Gerald Udochukwu Onuoha, also known as D.C., was born on August 13, 1963 in Avutu Obowo to Nicholas and Margaret Onuoha of Umuada, Avutu. He was fourth of five children from the union. He has other half siblings. He attended Primary school at Avutu Central School from where he graduated in 1978 after taking his First School Leaving Certificate exams. He graduated from Avutu Technical Secondary school in 1984.
Following secondary school, he was to study law at the University of Calabar, Nigeria. After a few months at the University, he came back home and told his parents that he wanted to be a priest of the Catholic Church. According to him, this decision was directed by Holy Spirit.
Fr. Gerald Onuoha sought and was admitted to St. Peters Seminary Okigwe, where he started his journey to the Catholic Priesthood. He spent 1985 as a prefect at Okigwe. He spent his Spiritual Year at St Charles Borromeo in 1986. He graduated from Bigard Memorial Seminary, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State in 1987 with Degree in Philosophy and obtained his Degree in Theology from Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu in 1993. He was very active in extra curricula activities, including The Torch Magazine, where he was one the Editorial Board, and African Thoughts and Culture Society and Drama Group. He was honored with a traditional Igbo title of Ichie Nwafor. He left an indelible imprint at Bigard and in his follow student.
In 1998, he earned M.A in Education from Abia State University, Uturu. Until his death, he was a doctoral student at Phoenix University.
Fr. Gerald was ordained a priest on September 17, 1993 at All Saints Catholic Church Avutu Obowo. For his priestly apostolate in Nigeria he worked at St Ignatius Ubuntu Ehime; Ukwunwanagwu parish in building as their first parish priest and Our Lady of Perpetual Succor Okwe.
In 2000, he moved to the United States. He worked for the Catholic Diocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota, where was worked as Pastor in the parish and hospital chaplain. In 2006, he transferred ng to the San Bernardino Catholic Diocese, California, where he worked as a Staff Chaplain at the Federal Prisons, Victorville, CA. In 2007, he joined the United Stater Army Reserve as a Chaplain and a Captain.
Decorations, Service Medals and Badges:
- National Defense Service Medal (2010)
- Army Service Ribbon (2010)
- Bronze Star Medal (2011, 2014)
- Army Achievement Medal (2011)
- National Service Defense Medal (2011)
- Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star (2011)
- Army Service Ribbon (2011)
- Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M Device (2011)
Chronological List of Duty Assignments: USAR on Active Duty
| April 2011 – November 2011 | Staff Chaplain, (Division Asset) Iraq |
| January 2012 –February 2013 | Installation wide Chaplain, Ft. Bragg, NC |
| February 2013- April 2014 | Staff Chaplain, (Division Asset) Afghanistan |
In March 2015, Fr. Gerald Onuoha was activated by the U.S. military to serve a 13 months tour of duty in Afghanistan. During the routine pre-deployment stress test, he collapsed. Further testing revealed that he had liver cancer. He was transferred to Walter Reed Military Medical Center, in Baltimore, Maryland where he received medical treatment until his death.
Fr. Nwa D.C was a very charismatic priest. He made lots of friends in his life’s journey. He enjoyed spending time with his friends. Most of all, he loved his people of Avutu Obowo, and his people loved him. He championed various developmental projects in Avutu, and spoke candidly to his people about various challenges. He was always concerned with the welfare of the poor and what he could do to make life better for them. That remained his major concerns even until his last days.
Board Members
Partners
African Community Healthinitiative