AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
The set man of The Sword of The Spirit Ministries, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has announced that the Dorcas Oke Hope Alive Initiative is set to raise a N100million fund for execution of various human and infrastructural development projects in keeping with the resolve of the NGO to reposition for greater strides 20years after being founded.
Bishop Oke made the disclosure on Saturday during the 20th anniversary of the NGO held at the Auditorium of Precious Cornerstone University Campus 1, Garden of Victory, Old Ife Road, Ibadan.
Bishop Francis Wale Oke and his wife, Rev Victoria Tokunbo are co-Founders of DOHAL, a faith-based non-governmental organization in Nigeria that was established on October 28, 2003, in honour of the memory of their daughter, Dorcas Oluwaseyitanfunmi Oke, an Engineering undergraduate who passed on as a result of typhoid fever infection, to work in the field of health and development.
While lauding stakeholders for their efforts towards the success of DOHAL, the Bishop, who is the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and Visitor of PCU, Ibadan, remarked that the NGO had impacted thousands of young Africans in very significant ways through seminars and workshops, youth empowerment, disaster relief operations, annual schools lectures and scholarship scheme.
He said that “The annual DOHAL Foundation Day Lectures are some of those significant programmes via which DOHAL has made marks that cannot be erased in most young people’s lives, most of whom are now adults in the society, serving in various parts of the world. For this, we give all the glory to God.
“We cannot but thank all DOHAL stakeholders, starting with our Trustee members who have served meritorious for 20 years under the able leadership of Emeritus Prof. Bolanle Awe of University of Ibadan, down to the Technical Working Group under the leadership of Prof Tunde Osinaike, to the staff that have served under various leaders, and flagged off by our beloved Pastor Mrs Moji Oyelami of blessed memory.”
While also expressing appreciation to the volunteers, the DOHAL Youth Vanguards and the supporters, he thanked both the young and old people who had taken part in the programmes of DOHAL one way or the other over the years, including partners, donors and donor agencies.
On the next phase after 20 years of its existence, the Bishop said, “With its 20th anniversary, the time has come for a re-engineering of DOHAL for a better and more impactful service delivery to African youths and all its stakeholders. This re-engineering shall involve a restructuring of DOHAL setup, a repackaging of DOHAL thematic programmes, a pragmatic and systematic empowerment of DOHAL management and staff, the provision of DOHAL operational headquarters base, the modernization of DOHAL operations to be 21st Century and IT compliant for effective global impact.
“We invite you to please join us in this great adventure of transforming the lives of millions of African youth and children so they can be great tomorrow, fulfilling their glorious destinies.
“DOHAL’s sole purpose is to reach out to the African youths to prevent untimely death and to emancipate and educate them.
“It is a social development arm of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries founded by Bishop Francis Wale Oke. The NGO was borne out of the concern on the increasing rate of untimely death due to preventable infections in the society with particularly reference to the youths.”
Pastor Oluwafunmilayo Ajibulu Executive Director of the NGO, while shedding light on the philosophy of the organization, said, “DOHAL works with the philosophy that every human being is created in the image of God and that life is, indeed, sacred.
“Individual lives must be preserved from all negative and destructive forces. DOHAL is set up to improve the total quality of life of the individual, particularly the African Child.
“DOHAL over the years, since inception has carried out several programmes and interventions aimed at improving the quality of life and preventing untimely death among the youths, women and children through death prevention programme by touching a total of 19,798 vulnerable youths, women and men from over 30medical outreaches. A total of 1,256 drug vendors also benefitted from the campaigns and trainings against the selling and consequences of using fake drugs. This reduces the sales, marketing and use of fake drugs.”
Ajibulu added, among others that 563,437 students were educated on health topics, 30,000 5kg bags of rice were distributed to the needy, distribution of ankara clothing and food stuff to 250 elderly people was done in collaboration with Ebelanke Foundation, 65 orphans and vulnerable children were taken through empowerment programmes, including ICT training, disaster relief programme to victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State, scholarships to students in tertiary, secondary and primary schools among others.
The leadership and management team of DOHAL are Bishop Francis and Rev. Victoria Wale Oke, Prof. Babatunde Osinaike, Dns. O.A. Irele, Folake Omiteru, Demilade Olaniyan, Elder Wole Okunola, Dn. Bankole Oladokun, Pastor James Oloyede, Dn. Joseph Adesope, Dns Gladdys Adeleke, Pastor Yemisi Fola-Kayode and Pst. Christianah Odekunle.
Others are Dr Abubakar Oladeji, Mrs Evelyn Mabayoje, Pastor Jide Onajimi, Mrs Bukola Odumeru, Pastor Abiodun Adejumo, Dns Rachael Fakunle, Mrs Fadekemi Aluko, Mrs Kemi Oshin, Pastor Toyin Bamikole and Mr Ayo Oke.
This year’s lecture, titled, ‘Looking into the future: The nine-fold reeengineering for greater impact,’ stressed the need for DOHAL to restructure its Set Up, staff development, establish its clear circle of operation, strengthen its partnership enlargement drive, network of volunteers, global networking, developing resource centre, increase its publicity drive and also importantly, building of DOHAL’s corporate headquarters.
The lecture read in parts that “DOHAL has succeeded to a large extent in specific areas of its set objectives over the years. Time has come however for DOHAL to take stock and re-engineer itself to become more focused and more effective as a sustainable organized institution with all that it takes to positively and continuously impact children and youths in every corner of this nation: an organized institution with the capacity to reach out to Africa and network globally, according to the vision behind its establishment.”
