Our Member Feature this month is on one of our newest members MyHero; a child centred organisation leveraging the power of technology to change the lives of children with life limiting conditions.
Have you ever had a hero? If yes, who was your Hero? Can you imagine what it would have been like to meet your hero growing up as a young child?
Millions of children are living in stark reality, having to face and overcome a lot of challenges at a young age. Research has revealed a significant rise in the number of children living with life limiting conditions over the past 17 years. The number of children in England with life limiting or life threatening conditions have increased to 86,625 in 2017/18 compared to 32,975 in 2001/02. This is an increase from 7 per 10,000 in 2001 to 66.4 per 10,000 in 2017/18. This number is predicted to increase by 11% or more by 2030.
In a time where provision capacity of existing organisations were impacted as a result of coronavirus, there is a call for innovation to ensure that wishes of children living with critical illness are fulfilled by giving them the opportunity to connect easily with their heroes. As the future becomes increasingly digital, the need for alignment and strategy becomes essential.
Welcome to MyHero, a purpose driven healthtech organisation striving to harness the power of technology for greater social change. MyHero was founded by Chukwuebuka Okwor, who was born into a family of health care workers.
Chuk has built up 5 + years of experience working in healthcare as a nurse. Witnessing the effect the pandemic had on third sector organisations and frustrated by the lack of sufficient traditional support for children living with life-limiting conditions, his life work is now to leverage technology as a bridge between children and their heroes.
In a bid to help solve the deep seated inefficiencies which were exacerbated by the pandemic, MyHero is in the process of developing an app to link children living with life limiting/critical conditions with their heroes. The vision is to create lasting memories and positively impact the life of the children by giving them he opportunity to connect with influential public figures they look up to through a flexible, convenient, safe and secure platform.
The benefit created goes beyond the technology, as it can lead to a tangible impact on these children's mental and emotional wellbeing. While lockdown might have eased, covid remains a part of life. The digitisation service provided by MyHero will be critical in ensuring a continued level of safety. It will help protect service users who are still vulnerable due to their condition while, at the same time, allowing them to experience the impact of connecting with their heroes.
Digital revolution has transformed many aspects of life. Even as our lives return to some form of normality we face some inevitable changes. People and organisations all over the world have had to adjust to new ways of work and life by adapting to technology. Through strategic partnerships with children’s hospitals, existing charity and various organisations, we strive to leverage technology to achieve our mission to create lasting memories for these children, even if for a brief moment.
Alone we can do so much. Together we can achieve more.