It’s was indeed an evening of raw display of passion to be one’s brother keeper and bear one another’s burden in other for each and everyone to live a life free of emotional trauma and avoidable pains.
The event was the official launch and public unveiling Arogi, a trauma care Foundation birthed over four months ago by the duo of Otis OJEIKHOA, Founder/President; and Joy and a few other friends.
Otis, an entrepreneur and CEO, Brand Optimal displays so much passion for the subject “Care for the traumatized”, as he noted with zest, “Today, we officially set off Arogi into the society as we continue on the path of helping people by bringing to reality the vision to put together an organisation that will help people manage or deal with emotional trauma”.
As part of the Arogi launch, the organizers put together lecture sessions to awaken the audience in the capacity-filled hall to the need to be deliberate about and guide their emotions, just as it’s important for all to know their “emotion triggers”.
Dr. Rukayyah Abiola bought this home in her “mindfulness exercise” presentation aimed at improving the individual’s cortex for concentration and problem-solving.
“Emotion is the state of feeling that results in physical and psychological changes that influence our behavior, Dr. Abiola warned the audience, adding that “our emotions can affect how you think and respond to situations”.
According to the therapist, solutions lie in knowing your emotional triggers which she claims is important in solving the trauma. Hence, she counsels the guests, “anger triggers unhealthy emotions, forgive yourself and let go as nobody is above emotional trauma”.
The second speaker, Prof. Andrew Zamani, Director, Institute …., praised the founders of Arogi Foundation while noting, “Nigeria has been itching for this kind of intervention for a very long time”
Prof. Zamani in line with Dr. Abiola also confirmed that psychological trauma is at a pandemic level in Nigeria given the trend of criminality, violence, extremism, geo-social dislocations, economic deprivations, poverty, and moral depravity among others. This frenzy notwithstanding, the erudite scholar said that psychological trauma is yet to be systematically surveyed in the population at the national, state and local levels.
“Zeroing in on marital stress which according to him is at an epidemic level, he disclosed that many marriages are dysfunctional. “They are traumatized”. Arogi Foundation is out to extend the conversation, stimulate discussion, and help in providing solutions. Therefore, the role of the foundation cannot be over-emphasized in maintaining and bringing about needed sanity and cohesion in the homes and society.
What is Arogi and how does the name speak to the foundation or its intended audience? Arogi is a Greek word that translates to “Succor”. Otis offers some insights, “Arogi means succor. We wanted the name to speak for what we stand for, we want to give people succor and a form of relief from their pains. In the course registration at the CAC, we could not get “Succour” approved, so we found solace in the Greek word for succor. That was how we came by Arogi. It also sounded very strong and we decided to adopt it as a name”.
Speaking on the motivation to co-found, the Arogi Foundation, the Co-Founder/President, referencing other co-founders, explains that at one point or the other in our lives, we would be faced with difficult situations that are difficult for us to manage. He recounts, “Having been through that sort of difficulty myself, I felt that there was a need to have an organisation that will help people that are in such difficult emotional situations. If you have not been into those kinds of trauma, trust me, you cannot understand what the pain feels like. So having been through that kind of pain, we don’t want to wish it for any of our worst enemies. So we thought putting together this foundation would help people cope with emotional difficulties – help them to recover and function more effectively and better in society”.
Espousing further the need for Arogi, Otis points out that available statistics reveal that millions of people in this country are traumatized by the day. Of course, at some point, it becomes too difficult to bear for some, at that stage some might just decide to ‘end it’, adding that this is what we do not pray for.
While Otis noted that it may not be totally wise to blame those who give in to suicide, he emphasizes that its only those who have been in such precarious situations that are likely to be able to figure out why people commit suicide.
This is not to say he justifies this anti-social but fast-spreading behavour in any way. “So our hope is that we are able to help anyone out there who truly is going through some emotional difficulties” to prevent stories that the touch the heart.
Indeed, Arogi has hit the ground running! The foundation started only about four months ago yet, “we have reached well over 700 people with 117 in active therapy with us physical and online and all services are offered free to beneficiaries. We have got people calling from outside of the country”. On the international front, the organisation is handling the case of a depressed and traumatized couple in Pakistan. Arogi offers the duo counseling and online therapy free of charge.
In addition to the 700 whose cases are well documented and are currently undergoing treatments or support in one form or the other, “we have people calling from all parts of the country who need one help or the other to deal with the varied emotional difficulties they are going through” Otis revealed.
Therefore, the official unveiling of Arogi to friends, family, associates, and of course, relevant agencies and the society at large, is designed to seek support, help, and partnerships. In Otis’s words, “it is to have people join us as benefactors and sponsors. The truth is, we can only do as much as we can. There are a lot of people out there that need our help and unfortunately, we are a bit constrained in resources, if we do have more, we will be able to reach more people”.
“We believe that people shouldn’t be left to suffer in silence. People shouldn’t suck all the trauma and pains that come with this. They do not need to be completely messed up and their emotional health destroyed before one realises it. Arogi wants to give them shoulders to lean on to prevent the ill of putting a ‘final stop’ to everything to end their pain. So that is what we do and we hope that through this launch, we are able to help more people.
The categories of needed support are diverse just as the project is ambitious. Hear Otis, “we are asking people to join us on this course to help more people. We are looking for sponsors who can give us fund to be able to extend Arogi’s benevolence to more people. We need sponsors who can fund our outreach programmes in schools, and community work with Nigerian police to help them manage people that have gone through traumatic experiences. We need people that can advise us, partners on the board that can give us functional advice that will help us do more. We need volunteers that don’t have the money but have the time, talent, and quality to support what Arogi is doing. So we are looking for all manners of partners including trustee and financial partnerships”
If the needed help availed the Foundation, more people in Nigeria and beyond the shores of the country would benefit from Arogi’s core objective which bothers on giving people free access to mental health solutions. “Solutions that can help them manage their emotional difficulties and develop better coping mechanisms. We want to do this across all tiers”.
The Foundation also provides economic interventions for those that have lost their means of livelihood and tending towards psychological or emotional trauma. For instance, two people in this category were discovered during therapy evaluation sessions to have fallen into traumatic situations as a result of their inability to function in life because they don’t have any mean of livelihood. They have since been rehabilitated and offered jobs. “These two having gone through our programmes, we are able to place them in jobs, now, they are working somewhere in Ikorodu”.
As Otis reiterates Arogi objective is to help people, help someone that is in pain, wittily, he adds, “if you have not been through emotional pain, you don’t know what pain is. No book can explain it” he says as he concludes.
