A SUPER WOMAN!!!!

OLA OREKUNRIN: FOUNDER OF THE FIRST AIR AMBULANCE IN THE WHOLE OF WEST AFRICA

Have you ever felt a sharp pain due to a particular circumstance that hurt you so badly? What did you do afterwards? Meet the 21 year old Nigerian lady who turned her bitterness into a call to save mankind.

Olamide Orekunrin, a 21 year old young Lady who was born in London and raised in a foster home. At 21 years, she had graduated from Hull York Medical school as a qualified Trauma doctor. She was then awarded the MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship and moved to Japan to conduct research in the field of regenerative medicine. Ola is also a helicopter pilot trainee.

When Ola was 21, her 12 years old sister visited Nigeria with some relatives and needed urgent health care, being a sickle cell anaemia sufferer. The nearest hospitals could not give her the help that she needed at that point, so an air ambulance was needed to transport her to a more suitable healthcare facility. In Ola’s words,  "The nearest one at the time was in South Africa. "They had a 12-hour activation time so by the time they were ready to activate, my sister was dead.

Motivated by the tragic death of her sister, the young doctor decided to leave behind a high-flying job in the UK to take to the Nigerian skies and address the vital issue of urgent healthcare in Africa's most populous country. A pioneering entrepreneur with an eye for opportunity, Orekunrin set up Flying Doctors Nigeria, the first air ambulance service in West Africa.

Looking ahead, Orekunrin says her goal is to continue improving access to treatment while focusing on the pre-hospital and in-hospital management of injuries. She says that whilst much attention and funding is directed toward infectious diseases, Africa is also facing a big problem treating physical injuries and wounds.

Currently in its fifth year, the Lagos-based company has so far airlifted about 1000 patients, using a fleet of planes and helicopters to rapidly move injured workers and critically ill people from remote areas to hospitals.

What conditions around hurts you the most? Stop lamenting and start acting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!