About us

Ikporo Onitsha USA is a registered 501 (c) (3) national non-profit organization of Onitsha women for Onitsha women organized for the purposes of engaging, enlightening and encouraging Onitsha women to participate in the promotion of the cultural, social, education and economic development of Onitsha people in the United States and at home. It was founded in 2003 by Dr. Joy Emetarom Egbunike and Dr. Ifeanyi Egbunike-Chukwuma with the premise that women always move with their children and never abandon their family of procreation, therefore the girl child becomes a must train and a must empower: The knowledge that “If you educate a girl, you educate a community” The indelible fact that “an empowered woman is a productive woman, a health seeking woman, and therefore a woman who can be entrusted with the survival and wellbeing of her family and community. Unfortunately the disarray, disunity, nuisance factor, negativity, animosity, which deluged the Onitsha community in USA resulted in a tactical pause in the extensive recruitment of Onitsha women into the organization. However, it did not stop our efforts to advance our mission. Over the years we have been able to advance our mission as follows: Advocacy: We identify, or are made aware of individuals or organizations in need, and we work to identify people (usually people of Onitsha descent) in and out of Nigeria with the financial capacity to assist. Although this is time consuming, we continue to experience significant success with this initiative. There is no fanfare, no publicity and often there is a request for anonymity by all individuals involved. Onitsha Youth: Summer educational program: We have advocated for financial support for this program and have raised money to support the long vacation program which is organized by Onitsha youth in University and focuses on providing a comprehensive education/preparation for Onitsha youth during long vacation. In America we support any Onitsha organization whose mission aligns with ours which includes but not limited to supporting medical missions, cultural events, and other fundraising efforts by placing ads, monetary donations, or sponsoring event souvenirs.

In 2016, during a Unity movement meeting interest was expressed in forming an Onitsha women’s organization, participants were informed by Dr. Joy Egbunike who was participating that Ikporo Onitsha is in existence. A committee was set up to investigate further and after several meetings (with Dr. Joy Egbunike & Dr. Nwaeze Ify Chukwuma), the committee decided that it is better to join the existing Ikporo Onitsha USA organization rather than form a new one. The committee included Mrs. Ngozi Okechukwu and from the Unity movement Enyi Onyeoma Chio Ubaike, Mrs. Emelia Egbuche & Mrs. Maria Chukwurah. The six women immediately embarked on an expansion outreach inviting people to our teleconferences, compiling e-mail list/phone numbers of interested members, a frequently asked question document about Ikporo Onitsha was created as was a registration form, the bank account was reestablished, as was the Ikporo Onitsha uniform. Concurrently, we are in the process of reviewing the Constitution of the organization. The constitutional review committee members were Joy Egbunike, Ifeanyi Chukwuma, Chio Ubaike, Ngozi Okechukwu, Maria Chukwurah & Dr. Azuka Obianwu. The organization’s guiding principles, greeting, name, goals, mission statement and membership eligibility were adopted as originally written. The benefits were debated and adopted. In 2017, during the New Jersey live meeting members voted and agreed on the principles of no election, and no leader but agreed on a rotational leadership by committee and empowered the working committee of six members to coordinate the affairs of the organization. The constitutional review is still in progress. Today, Ikporo Onitsha is over 150 members strong. Our target is to reach 300 members by the end of 2019 and 500 members by the end of 2020. So help us God!. Please Join Us!

Ikporo Onitsha USA is a women for women organization that was founded in 2003 to provide a forum for Onitsha women in the United States of America to develop a network of support by emphasising the importance of a united, peaceful, progressive and participatory women’s group.

Our guiding principles to Engage, Enlighten and Empower Onitsha women are based on the following:

The premise that women always move with their children and never abandon their family of procreation, therefore the girl child becomes a must train and a must empower.
The knowledge that “If you educate a girl, you educate a community”
The indelible fact that “an empowered woman is a productive woman, a health seeking woman, and therefore a woman who can be entrusted with the survival and wellbeing of herself and her family”.

To provde a forum for Onitsha women in the United States of America to develop a network of support by emphasising the importance of a united, peaceful, progressive and participatory women’s group.
To provide a networking forum to support the social, cultural and educational growth of our children and our community.
To encourage and support the development of practical solutions to health care problems in Onitsha.
To encourage community service among our children by encouraging volunteerism of Onitsha youths in service of Onitsha both in USA and at home.
To advocate for a multi-purpose skills and recreation centre in Onitsha that will serve to support the growth and development of our youth.
To facilitate and advocate for the provision of micro credit to women and youth in order to encourage entrepreneurship.

Origins of Ikporo Onitsha

Ikporo Onitsha & the Unity Movement

Mission Statement

Our Guiding Principles

Our Motto

Greetings & Response

Our Goals