HEAL Blog
Welcome! Here we will post news and highlight the faces, needs, and services of HEAL.Nigeria’s Got Talent
We sat in the courtyard of the Compassionate Home with only the moon and a smoldering wood fire providing us light. Sr. Rachel, Sr. Rosemary, and I peeled the skin off breadfruit as part of food prep for the children’s next day meal. Being good hosts, the sisters sang...
“Welcome, White Man!”
I traveled to Nigeria to meet the orphans and widows whom HEAL serves and the missionary brothers and sisters who provide our services. So, after staying the first night at Leo’s home in Mbaise village, we embarked from there to the Compassionate Home School, located...
A Welcome Reception in Nigeria
HEAL was founded to assist the orphans and widows in our charge. When Leo Okonkwo visited Chicago last fall, I introduced him to hundreds of people who listened intently to his inspiring work in far away West Africa. While I could see the desire to help in people’s...
Future Sisters and Brothers, Future Educators!
Education for orphans is a primary focus for us at HEAL. With 70 children living and learning at our home school in Nigeria, we need assistance in order to improve both their learning environment and their teachers' qualifications. By completing our new Kindergarten...
For Girls, and For All…
Abduction of 234 girls by Boko Haram.
Faces: Meet Blessing
BLESSING AGUGOM Miss Blessing Agugom is four years old. Since her father died when she was 4 years old, her mother has been unable to care for her and her older brother, who is 8 years old. The Compassionate Home has been responsible for her well-being and schooling....
Construction is under way!
Here you can see progress on the construction of a classroom building for our abandoned orphans. The structure currently used for learning was deemed inadequate by the Nigerian government, prompting the funding initiative for the materials and labor needed to erect a...