Kama of PROFOH – responding to social and medical emergencies
By Milena
Rampoldi and Denise Nanni, ProMosaik. On its website the organisation Profoh says: „Developing
countries are challenged by poverty, inadequate health systems, political and
ethnic conflicts. After careful consideration of the consequences and
challenges on vulnerable populations, the founders of PROFOH decided
to create a new dimension in humanitarian and emergency deployment to provide
vital social and health services in the shortest possible time. We began with
close observation and conscientious analysis of the specific needs. We defined
the scope, developed a work plan and a range of services tailored to address
both social and medical issues“. To understand its work and engagement
we spoke to Kama about the history and aims of this group of Professionals for
Humanity.
How
was PROFOH born and in which countries does it operate?
An American missionary (Cliff Jarrell) in West Africa inspired a group of friends on the need to have an independent
and innovative humanitarian organization that could respond on short
notice to social and medical emergencies. One thing led to another,
ultimately, Gbemuotor Kama, a Nigerian founded Professionals For Humanity
(PROFOH) with Cliff Henry Jarrell in 1998. The official launch was held
at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Nigeria in May 2000. A few
years later they were joined by Mr. Markus von- Have, a German. We are
incorporated in seven countries, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Nepal,
Nigeria, South Africa and the United
States and have presence in Egypt, Brazil, Honduras, Jamaica, Benin, Liberia, Cameroon, Liberia,etc.
Across the world, we support weak
and vulnerable communities to overcome health, education, and social challenges
arising from ill health, poverty, and man-made or natural disasters. Our
work substantially supports women and children through critical interventions
including provision of medicine, safe water, education, and necessary policies
around them.
What action do you undertake in order to ensure education in
developing countries?
PROFOH has worked in many Africa countries to support education where the local governments or States were either
unable or unwilling to provide basic services towards education for
their citizens, with the provision of scholarships, writing desks,
setting emergency education projects, as we did recently in Kathmandu, Nepal
after the 2014 earthquake, currently we are just commenced a 5-year
Female Education Project in Nigeria.
Yes, about 80 percent of our
beneficiaries are women in Health care and Safe water interventions, while the
figure is very low on Education. That is one of the reason we have scale
up our interventions for on-going Female Education Project.
Do you cooperate with local
authorities and institutions? If yes, how?
Yes, but it
depends on the scope of intervention, on Health care, we work within existing
governments health and social systems to realize everyone’s right to
accessible and appropriate health care and ist applicable to Education too Safe
Water is more on the community level and less bureaucracy. PROFOH
activities are regulated by host governments relevant agencies.
Please feel free to add
anything that you may want to say.
10,000 surgeries and 1.2 million clinical consultations and treatments
as an organization. The group has conducted International medical
missions in several countries, Liberia, Ghana, Swaziland, Zambia,
Jamaica, Ethiopia, Kenya, Benin, Trinidad & Tobago, Nepal etc.
PROFOH is a recipient of goodwill messages from world leaders like
President George Bush, President Bill Clinton and Mr. Koffi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations. PROFOH was the humanitarian organization
of the year 2013-by Global Thinkers Forum-London, while the event took
place in Athens-Greece. We sincerely request for more people to sign up
as members or volunteers.
