The bmpUnited COVID-19 Assistance Program, BCAP, also called bmpUnited COVID-19 Palliative Care, was scheduled to start on July 1, 2020. But the suffering facing the population that bmpUnited served became unbearable. It was the increased suffering that created a sense of urgency to start the project ten days earlier than planned. BCAP began on June 20, 2020, serving the first beneficiary at 15:56:30 PM (NT or Nigerian Time). The process of making a difference in people’s lives had begun in earnest.
BCAP was designed to show that bmpUnited cares, not necessarily to solve all the COVID-19 problems that people faced. BCAP was only designed to make a difference, as indeed are all community programs managed by bmpUnited nonprofit company. We realized that not even Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was capable of solving all of the challenges that people faced. That was why the scope of our assistance was narrow and targeted.
BCAP was a one time financial assistance to individuals and all members of a family with a cap for each person and for each family. The financial assistance was distributed not unlike the stimulus package in the United States whereby the government deposited a given sum of money in the bank accounts of citizens. For those we did not have their bank accounts, a BCAPD or bmpUnited COVID-19 Assistance Program Distributor was appointed. To ensure that the BCAPD did their job properly, the proposed recipient was required to send a confirmation message through bmpUnited website, Facebook or WhatsApp account.
bmpUnited started the assistance campaign with an initial sizable budget. The budget determined how many people could be served. By the time the campaign was over bmpUnited had served over two hundred individuals and families and deposited 2.2 million Naira into bank accounts.