Nii Okai @ 40: Saving 40 hearts
The saying is that life begins at 40 and for most people when they hit this milestone, they celebrate in style but that’s not the case for ace Gospel artiste, Nii Okai.
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He turned 40 on September 19 and has chosen to support people in need.
As part of his celebrations, NIi Okai is raising funds to support free open heart surgeries for 40 children with congenital heart problems at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.
The free surgery, according to Nii Okai, is his way to show gratitude to God for His providence.
This is the second time the musician is embarking on such a campaign. The first was when he celebrated the 10th anniversary of his album, Moko Be, when he raised funds for surgery for 10 hole-in-heart children.
The free operation is being spearheaded by the Nii Okai Saving Hearts Foundation (NOSHF), which is also advocating the establishment of a cardiothoracic centre at KATH to cater for those with heart problems in the country’s northern sector.
At a press launch last Friday, which also marked World Heart Day, Nii Okai said the foundation decided to scale up the number of surgeries owing to the success of the earlier 10 hearts campaign.
NOSHF is partnering the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST ) in the exercise.
As part of their committment, the SRC would pay one cedi from each student’s dues towards the project.
On Saturday, October 21, the KNUST campus would play host to a grand concert to raise awareness for the campaign.
Medtronics, dealers in hospital consumables, has also joined the campaign and pledged to supply for free, all the consumables needed for the surgery.
A franchise manager of the company, Mr Emmanuel Seyram Duku, said they have earmarked $40,000 to support the project.
NIi Okai said, “much as we remain committed to raising funds for the sustainability of the campaign, we are more excited about raising partners across the globe to provide long term lasting solutions and driving heart-health campaigns.“