotected sexual intercourse. Both events made me decide to take the “ABC” message to young people in secondary schools and local communities. With like-minded early adopters, we formed a team and started attending school assemblies and talking about:
- A – Abstinence
- B – Be faithful
- C – Contraception
Mankind Survival Project (MSP) was shortly established as a youth-serving NGO in 1994. By 1996, the organization was formally registered with the Rivers State Ministry of Social Development, Youths and Sports to provide reproductive and sexual health education to young persons. The motto, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness” has remained our watchword. The volunteers ran the activities of MSP from their pockets until late 1997 when we received our first grant for $1,000 to do an Adolescent Health Awareness programme, a week after I arrived in UK. Belema Senibo took over the leadership for a few years and handed over to Iminabo Austen-Okoroafor, who has been Chief Executive for the past two decades.
My role in MANKIND has been largely advisory since 1997 and the organisation has come in leaps and bounds. MANKIND is an excellent example of an NGO that has prevailed through operational and leadership challenges with integrity, financial discipline and real commitment to the people we serve. Organisations come and go, many tied to the apron strings of serving politicians but we have remained true to the ordinary people and we are here for the long haul. 29 years and counting! 
15th Anniversary Celebration of MANKIND at NULGE, Port Harcourt, Nigeria on 26th February 2009.
In 2017, MSP was rebranded as SUPPORT FOR MANKIND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (MANKIND) and registered as an Incorporated Trustees under the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990 PART C with number: CAC/IT/NO 23101. There is a Naija adage that if you don’t blow your trumpet, nobody will blow it for you. I’ll save our trumpet for last.
My lovely daughter who has endured years and years of Dad talking about his community and voluntary sector activities, travels, events, projects, programmes and fundraisers told me she plans to travel to Nigeria and spend some time volunteering in one of the NGOs I’m involved in. She had done her research and chose MANKIND! She loves working with children and was touched by one of our on-going projects. With the help of her work colleagues she is raising funds for Community Based Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC):
MANKIND is currently working with 27,306 children aged 0 -17 years who are OVCs in five local government areas of Rivers State, Nigeria. Poverty is an underlying problem for all these children resulting in inadequate social support, poor nutrition, education, healthcare and clothing. Their drugs are provided by the government but the rest of their care during these critical years of life hang on a balance.
On behalf of MANKIND, we are raising £15,000 to provide books, clothing, toys and nutritional support for 450 Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) living with HIV in Rivers State, Nigeria.
That’s the best birthday present I could ever wish for, coming ahead of the 30th Anniversary of MANKIND. Last night, we put together a JustGiving crowdfunding page. Please join us to light a candle in the dark via this link: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/supportformankind-development-initiative
THANK YOU!
The following are some of the key projects and programmes MANKIND has carried out with Partners over the years:
- HIV PREVENTION: Community Based Support For AIDS Prevention (USAID/Enhancing Nigerian Capacity for AIDS Prevention – ENCAP) Results: 109 persons from 9 communities trained as Peer Educators to transfer skills/knowledge on HIV prevention to 5,750 people within two years. (1,250 transport workers, 900 Female sex workers, 400 Uniformed Service Personnel, 200 physically challenged and 3000 out of school youths for behaviour change
- SOCIAL MOBILIZATION AND SENSITIZATION – MALARIA (GLOBAL FUND/ASSOCIATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ON MALARIA AND IMUNIZATION IN NIGERIA – ACOMIN) for the use of long lasting treated insecticide nets and reduction/prevention of malaria. Also creating demand for communities to access health facilities for treatment and care. Project location – Omuma, Port Harcourt, Okrika and Ogu/Bolo LGAs
- Community Based Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) (USAID/Management Sciences for Health/Africare Nigeria) The provision of quality and basic care on need basis for vulnerable children which include: Health, education, Nutrition, psychosocial support, protection, shelter and household economic strengthening for their care-givers. Support girl headed household and care givers to establish sustainable income generating activities. Established linkages and referrals for protection, economic strengthening and numerous capacity building trainings of the caregivers and adolescent vulnerable children
- Improving Reproductive Health in Nigeria (IRHIN). USAID/Society for Family Health Designed to increase knowledge and create demand for products and services on family planning as a contribution to the reduction of maternal/infant mortality using Inter Personal Communication strategy with the general population and also Peer Education. A total of 16,647 persons were reached including men.
- Health System Strengthening (HSS) – an integrated AIDS, TB and Malaria (ATM) response (GLOBAL FUND/ACOMIN). Capacity building to enhance competences of civil society organization networks in the South-South region to design integrated programming for TB/MALARIA/HIV/AIDS response.
- Economic Empowerment for women (Ama ibigose) Wakirike Development Coalition To provide entrepreneurial support to 276 women to assess micro credit (interest free) loans for economic strengthening to contribute to their socio-economic growth by giving them a voice and improve their quality of life.
- UNDP: Conducted Capacity Assessment for River State Action Committee on AIDS (SACA) and Local Action Committee on AIDS (LACA, CBOs, CSO, FBO, Public and Private Service Delivery and develop a work plan for HIV and AIDS response. It involved capacity development plan with cost implications. Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) trained on Universal Precautions to promote Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS and the distribution of basic work kit for the trainees.
- Micro Projects Program (MPP3) in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states EU/FGN Facilitating communities to establish basic infrastructural projects in their communities using participatory rural appraisal to prioritize community needs with their contribution of unskilled labour and other available locally available materials such as land, wood, sand to construct required facilities ranging from health centre, market, school block, water, etc.
Abiye Hector-Goma is a Leeds-based GP who is privileged to have worked in the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. He co-founded MANKIND in 1994 and is thrilled to have his daughter champion JustGiving crowdfunding for Community Based Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC). Thank you for your generous donation.
