For Hajiya Rukaiya Abubakar Kushu, a near-death experience from pregnancy complications led her to start helping less privileged women with similar conditions. What started as assisting women who faced gynecological problems over the years grew into offering assistance in various sectors.
‘My passion for humanitarian work, especially in maternal and child health, was inspired by a near-fatal pregnancy complication I survived. I underwent three different surgeries during birth, and in each surgery, I had to travel abroad for medical treatment. After my third birth, doctors recommended a permanent stoppage of childbirth; in other words, I should be prevented from giving birth for the rest of my life.
‘That painful experience was what drove me into thinking of coming up with something that will save the lives of the less privileged women suffering from gynaecology-related sickness,’ she told Daily Trust.
She said the experience of her maid prompted her, in 2018, to establish the Abubakar Kushu Foundation, named after her father, to help less privileged women and children. ‘Divorced due to her gynecological complications and sent back to her parents with ten children, she spent two years at home battling with the illness and at the same time taking care of her children. The day she told me her story, I could not sleep throughout the night.
‘In the morning, I took her to the hospital and after all the necessary checkups, the doctors said she needed to undergo a minor surgery. And to my surprise, the cost of the surgery was just N30,000. So, I went back home with the intention of raising funds from family and friends.
‘I posted the woman’s case on my WhatsApp status and requested my followers to come to her rescue by donating money to cover the expenses of her surgery. In less than five minutes, people started sending their donations. It was on a Friday, I recall, and by Monday, I went to the hospital with over N200,000 in my account.
‘After the woman was treated and discharged, I told the doctors that I wanted to spend the remaining money on other patients suffering from related sickness.’
After a meeting with the management of the hospital, her request was granted, and she spent the remaining money on treating other patients. I saved the lives of seven women with the remaining money.
Following these incidents, she told the management of the hospital to contact her whenever they received such cases, and since then she has been helping women with such complications, especially the less privileged, divorced and widows. These categories of women have all been treated free of charge under this arrangement.
‘All I was after then was what I could do to ensure no woman or child suffers in silence when compassion and action could save their lives. The foundation was to handle only gynecological surgical cases because that was what I suffered. That was how I started because I realised that many women were dying simply because they didn’t have the means to treat themselves.’
A few months into the activities of the foundation, Rukaiya also saw the need for the foundation to include children suffering from pediatric-related illnesses in its programs. She said, ‘So, from women suffering from gynecological-related cases, we included children with pediatric cases in our activities. This is because anything to do with the mother has to do with her child.’
An activity that started on her WhatsApp status gradually evolved into a foundation today known as the Abubakar Kushu Foundation, which gave birth to El-Kush Community Development Initiatives, another body rendering assistance to communities in need.
Through both organisations, Rukaiya champions advocacy to policymakers, leads grassroots sensitisation, and works with communities to improve access to healthcare services. With support from family and friends, she has facilitated over 200 free surgeries, as well as providing financial support for Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) patients.
‘I have achieved all these through updating my WhatsApp status with my activities. Family and friends view and donate. My foundation has never received a donation from any foreign or local organisation. Alhamdulillah, together we are saving the lives of many vulnerable and less privileged people.
‘Whenever I hear of a patient with gynae complications in need of help, I personally go there and assist the patient with the little I have and also solicit funds on her behalf through social media, and people do contribute immensely,’ she said.
The 43-year-old mother of three has, through both platforms, remained committed to turning empathy into action, restoring dignity, and building equity in underserved communities.
Beyond health, she’s involved in humanitarian services as she has mobilised resources to provide over 200 wells and boreholes, building and equipping more than ten community schools with solar power, sanitary facilities, housing for teachers, and recruitment of qualified staff.
Rukaiya’s humanitarian services are also extended to provide potable water because of the demand from various communities. ‘What normally happens is that after I post a project like a local well on my WhatsApp status, someone indicates interest in building a mosque around the well, or if it’s a mosque that I posted, a donor will volunteer to construct a well or a borehole around the mosque.’
Also, Rukaiya was able to take off the streets over 250 out-of-school children and enrolled them into western and Islamic schools, providing them with uniforms, books, and other learning materials. She shoulders their school fees and other fees with a view to retaining them in the schools.
