The Regenerate Initiative (TRI) for Community Health and Youth Development is a product of the professional insight and academic journey of the Founder and National Coordinator, Dr. Semiu Bello, who is a media and commination expert, researcher and scholar, with special interest in health and development communication. Semiu Bello studied HND, B.A. M.Sc and PhD in Mass Communication as well as Master’s Degree in Media Resources Management.
The idea of an NGO that focuses on community health and youth development was birthed during his PhD scholarship at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand where he consolidated his scholarship on health and development communication. The insight from both fields of health and development communication drove the establishment and the operation of TRI.
Health communication, which is defined as a multidisciplinary field of study and practice that applies communication evidence, strategy, theory, and creativity to promote behaviors, policies, and practices that advance the health and well-being of people and populations, has reflected profoundly in many of Dr. Semiu Bello’s academic publications.
Development communication refers to the use of communication to facilitate social development. Development communication engages stakeholders and policy makers, establishes conducive environments, assesses risks and opportunities and promotes information exchange to create positive social change via sustainable development. Development communication techniques include information dissemination and education, behavior change, social marketing, social mobilization, media advocacy, communication for social change, and community participation. Several publications of Dr. Semiu Bello have been in the direction of development communication as well.
During the defense of his PhD thesis at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, the external examiner, Prof. C. Kay Weaver posed a question to Dr. Semiu Bello thus: ‘what is your major take away from your thesis’? ‘Establishment of a non-government organization that would focus on community health and youth development in Nigeria’, was Dr. Bello’s spontaneous response! This indeed marked the conceptualisation stage of the NGO.
The initial name of the NGO, however, was Network for Communications, Health Promotions and Development. This name was approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria in 2017 and newspaper publication followed immediately. After this stage, there was a long silence as no further action was taken. It got stuck!
On Saturday 4th May, 2019, Dr. Semiu Bello was involved in a fatal accident which fractured his right ankle. Dr. Bello was in bed for two years and went through three different surgeries. Consequent upon the accident, the right leg became about 4cm shorter than the left leg and was not healing as expected. In the long-run, Dr. Bello landed at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Dala, Kano where Ilizarov Surgery Procedure was performed on the right leg to lengthen it equal the length of the left leg.
The Ilizarov surgical method of distraction osteogenesis (regeneration of bone and soft tissues) for repairing complex fractures of the bones is the preferred treatment for cases featuring a high risk of bacterial infection; and for cases wherein the extent and severity of the fracture precludes using internal fixators to immobilise the damaged bone for proper repair. In a simple language, Ilizarov surgical procedure is used to lengthen limbs wherein a new bone would grow to cover for the lost length.
This new bone that grows to lengthen the limb as required is called REGENERARE. Technically, therefore, regenerate implies rebirth, refresh, reform, rekindle, renew, improve, revive, reborn, revitalize, restore, reinvigorate. This is where the spirit and the idea of The Regenerate Initiative arose. The regenerate regenerated (reinvigorated, revitalized, improved) the right leg of Dr. Bello and could walk better today! In the process, Dr. Bello didn’t spend less than ₦5,000,000($10,909.89), the larger chunk of which was donation from friends, associates and well-wishers.
Given the overwhelming support Dr. Bello enjoyed during this hard time and my love for the community development, Dr. Bello rekindled the spirit of the NGO to replicate the kind of gestures Dr. Bello received to support many less privilege and vulnerable groups in Nigeria. Therefore, the Nigerian society needs to be regenerated, rebirthed, reformed, refreshed, revived, revitalized, reinvigorated and in our context, focusing on two broad areas: community health and youth development.
It was on the sick bed in 2021 that the Founder and National Coordinator of TRI, Dr. Semiu Bello, who is passionate about community and youth development, reactivated the registration process of the NGO and at this time, The Regenerate Initiative was successfully registered. All said and done, The Regenerate Initiative for Community Health and Youth Development was registered on the 4th of June 2021. While the full name of the NGO is The Regenerate Initiative for Community Health and Youth Development, the short form is The Regenerated Initiative (Tri). TRI has since been in operations by helping people in various developmental ways.
Fund and resources mobilisation are very essential in achieving the lofty objectives of The Regenerate Initiative (TRI) yet, funds and resources are quite challenging to come-by. Given the passion to regenerate the Nigerian society through community health and total youth development, we remain resolute and we are motivated to do our best. Therefore, we have relied majorly on the following channels for fund and resources mobilisation: