By Henry Umahi
It was Mark Twain, who said: “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mother Theresa added: “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
For John Bunyan, “you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” Similarly, Mahatma Gandhi noted: “The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
These expressions certainly ring true for Mr. Martin Nwabueze and his wife, Dr. Chisom Nwabueze
.
Indeed, the couple is on the same page with John Wesley, who advocated: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
Over the years, they have been involved in an organization performing life-changing work in Africa, starting in Nigeria, on issues like poverty, education and HIV/AIDS, among others.
Martin and Chisom, who are both pharmacists, with many years of practice experience in the United States, are the founders of Tilova for Africa, a non-profit, non-governmental charity organization. It has its headquarters in New Hampshire, USA.
Martin and Chisom have a wide range of experience of years of charitable work both in USA and abroad as donors to various charitable endeavours and as volunteers helping in one way or another to bring positive change in different communities.
As African migrants, the couple feels blessed for the opportunity the United States has given to them but never forgets their root and the suffering and tribulations of those in Africa that are not as lucky. Their desire to lend a helping hand to the less privileged in Africa and the unfortunate killing of a dear friend in South Africa for his sex preferences were the driving forces that ultimately led to the birth of this charity organization.
Martin disclosed that as founders, the couple has worked over the years to assemble a team of more than 500 volunteers of different nationalities spread across Africa and the United States comprising of human rights activists, doctors, country experts, lawyers, journalists, donors and others who work to protect and assist the neediest in Africa such as the vulnerable minorities, the hunger stricken, the sick and homeless as well as children in need.
Martin said: “At Tilova for Africa, we direct our advocacy towards governments, religious groups and businesses in Africa, pushing them to change or enforce their laws, policies and practices to protect the fundamental human rights of marginalized minorities and the downtrodden.
“We also gather a coalition of kindhearted willing donors that donate to guarantee that our objectives with regards to poverty alleviation, educational empowerment, health care services and other advocacies are met. To ensure our fairness and build trust, we review all donations to ensure that they are consistent with our policies, mission, and values to ultimately guarantee that every donation is directed towards a just cause and in accordance with the wishes of donors.
“Our strength lies not only in the words we stand by, but most importantly in our resolve and the actions of our services and initiatives. From the moment we started, we understood that by working together, little efforts could synergize to overcome big challenges much more efficiently, which is why we plead with all people of good conscience to join us as we strive to make a positive change in all of our pursuits so that little by little, through our collective efforts we shall all play a part in making the world a better place.”
Maintaining that the charity arm of Tilova for Africa is the most important and active, Martin explained: “We are disbursing funds to those that need them directly through our website and on social media. We are also working with other NGOs based in Africa for more efficiency. Funding is very important to our work and currently our funding comes from our personal contributions and contributions from kind donors. As we expand we hope to get funding from the government and organiaations too.”