OKPELLA Development Association – USA Celebrates 20th year anniversary of it’s existence and the great community service by the members.
A WELCOME ADDRESS BY MRS VICTORIA MOMOH-SALAU ON THE OCCASION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF OKPELLA DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (ODA- USA) ON JULY 5th, 2019 HOLDING IN SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN
First and foremost, I give all thanks and praises to the Almighty God for making it possible for us to assemble here today to mark this epoch making event in this serene City of Michigan.
Twenty unbroken years in the life of any organization is a milestone which calls for celebration and therefore, I want to specially recognize and appreciate the Founding members for their vision and sacrifices which gave birth to this association. In the same vein, I cannot thank enough the sons and daughters of Okpella who have subsequently keyed into and consolidated this vision thus far, believing in our old saying “Ikugbe kh’itoto” (Unity is Strength).
I cannot overstate my thanks and deep appreciation of this preeminent organization for finding me worthy to serve as President at this critical moment of its history, particularly at this Time of enormous challenges confronting our people at home and abroad.
Let me also bow my knees in appreciation of all my predecessors in office for their efforts in moving ODA-USA to this enviable status. I ask God’s blessings upon each and every one of you.
Now, back to the business of the day. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Executives and members, I extend my very warm welcome to all our guests and friends, who journeyed from far and near, to felicitate with us on this day and event. I pray that joys of celebration will never cease in your lives. Kindly indulge me to say a special thank you to our Keynote speaker, Dr. Moses Ani for making out time to come and help galvanize our spirits as we commit to providing our people with free medical services. We thank you very much, Sir.
To the Edo National Association – Worldwide (ENAW), I salute you. We are particularly grateful for the support that affiliate Clubs, Unions and Associations extended to us at the annual ENAW Convention. Also, we cannot forget the role your Medical Mission Team, working with our Nigerian collaborators, have continued to play in the lives of Okpella people, back home in Edo State, Nigeria.
On a sad note, Ladies and Gentlemen, please, permit me to request all of us to rise and observe a moment of silence in honor of our Grand Patron, His Royal Majesty, Alhaji (Dr.) A. Y. E. Dirisu JP, OON the Okuokpellagbe of Okpella who passed-on to Glory on
the 19th day of February, 2019. May his soul rest in peace, Amen.
The theme for this year’s event is “Health is Wealth” and ODA-USA is focusing on developing a strategic alliance with organizations that can serve as resource partners in seeing to the actualization of our dream to build a standard hospital in Okpella.
For many years, our people have died from preventable and curable diseases occasioned by lack of healthcare services. You will agree with me that adequate healthcare facilities are not only a vital part of society but a desideratum for a society’s development and prosperity. Those of us who live in the western world can easily attest to the fact that the foundation of their development is anchored on their reliable and available healthcare systems. Sick students cannot perform optimally in schools; neither can a sick person excel in business or any other life fulfilling endeavors. That is why I am proud that ODA-USA has selected health care as a primary project to embark on. I am asking everyone here today to stretch his or herself as we put our resources together to make this objective of ours a resounding success.
I wish you all a fun filled evening and a safe trip back to your various destinations. God bless you! God bless Okpella! God bless Edo State!
God Bless the United States of America.
Thank you.
Mrs. Victoria Momoh-Salau
Message from the Board of Trustees, Vice Chairman Charles O. Kerobo, PhD, MBA (ODA-USA)
Welcome Address
This message is dedicated to our Grand Patron, Alhaji (Dr.) A.Y.E. Dirisu, JP, OON, the Okuokpellagbe of Okpella.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, welcome to the 20th Anniversary celebration of the founding of Okpella Development Association – USA (ODA-USA). My fellow Trustees and I are very excited to witness this remarkable milestone!
As the Vice Chairman and a fellow stakeholder, I submit to you that the legal, ethical and humanitarian responsibility of
the Board of Trustees, is fiduciary to Okpella indigenes.
Therefore, I encourage the Executives and the entire members of our beloved Organization to embrace this mantra. The Board has been and will continue to support
and sustain the work of the Executive Committee, proffer
governance leadership and encourage you to forge strategic alliances with other organizations, as necessary. Of
paramount importance are the alliances with sister- organizations, such as, Okpella Progressive Union, Okpella Forum, Okpella Youth Organization, etc. and corporate entities in Okpella and in Edo State. These strategic alliances will provide extraordinary opportunities for ODA-USA to create a strong and robust organization that is on a steady course towards the fulfillment of our motto: Unity for Progress (Ikugbe Na Rho Jo’Dharo)
My heartfelt appreciations to the founders of our amazing Organization. These founders are the visionaries and remarkable sons and daughters who saw the need for a forum where Okpella indigenes, in diaspora, would come together to fellowship with one another and strategize on issues of importance to Okpella Kingdom. They passionately sold the need for an organization to other Okpella indigenes. Consequently, they built what ODA-USA is today and, after 20 years, the Organization is strong and thriving. They built a legacy which our future generations are duty-bound to maintain. I dutifully say, however, that our beloved Organization is at a crossroad where we must grow the scope and impact of the Organization, transparently. The future of ODA-USA depends on it! For this organization to be sustainable, the current Board of Trustees must be dissolved and reorganized to allow it to function as an independent entity with oversight responsibility. The Board of Trustees must be allowed to assume and discharge its fiduciary responsibilities to the organization. The composition of the Board should consist of at least one or more non-Executive ODA-USA member(s) to serve every two years; in addition, other criteria deemed necessary by the general membership may be used to select other members of the Board of Trustees.
One of the proudest accomplishments of the Board of Trustees, since the founding of ODA- USA, is the organization’s admittance into the Edo National Association Worldwide (ENAW) group of families. This admission came with the benefit of the scale of numbers required for group Endowment Fund (Group Insurance); and the opportunity to participate in the yearly ENAW Medical Mission initiatives to Edo State. The level and quality of the medical services delivered to Okpella, since President Edison Oyiboke-Osifo’s tenure and led by Chairwoman Mercy Grant, have grown exponentially. ODA-USA Board of Trustees appreciate you for your spirit of diversity and inclusion!
Since the inception of the medical mission to Okpella, under the auspices of ENAW three years ago, our emphases have been on access to medical services and the delivery of excellent compassionate care to the community. Based on the feedback from our medical staff volunteers, patients, and ODA-USA aspirations for continuous improvements, we extended the usual one-day medical services to six days. In 2019, 1,609 patients were treated including 39 fibroid and hernia removal and repairs performed by Dr. Moses Ani and Matron Christiana Ekheoveh. Many thanks to our medical staff volunteers who provided exceptional medical services to the community and exhibited unparalleled act of kindness to the citizens of Okpella Kingdom.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee, and the rank and file members of ODA-USA, my heartfelt appreciations to our volunteer heroes of the medical mission: Dr. Moses Ani, Dr. (Mrs) Olufumike Ani, Dr. Joseph Audu, Dr. Razak Mahmund, Director (RN) Josephine Ojo and her local Nurses and Nurse Auxiliaries, Matron Christiana Ekheoveh and her Nurses and Nurse Auxiliaries, and ENAW Medical Mission Team volunteers led by Chairwoman Mercy Grant.
Drawing on the legacy of our 3-year experience and the feedback from our partnership with Okpella community on free-healthcare, we underscored the importance of health as the gateway to the wealth of a community with the keynote address appropriately titled “Health is Wealth”. Thank you.
God bless ODA-USA; God bless Okpella Kingdom; God bless Edo State; God bless Nigeria; God bless USA.
Charles O. Kerobo, PhD, MBA Vice Chairman, ODA-USA and his lovely wife.
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