Meet The Ultimate Y’ello Care Hackathon Winner

Top three finalists of the MTN Y’ello Hackathon Challenge flanked by the left, the Chief Human Resource Officer, Esther Akinnukawa and far right by the Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue at the  closing ceremony of the just concluded MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care 2019 in Lagos, June 21st 2019

...and the two teams that nearly beat him to it

There could only be one ‘Lord of The Hackathon’ and that was obvious. From three of some of the brightest ideas we have seen in a long time, the judges of the 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative were given the painful job of picking one winner to rule them all.

How hard could that possibly be? Okay, you would understand when we share some things about the three teams;

1.Dr. Adaobi Momodu is the team lead for the Oncopadian team, a group of 3 female health practitioners, who work at the Shebaca Cancer Care, a non-profit organisation that deals in the advocacy, education, screening and treatment of cancers.

She was diagnosed with acute roman juvenile arthritis at the age of 7, and spent one year of her life in LASUTH. She was fascinated with how the arrival of the doctors meant that her pain would subside. This is one of the things that led to the creation of the Oncopad app that links up cancer patients to oncologists.

She explained that they have since realised that the biggest problem for cancer patients after diagnosis is what to do next. It’s not about the diagnosis, but the social stigma and depression of dealing with that diagnosis, That’s where the Oncopadi app comes in, it links cancer patients to treatment options and is building a large database of cancer survivors.

2. Richard Igbereke and the South X group (Adaka Iguniwei And ikuromor Mabel Ogiriki) developed the Blood Share app. He is the Water Boy! Lol! He and his team heard about the Hackathon, developed an idea in 10 minutes and he hopped on a flight from Bayelsa to Lagos. 

He explained that he wouldn’t want to see his father in trouble and somebody could help but didn’t, so that’s why he brought the app forward. He remembered the Ita Faaji building collapse and the brutal race for blood. The app links member hospitals to donors who want to give blood. 

3. Team Natal Nurse is a team of young driven lovers who want to reduce the mortality rate in Nigeria. Christy Alagbe and Oni Ayodeji who came up with the Natal Nurse website have been dating since November. 

Following the death of Ayodeji’s closest friend due to postnatal complications, work on Natal Nurse progressed in earnest. The website/app gives access to pre and ante natal videos and weekly updates via text messages. It has a vaccination tracker that helps the mother track any vaccinations required for mother and child.

You see that all the ideas were ideas! 

After days of brain-wracking and nail biting, the South X team was announced the winner! Richard was excited, but the shy winner refused to dance. To make matters worse, he refused to relieve the anxiety of his teammates in Bayelsa who were literally sitting on their phones to find out status updates from the Lagos headquarters of MTN, the venue of the finale.

How would they spend the money? He joked that he would use it to pay for food. Well,  if his teammates have anything to say, he will be in a world of trouble!