Rev. JohnBosco Ikemeh
Founder
Life is a journey, and mine began in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where I was born into a family of ten children. In Nigeria, as in many African countries, there is no free public education. My parents could not afford tuition for all ten of us and encouraged me, a middle child, to learn a trade rather than pursue formal schooling. But God had other plans.
A parish priest, Rev. Kevin Ikpah, stepped in and made it possible for me to attend school, changing the course of my life forever. I joined the Dominican Order of the Province of St. Joseph the Worker (Nigeria and Ghana). I professed my vows in August 1986 and was ordained a Catholic priest in December 1996. My academic journey led me to the University of Ibadan, where I earned an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a graduate degree in Clinical Psychology. I also earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology (Systematic Theology) at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California.
I later joined the Dominican Order of the province of St. Joseph the Worker, Nigeria and Ghana. I professed my vows as a religious in August 1986 and was raised to the Presbyteral Order of the Catholic priesthood in December 1996. I graduated from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria with an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a graduate degree in Clinical Psychology. I further earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology (Systematic Theology) from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California.
In ministry, I have served in several capacities: I am presently Pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church and a chaplain at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), both in Charleston. From 2005 to 2011, I was privileged to serve the men and women in uniform as the Catholic priest at Joint Base Charleston. During my time in California, I was a resident priest at St. Theresa Church in Oakland while studying at Berkeley. I also served as a parochial vicar at Assumption of the BVM Church in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and chaplain at Lebanon Catholic School. I was also a parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s in York, Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2000.
Life eventually took me to Abakaliki where I discovered the gross poverty that is endemic in Ebonyi State. In streets of Abakaliki, many school age children are still found working as street "hawkers" instead of learning in a classroom. Few, if any, of those children could hope to attend school unless new opportunities are created for them. This led me to found African Education Outreach (AEO), a public nonprofit organization dedicated to providing quality, inclusive K-12 education in Nigeria.
AEO’s mission is to create a welcoming educational environment with a curriculum designed to empower students—regardless of faith, creed, tribe, ethnicity, or social status—to pursue their dreams and build a brighter future.
