Ebibeyín is a city that has, for the past four years, been the place where the NGO OVA carried out medical campaigns. Founded by four young people, NGO OVA focuses on healthcare and health education for communities with limited resources and restricted access to medical centers.
The majority of their medical work is in the Angokong Health Center, located in the Diocese of Ebibeyín.
MANUEL SILVESTRE
Doctor and founder of OVA NGO
From there, our base, we travel to different villages deep in the jungle of Ebibeyín, so to speak. We hold medical consultations and provide training on disease prevention, because one really important thing there is that the general population lacks health education. As a result, many diseases stem directly from that lack of education.
Years of work have left their mark on both the local community and the doctors themselves, who have experienced deeply human encounters. Silvestre shared one such story:
MANUEL SILVESTRE
Doctor and founder of OVA NGO
There was one person I remember who had a skin infection on her leg. A really nasty ulcer was forming… she was in pretty bad shape. We treated her, followed up, gave her antibiotics — it was a full treatment process. Then we left. Three years later, we saw that woman again. We didn’t even remember her, because we see so many patients each day in Equatorial Guinea. But she remembered us — and she was completely healed.
Collaboration with the local archdiocese has been key to the project’s development. In fact, their support was exactly the help OVA needed.
NICOLÁS BAQUERO
Marketing Director, Eme de Mar
Our relationship with the Archdiocese of Ebibeyín is very close. Not only have they seen all the work OVA has done, but they also make it possible for us to access those health centers. Ebibeyín isn’t a single village. It's an archdiocese, and many hospitals and health centers fall directly under its jurisdiction. So naturally, our relationship with them is direct.
Baquero also emphasized the impact OVA has had on access to healthcare:
NICOLÁS BAQUERO
Marketing Director, Eme de Mar
It has been truly remarkable to see that so many people have been able to receive care in those health centers, where waiting lists are extremely long or where patients often can’t be seen at all.
The future of NGO is to remain committed to improving healthcare in Equatorial Guinea.
BAM
Trans. CRT
