The Journey begins: The 5,000 People Drive

I consider myself to be an incredibly blessed person-not because of anything tangible or touchable or even concrete, but because I have had so many rich and powerful moments and experiences in life. Although still very young, I have been privileged to see people at great moments in life; a case study was when a little girl whose parents couldn’t afford to pay her WAEC fee later graduated with a Law degree from the University of Port Harcourt. I have also witnessed someone who couldn’t pay his rent at some point in his life later dedicate his first house. Great moments! Priceless moments!

But I have also been there in some tough and dark moments. I have seen people who just in their final semester, dropped out of school because their widowed mother couldn’t continue paying their fees. I have been there when life was so tough that people couldn’t be phony. And because I've been there when those crises begin to occur, there’s a level of transparency I have been able to witness that has made me appreciate life more.

Life sometimes can be tough. Life sometimes brings people to a point where they scream “Help! Help!! Help!!!" as tears drips down their faces. Such is the case of this young man called Vincent Nwokedi who was diagnosed of Acute Lymphoytic Leukemia (Blood Cancer) just a day after his first semester exams, precisely on the 10^th of April 2013.

Vincent Nwokedi, a 600 level (final year) student of pharmacy is currently undergoing Chemotherapy in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), awaiting to be flown to India where he would undergo a bone marrow transplant to cure his condition and the required sum for his treatment is N10, 000, 000 (10 Million Naira).

Vincent is at a cross road of his life and in dire need of help. While N10 million is an amount some people would comfortably spend to purchase just one car, it is all that’s needed to save Vincent’s life. I know N10 million is quite a huge amount of money, but if five thousand people will sacrifice N2000 (Two thousand Naira) each to assist Vincent, we would have saved a generation. This is that time when we need to walk the love we’ve always been talking.

I have spoken to Vincent myself and he told me that as at yesterday, 24th April 2013, 2.6 million naira (Two Million Six Hundred Thousand Naira )had been raised and he is hoping that he gets people like you and I to come to his aid before the deadline. He needs this money! He needs you! He needs to be alive.

Think about the incredible difference you will make in his life. Think about the inexplicable joy that’s comes from being there for people in their time of need. Undoubtedly, we’ve been to the bank many times to deposit money into our personal accounts. Again, we can walk into the bank, pick up the deposit slip, inscribe on it Vincent’s details, and walk up to the deposit stand and pay in whatever amount we have to help save Vincent’s life. Betterstill, you can use the Quickteller button on the ATM to do a Funds Transfer or even online banking like many of us do.

When we give out what we still have need for, that is GIVING.

Below are his details together with a supporting document from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital:

BANK: Zenith

ACCOUNT NAME: VINCENT CHUKWUMA NWOKEDI

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 2100053461