About Us
Transforming the total man
with a touch of care…
The Story Behind Our Movement
Touch of Joy Initiative (TOJ) is the social care arm of the Joshua Leadership Project focused on Healthcare, Rural Education and Empowerment of widows and youths. In line with its core mandate, TOJ provides free medical care to indigent people in city slums and remote villages in Nigeria and Africa. It targets those who either cannot access or afford health care. Since 2014, we have provided free medical care, including surgeries, to over 10,000 people across Kebbi, Niger, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, and Lagos states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria.
The second part of the core mandate is around education. TOJ targets various rural communities, especially in Northern Nigeria where there are zero schools. We set up Rural Schools in such location which come free to children of school age and interested adults or at highly subsidized rates for those that can afford it. The other part of the TOJ Education Programme is the Undergraduate Support Programme for indigent undergraduate students, especially from rural communities in Northern Nigeria. This covers payment of their tuition fees and a stipend for their upkeep.
The goal is to “transform the total man with a touch of care”.
TOJ brings a complimentary cocktail of heartfelt care to the entire core of deprived men and women in rural communities and city slums, bringing healing to their bodies, minds, and spirit. It incorporates advocacy for effective leadership with medical care, mental and financial empowerment of youths and women (especially widows), and leadership development at all levels in each rural community.
Our Commitment
TOJ is committed to complementary cocktail of heartfelt care to the entire core of deprived men and women in rural communities and city slums, bringing healing to their bodies, minds and spirit. It incorporates advocacy for effective leadership with medical care, mental and financial empowerment of youths and women (especially widows) and leadership development at all levels in each rural community
Our Goal
To transform the total man with a touch of care.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
Connect with us
Our People and Volunteers
The standard template of a Touch of Joy community projectincorporates various medical personnel (volunteer doctors,optometrists, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, nurses), role modelsand successful entrepreneurs, skills acquisition trainers, leadershipdevelopment practitioners, and trained counselors to delivercomprehensive care to the whole man.
Our Outreach Template
The King’s Call
Key personnel within the TOJ team visit the traditional ruler and his council of leaders in the community. Through a pre-arranged courtesy visit, with aim to pay homage to traditional leadership and...
Medicare
The free medical care begins with a Health Talk centered around Healthy Living. This has always proven quite useful and effective as our experience shows that 70% of the ailments suffered by the poor in rural communities and city slums stem from ignorance of health habits.
Empowerment Programmes
We run 3 empowerment sessions during the outreaches depending on the needs of the community and the feasibility. Namely; Women Empowerment, Calling the Champions (Youth Empowerment), and Leadership Development Programme.
1.
The King’s Call
This happens right upon entering the community. Key personnel within the TOJ team visit the traditional ruler and his council of leaders in the community. This is a pre-arranged courtesy visit. The essence is to pay homage to traditional leadership. More importantly, it is used to highlight what the team sees as the needs of the community based on prior mapping of the land and suggestions as to the way forward. The leaders are taught the principles of effective godly leadership and encouraged to lead by justice and fairness and to empower their people.
2.
Medicare
The free medical care begins with a Health Talk centred around Healthy Living. This has always proven quite useful and effective as our experience shows that 70% of the ailments suffered by the poor in rural communities and city slums stem from ignorance of health habits. The Health Talk dove-tails into the main free healthcare program. Each patient first sees a trained counsellor who takes an initial assessment of the case and gives some general advice. The patient then meets the medical team, leading to the administration of the required drugs (free) or a referral to a hospital where it is a serious case.
3.
Empowerment Programmes
We run 3 empowerment sessions during the outreaches depending on the needs of the community and the feasibility.
Women Empowerment
Calling the Champions (Youth Empowerment)
Leadership Development Programme
We run 3 empowerment sessions during the outreaches depending on the needs of the community and the feasibility.
Women Empowerment
Calling the Champions (Youth Empowerment)
Leadership Development Programme
Women Empowerment:
One of the common realities in rural communities in Africa is the depth of deprivation women suffer. Basic mental empowerment and financial literacy of the rural woman unlock huge potentials and opportunities to lift the family. Depending on the setting and the unique needs, we provide skills training and sometimes provide seed capital, especially to widows.
Calling the Champions (Youth Empowerment):
We believe that Africa’s greatest treasure lies in its massive youth population. Here lies the hope for the future of the continent. However, a large percentage of the youths in rural communities and city slums are deprived and depraved, and eventually, become a social menace. An intervention program that empowers them mentally and financially becomes critical. Our Calling the Champions program brings role models, inspirational speakers, and entrepreneurial experts to equip, challenge and inspire the youths and rouse them to practical action. They undergo skills training and business start-up courses. Where itis required, we provide seed capital in the form of grants or soft loans.
Leadership Development Programme:
This is targeted at civil, youth, and faith leaders at all levels. This program seeks to empower every level of leadership in the community to take social, political, and spiritual responsibility for the overall well-being of the community.
Meet our
Board of Trustees
Dr. Smile Ndubuisi
Senior Consultant, Federal Medical Center, Ebute Meta, Lagos
Mr. Abidemi Adekoya
Media Consultant/Provincial Pastor with RCCG, Lagos
Ms Aramide Ajayi
Consultant/Head, Yewande Memorial School, Surulere, Lagos
