UK well-wishers and generous donors help raise over £1,040 for Igbokoda Kingdom in Ondo State

WELL-wishers and public spirited individuals in the UK have successfully raised a sum of over £1,000 to fund healthcare provision in the Igbokoda Kingdom of Ondo State charity Extraordinary Achievers successfully held a fundraising event over the weekend.

At an event attended by dozens of Nigerians, a net sum of £1,040 was raised on the night to fund the Igbokoda general hospital in southern Ondo State. A gala dinner, it was attended by numerous community leaders including former chairman of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (Canuk) Chief Bimbo Afolayan, the former mayor of Hackney Susan Fajana-Thomas, former president of the Nigerian in Women's Diaspora Leadership Forum Jenny Okafor, cultural icon Ayan De First and broadcaster Princess Deun Solarin among others.

On the night in question, a total of £1860 was raised through a combination of donations, ticket sales and a raffle draw and after the expenses of £820 were removed, the sum of £1,040 was left to be donated towards the project. About 300,000 people live in the Igbokoda Kingdom but it only has one general hospital which is staffed by one doctor and six nurses and Extraordinary Achievers sought to address the problem.

Waynett Peters, the founder of Extraordinary Achievers, said: "I was made a chief of Igbokoda by the Olu of Igbokoda Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, who asked me to use the position to help the community. Like him, I am very passionate about healthcare, so decided to focus on this project as a means of giving back to society."

Chief Afolayan added: "We should all see this as a starting point as today it is Ondo State in Nigeria but tomorrow, we could be in Ghana, Uganda or Kenya. Waynett has started would could go on to be a continent-wide movement that could help bring development to millions of our people."

At the event, which took place at the Kentish Town Community Centre in northwest London, Ms Peters, the Yeye Bobaselu of Igbokoda, told guests how her doctor friends had even helped her gather equipment from UK hospitals for the project. She thanked all those who helped to make the day a success, including her own children and grandchildren, who worked tirelessly on the day.