'I wanted her to be proud': Father raises awareness about malaria after losing daughter to the disease

Olugu Ukpai is using drumming to raise awareness about malaria after losing his daughter to the disease.

While studying at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) as an international student, Ukpai received a life-changing call from his wife in Nigeria.

“We lost one of our twin daughters to malaria,” says Ukpai.

After that, he founded the Halifax Multicultural Drummers, also known as the Malaria Warriors, who performed for African Heritage Month Thursday.

“Giving up is something that I wouldn’t want to do because of my daughter,” says Ukpai.

“I wanted her to be proud of me that I’m doing something positive, after she passed on, to create awareness about this disease.”

Kalem Beaver, African Advisor for Nova Scotia Community College, says the Ivany Campus has about 300 international students, who come from all different backgrounds and areas of the world.

“It’s nice to show a part of their own culture here on campus,” Beaver says about the performance.

If people come together as a community, Ukpai says they can overcome any challenge that comes their way.

In 2022, about 608,000 people died of malaria compared to 610,000 in 2021, according to a 2022 World Health Organization report on malaria.

To fight the disease, people must be educated, Ukpai says.

“Education is the foundation,” he says.

“I use the power of the drum to bring global Halifax together so that we can fight against this common enemy called malaria.”

With files from Jim Kvammen.

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