Core Values.

At OMIWA Foundation, we strongly believe that healthcare should be a universal human right regardless of income level. While this aspiration is in the distant future, we are committed to laying the foundation with these core values;

Board of Directors.

OMIWA board of Directors are from all walks of life and have deep interest in delivering healthcare services to indigent rural community in Nigeria. Meet our distinguished members;

  • Headshot of Mr. Jim VanDevelde

    Mr. Jim VanDevelde

    BOARD PRESIDENT

    Mr. Jim VanDevelde is an experienced healthcare leader with over thirty years in the industry. During his career, that included working for different healthcare organizations across the country holding various leadership positions, Mr. VanDevelde has always strived to be an advocate for the under-serviced in his community. When the opportunity came to extend his passion across the globe, he immediately jumped on it and helped in the initial stages of OMIWA Foundation becoming an entity. Mr. VanDeVelde is married with four adult children and reside in Fresno California. He is an avid hiker, occasional golfer with an unfilled dream of getting a hole-in-one and a university of Michigan football fan.

  • Headshot of David Hodge Sr.

    David Hodge Sr.

    BOARD MEMBER

    Doctor David Hodge is a retired pediatric surgeon with over 52 years of practice mostly in the greater Fresno community. His career started after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1969 and completion of residency fellowship at Hennepin Healthcare. During his busy practice in several stops across the country and abroad, Dr. Hodge always found time to engage in community service for the poor. Notably, was the thirty years of medical missions to Mexico through the sponsorship of the Fresno Rotary club Nino program. His dedication to the community of los altos in Mexico spanned three generations and a successful medical infrastructure that is still providing services to the poor.

  • Headshot of Juan Bautista, MD

    Juan Bautista, MD

    BOARD MEMBER

    Dr. Juan Bautista is a primary care physician in Fresno. He is a graduate of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Dr. Bautista trained at UCSF in Fresno and has been in practice for over ten years. In addition to a busy workload, Dr Bautista has engaged in providing free medical services in various Latin America countries and supported global efforts to expand healthcare to underserved communities. He founded the Bautista Foundation to provide scholarships for low-income students who excel in academics and sports. Being a former Fresno State Bulldog football player, Dr. Juan is very passionate about sport medicine, fitness, nutrition, and mental health.

  • Headshot of Mr. Samuel Okenyi, Jr

    Mr. Samuel Okenyi, Jr

    BOARD MEMBER

    Mr. Samuel Okenyi Jr., is a business owner in the mortgage finance industry. He is a second generation American who has deep perspective of two contrasting cultures and the immerse opportunities of being in this country. Mr. Okenyi aspires to use his platform to bring awareness to human suffering in Third World countries where standard of living in at unimaginable level. He is married with two children, likes to spend his leisure time traveling and fitness training.

  • Headshot of Mr. Tony Nwnoye

    Mr. Tony Nwnoye

    BOARD MEMBER

    Mr. Tony Nwnoye is a businessman based in Minneapolis Minnesota. He is the president of Ukwu-Nzu development union and holds various board membership of nonprofit organizations involved in social causes. Mr Nwnoye is married, a father and grandfather.

  • Headshot of Dr. Phyllis Stark DNP, MSM, RN

    Dr. Phyllis Stark DNP, MSM, RN

    BOARD MEMBER

    Dr. Phyllis Stark is the Chief Nursing Officer/Chief Operating Officer of a major hospital in the Fresno area. She is an accomplished healthcare leader, community advocate for population health, and a mentor.

  • Headshot of Mrs. Deonna Villegas-McPeters

    Mrs. Deonna Villegas-McPeters

    BOARD MEMBER

    Mrs. Deonna Villegas-McPeters is a licensed Clinical Social Worker with over forty years of experience working at various healthcare organization. Mrs. Villegas-McPeters is a compassionate leader with a focus on community wellness and an advocate for the underserved. She is married and lives in the Fresno area.

Staff.

President Remark;

OMIWA Foundation celebrated it’s one year anniversary in November 2021, and in that span of time, it is remarkable to see the impact of human kindness at work and the joy of helping the poor and needy amongst us. This journey to do something to help the less fortunate in the rural communities in Nigeria started with long conversations I had with my good friends Felix Okafor, who I consider a dear brother and our Board President Mr. Jim Vandevelde. Before these long phone conversations, I was struggling with how to help these folks and wondering if any help, compared to the scope of need, was worth the effort. As I bounced these thoughts off with Mr. Vandevelde and Mr. Okafor, it became clear that there is a kind of help that we can give that allows the person who is destitute to live a productive life, and it is the gift of good health. As a healthcare professionals, I clearly understood the importance of basic healthcare as foundation for productive life. The folks we were attempting to help were mostly peasant farmers living on less than a dollar a day.

Indulge me for a moment to give you a snapshot of this population health; in a typical Nigerian village, there are several generations; from infant to adolescent and young adults, to parents, grandparents and few great grandparents. A pregnant mother would carry a baby to term without seeing a doctor for prenatal check and if the birth process goes well, the baby will start life without any form of immunizations. Illness and chronic health conditions are mostly treated with herbal medicines or goes untreated. It is only at the dire end of a serious illness, most families would buckle and borrow money to transport the sick member to the city for treatment. Sadly, the World Health Organization reported that the life expectancy for an average Nigerian adult is about fifty four years – one of the lowest in the world.

Why should we care? With the advent of COVID ’19 and other pandemics such as Ebola, we have seen that it is only a matter of time before these distance population health issues land at our doorsteps. But before we are faced with such calamity, these folks suffer in silence with ailments, their bodies ravaged with diabetes, hypertension, ulcers and intestinal parasites.

We can do something now, not just to prevent the next pandemic but to give them the gift of quality life. Please join me on this journey to reach the heart of humanity by giving a little bit of our resources. My pledge to you is that every gift will go directly to this cause. This is what we have done in 2021 by taking teams of physicians, nurses, and volunteers to six communities in Nigeria for two-day medical missions. We served over two thousand persons including children. The program has had a major impact in the lives of these folks in the rural communities of Delta State of Nigeria to the point that OMIWA is now a household name.

Thank you for your enduring support. Looking forward to another great year in 2022.

Sincerely,

Mr. Samuel Tonito Okenyi, Sr., President of OMIWA Foundation

  • Headshot of Mr. Samuel Tonito Okenyi, Sr

    Mr. Samuel Tonito Okenyi, Sr

    PRESIDENT

    Mr. Samuel Tonito Okenyi Sr., is a healthcare leader with over thirty years experience in healthcare administration. He is community activist, a mentor and an advocate for the underserved. He is a father to 4 children and 6 beautiful grandchildren.

  • VICE PRESIDENT

  • Headshot of Mrs. Sue Okenyi

    Mrs. Sue Okenyi

    SECRETARY

    Mrs. Sue Okenyi is an author, wife, mother and grandmother. She retired after over twenty years of working with a global security firm. During her tenure at Pelco Industries, she was the company liaison for the New Yorker first responders after the 9/11 tragedy. Her book “Healing The Hero’s Heart” chronicled the aftermath of emotional trauma suffered by some first responders. Sue continues to volunteer with various non-profits and enjoys quality time with grandchildren.

Our Partnerships.

Anioma Medical Professionals Forum

Anioma Medical Professionals Forum is a nonprofit organization of medical providers with a goal of volunteering their service for free to rural communities. This group has performed medical missions throughout Anioma local government area of Delta State of Nigeria. Their vision to reach the underserved population with no access or financial means.

Delta State Ministry of Health

 Delta State House of Assembly

The Delta State House of Assembly formally recognized and commended OMIWA Foundation for the coordinated effort to reach the underserved rural communities in the State. Honorable Emeka Nwaobi who authored the appreciation letter of commendation has attended some of our free medical outreaches, was impressed with the level of service and commitment to reach as many communities as possible.

Get Involved: MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY!

You can be a part of the change. Join us in our mission to transform lives by supporting OMIWA Foundation.