MCHENRY—ImaBridge Africa began when Father Godwin Asuquo, a priest of the Diocese of Rockford originally from Nigeria, was an associate at the Newman Catholic Center/Christ the Teacher Parish in DeKalb.

 

In 2008, at the request of a college student, Father Asuquo cooked an authentic Nigerian dish for parishioners. The dinner generated funds, and five people were inspired to travel with the priest to Nigeria to distribute about $6,000 in donations for scholarships for 32 university students.

 

They founded ImaBridge Africa when they returned. Ima (pronounced “EEMA”) means “love” in Father Asuquo’s native dialect.

 

Since then, ImaBridge Africa (IBA) has focused its efforts on providing drinking water (10 bore holes to date), health care (malaria and diabetes are big threats), education (over 400 scholarships to date) and microfinance, all benefiting people mostly in Akwa Ibom State — a Christian area in southern Nigeria that includes Father Asuquo’s hometown of Uyo. Special projects include feeding a village of 450 households during COVID-19 and providing a palm press and cassava mill, allowing villagers to process and provide food for their families.

 

But health care has been IBA’s primary area of focus, including annual medical mission clinics, an ambulance and ultrasound donation to a hospital, and other donations of medical equipment and a variety of assistive devices for handicapped individuals.

 

A month ago, ImaBridge Africa completed its biggest project to date: a state-of-the-art hospital.  The 50-bed, full-service hospital is called ImaBridge Medical Center/John Ripkey Memorial. It provides in-patient and outpatient care, surgical services and emergency care.

 

And it only took just over two years to build. Construction began in 2019 and the commissioning was held Dec. 30, 2021. With assistance from a sister organization, the past year included staffing the hospital, from doctors to maintenance workers, so the hospital is now up and running.

 

Back in the U.S., IBA runs through the efforts of volunteers. Board and team members meet monthly on the third Sundays of the month at St. Patrick Church in McHenry, where Father Asuquo is now pastor.

Cecilia Adams is one of the McHenry parishioners who attended the commissioning and its accompanying IBA medical mission. It was her seventh trip to Nigeria with the ministry.

 

Born and raised at St. Patrick Parish and singing in the choir since she was 10 years old, Adams is the music director at the parish. When Father Asuquo arrived and introduced IBA to parishioners 12 years ago, she says it “opened my eyes to (what is) far bigger than the walls of the church … just love with no boundaries.”

 

Adams soon became a team member, and more recently a board member. She is now the newest president of the board. Although she is not a medical professional, she says, “There’s always somewhere where we can help.”

 

Those medical mission trips provide free medical care. Ongoing services at the new hospital will require payment, but Adams notes that costs are minimal. The hospital will become self-sustaining, she says, and it has already saved lives.