Caregiving is still very new in Nigeria. Most people here don’t understand how it works hence they mistake our health care providers for house helps
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Here is the story of a young lady, Chinyere Maureen Peter, who while growing up dreamt of becoming a medical doctor, but along the line, circumstances beyond her control prevented the plan from coming through.
Not giving up entirely on her dreams, she went for a related course in Health care as a caregiver personnel. That was after working for a while to save up money as a dispatch officer with Unilever Plc in Lagos. Today, she is the CEO of M. Elderly Care Services in Ibadan.
At M. Elderly Care Services, Chinyere offers Health care services such as providing nurses and certified caregivers for clients, and home care services.
With a clientele of 12, Chinyere has 23 members of staff who handle the tasks in Ibadan, Lagos Abeokuta.
The Journey to Caregiving Career
After completing her senior secondary school certificate examination in Delta State, Chinyere moved to Lagos for job hunting since her dreams of becoming a medical doctor had been hampered by financial challenges.
She got a job as a dispatch officer in Unilever PLC. While working on that position, a friend told her about the Healthcare institute. Since it was related to her dream career, she jumped at the opportunity and got started with her savings.
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Despite completing the training with the institute, Chinyere didn’t jump into the fray. She had to finish another course at the City and Guilds of London Institute, Lagos branch before taking the bull by the horn.
Even at that, she learned the ropes by working for Nuage Care Services. Sure of her skills, she set up her own, M. Elderly Care Services in March 2020. With her new found career as a Caregiver, she is heading to her real destination.
Sourcing capital
The business didn’t require much start-up capital. The main investment was in the training, in which Chinyere had got two certifications. “I did a few online adverts which didn’t cost me much when I started.”
Getting clients
While it did not cost her too much in starting up her business, Chinyere said it took her a lot of effort to build her business. “It took me two years to start having clients. It took me a lot of effort to build my business pages on social media.”
Breakthrough
Chinyere said her breakthrough came by consistent social media engagements and recommendations from clients. “I was consistent with my social media posts. Even when it seemed nothing was happening, I refused to let go. I kept at it, doing short videos, advertising my services because I was looking at the success ahead of me. I paid for adverts, I did a whole lot on social media, then people started asking me how far, what are your services like; let me try you to know how good at the job you were. So, I started gaining recommendations.”
Despite her success story as a health caregiver, Chinyere said she does not consider her present level as someone that has arrived yet. ”I am still pushing and by God’s grace I will get to my destination.”
An experience in the job
Chinyere shared an experience that made her wiser on the job during a chat with TheNiche. She said: “I once had a client with dementia and the family didn’t disclose the condition to me. I sent one of my staff to the client’s home to assess the patient. He called me screaming that he had been attacked and injured by the patient. He told me the patient had dementia and also violent.” She had to send money to her staff to go to the hospital for treatment which cost her a lot at that time.
“Ever since then, I always tell my potential clients to come clean on their health conditions no matter what. That experience alone made me wiser on the job,” she said.
Challenges of caregiving in Nigeria
Chinyere said people mistake their healthcare providers for house helps because it is still new in Nigeria. “Caregiving is still very new in Nigeria. Most people here don’t understand how it works, hence, they mistake our health care providers for house helps which is a big challenge. Despite the fact that we always educate our clients on how our services work, they still don’t adhere to them.
“Health caregivers offer holistic support, that is, they take care of a client’s physical, emotional, health, medical, and social wellbeing. Unlike, house help who are meant to help their employers with just physical activities,” she explains.
Japa plans?
Chinyere has no interest in leaving her business to japa because the health care business is a very promising one in Nigeria. “The health care business is a very promising business if gotten right. So, I wish to build my business here in Nigeria while partnering with health facilities in the UK and Canada.”
The caregiver, Chinyere
Chinyere Maureen Peter is a young lady from Anambra state. She grew up in Delta State before leaving for Lagos to pursue a career in Health care services. She holds a Diploma in health care. She is also a Registered Community Nurse from Oyo state college of Nursing sciences Eleyele Ibadan.
She once had an opportunity of working in the administrative department in Ibijola medical center Agbara, Ogun state. She also has various online and physical training on Business Administration. she trains people too.