Apart from that, Rukaiya has also renovated several Islamiyya schools in her community through the assistance of family and friends, saying, ‘As a result of my frequent visits to the schools where my sponsored students are studying, I observed that the structures of some of the schools need renovations and therefore initiated a special project for that.
‘Some of the benefiting schools, which operate as purely Islamiyyah, now combine both Islamic and Western education,’ she said.
Rukaiya also empowers women with take-off capital for businesses, thereby promoting financial inclusion and self-reliance among women.
Explaining the secret of her success in humanitarian services, Rukaiya said: ‘I believe the secret behind my success is nothing but honesty, transparency and commitment. We do things openly; we don’t hide anything, and whatever you ask us to do with your money, we will ensure that we spend the money judiciously and for the purpose it was meant for. Whatever we do, we post it for donors to see.
‘Let me tell you an incident that involved my sister. She sent $100 from abroad as a donation from her Christian friend. It was during Christmas, so I treated a Christian child with part of the money, and when the girl was discharged, I gave her the remaining balance to celebrate Christmas. I later posted the details of how I spent the $100, and the donor was delighted when she saw it on my WhatsApp status.
‘Just two weeks ago, Favor and her mother visited my house and spent time with me. We took pictures which I posted on my WhatsApp status with the following question: Do you remember this girl? You need to see the reactions of the donors.’
She said she was motivated by the smiles on the faces of the less privileged and vulnerable families. ‘This is what I enjoy most in my life, and Alhamdulillah, I am really achieving my objectives through the activities of the foundations,’ she concluded.
Those whose lives have been touched one way or the other spoke on the emphatic nature of hajiya Rukaiya.
Malam Rabi Muhammad is the maid speaking to Weekend Trust said that she worked with Rukaiya as a maid before she got to know about her health condition and It was her co-worker that btold her about her condition.’After we had a discussion, she took me to the hospital and paid the bills for the surgery conducted on me. It’s exactly seven years now.’
‘After I was discharged and fully recovered, I returned to her house and continued with my work. However, courtesy of Hajiya’s generosity, she asked me to relocate to her residence; so, as I speak with you now, I reside in her residence. Sincerely, I don’t know how to thank Hajiya for all the things she had done for me. Asides myself, my parents have also benefited from her kindness.’
She noted thatHajiya Rukaiya is a rare person with passion for helping the less privileged and vulnerable familiesin society. She is just a kind person whose concern is to help and assist the needy. I have known her to be like this since I met her ten years ago and has not changed.’ she attested.
Malam Usman Muhammad Gambo, founder of Inara Islamic Academy at Fadamar Mada quarters, one of the schools that benefited from the humanitarian services from the Abubakar Kushu Foundation, noted that Hajiya built three additional classrooms and furnished them with seating facilities and also renovated the three existing classrooms and toilets in the school. ‘Annually, Hajiya pays not less than N360,000 as school fees for these students besides their expenses for books and other items. I recently forwarded the names of three additional students to Hajiya requesting her to sponsor their education and she promised to get back to me,’ he said.
Also commenting on Rukaiya’s contributions to the education sub-sector, Malam Ibrahim Muhmmad Inuwa, founder of Madarasatul Tathnim Litahfizul Qur’anil Kareem Wal-Dirasatil Islamiyyah, Fadamar Mada, confirmed that Rukaiya had renovated his school and provided it with seating and teaching facilities.
‘She has been sponsoring 20 students comprising 10 orphans and 10 children of the less privileged families in the school for two years now. She asked the management of the school to select the beneficiaries from within the community and she had been paying their school fees annually,’ he concluded.
Recently, Rukaiya was inaugurated as an AIM-MNCHN Advocacy Champion under the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN). AIM-MNCHN-Maternal Neonatal Child Health and Nutrition is an organisation handling a project about reducing maternal mortality.
She is also an active member of several health, peacebuilding, and development committees under the Bauchi State Network of Civil Society Organizations, and a member of the Forum of Executive Directors of CSOs in Bauchi State.
‘Through these platforms and my foundations, I remain committed to turning empathy into action, restoring dignity, and building equity in underserved communities.
A holder of a B.Sc. in Sociology and Anthropology, a M.Sc. in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Rukaiya is currently the Deputy Registrar and Head of the Guidance and Counselling Unit at the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi.