A medical practitioner and entrepreneur, Dr. Ikechukwu Ukweh, has launched the HOGIS Foundation in Calabar to address what he described as “society’s one-sided compassion” — the growing neglect of the boy child amid sustained focus on the girl child.

The foundation, unveiled on September 27 during Ukweh’s 50th birthday celebration, seeks to support vulnerable boys aged 10 to 19, particularly those roaming the streets or out of school. It aims to provide mentorship, education, rehabilitation, and vocational training to help them rebuild their lives.

“We have unconsciously abandoned the boy child,” Ukweh said at the event. “Today, he is at risk of sexual abuse, drug addiction, crime, and hopelessness, yet he has no one fighting for him.”

According to Ukweh, who is the Chief Medical Director of Arubah Specialist Hospital, many boys have fallen through the cracks as victims of broken homes, peer pressure, and a social system that assumes they can survive without help. “Our society cannot continue to raise broken men and expect functional families. The healing must start now,” he stated.

The foundation’s first humanitarian act was a ₦500,000 donation to the Motherless Babies Home in Uwanse, Calabar — symbolizing its call for compassion that includes both genders.

The launch attracted dignitaries across Cross River State, including Prof. Florence Obi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar; Dr. Emmanuel Ironbar, Chief of Staff to the Governor; Hon. Elvert Ayambem, Speaker of the State House of Assembly; and Engr. Obafemi Omokungbe, former Rector of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

They commended the initiative as a timely intervention and urged more Nigerians to invest in programs that rebuild the moral and emotional foundation of young men.

Ukweh said his motivation came from years of treating young male patients caught in cycles of abuse and neglect. “We must rebuild the boy child before we can rebuild our communities,” he said.

The HOGIS Foundation plans to expand its activities to include mentorship clubs, life-skill programs, and family reintegration initiatives across schools and communities in Cross River State and beyond.