Pastor Dr. Tony Rapu is a medical doctor, filmmaker, life coach and the Senior Pastor of the House of Freedom
His vision is to bring about developmental change to lives and communities by reaching out to different demographics through strategic interventions. He has developed innovative methods and solutions in tackling issues such as drug addiction, urban poverty, and community development. He undertakes this work in his role as Freedom Foundation’s Chairman Board of Trustees. Through mission and ministry, he continues to bring purpose, empowerment and life-changing opportunities to numerous people.
He has also produced and edited short films documenting his work ‘on the field’, including the critically acclaimed “My Lagos Diaries” documentary series. As a life coach, he has had an impact on the career of so many people in positions of authority in both the public and private sectors.
He is married to Nkoyo, and they have three children.
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Dr Tony Rapu leads the Building Nigeria Project, an initiative where he visits various communities to get first hand experience of the challenges many face just trying to survive in the city.
The Freedom Foundation led by Dr. Tony Rapu engages three basic projects which include
1. Genesis House Project
2. House of Refuge
The House of Refuge (HOR) is a drug rehabilitation and resource center which caters specifically for the rehabilitation needs of drug and alcohol dependent persons. Established in 2006. HOR provides medically assisted detoxification to individuals age 17- 59, struggling with addiction to alcohol and controlled substances such as: prescription medicine, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, crack, codeine, etc. With a facility that caters to men and women, HOR also reintegrates drug dependent individuals back to the society and equip them with life skills required to assume personal responsibility for their future.
Drug dependency is an increasing problem that cuts across every national, ethnic, religious, gender, and socioeconomic divide. It carries devastating social and economic consequences through its impacts on health, functioning and overall wellbeing.
At the House of Refuge we understand it is not a ‘one size fits all approach’ to drug/alcohol problems. We follow this through by providing a comprehensive, world class, evidence-based and holistic drug and alcohol dependency treatment for drug and alcohol dependent persons in Nigeria, including but not limited to detoxification, medical treatment, follow-up, counselling, psychotherapy etc.
Our programs are tailored to deliver client – specific solutions in an intensively therapeutic and highly supportive environment. Our programs include:
Assessment and Evaluation
Drug screening
Medically Assisted Detoxification
Individualized management
Out-patient rehabilitation services
In-patient rehabilitation services
Family Support / Therapy
Interpersonal Therapy
Group therapy
Occupational therapy
Personalized after-care
Substance Abuse Prevention Education
We strive to ensure that the ‘WHOLE’ man is catered for throughout the process to guarantee sustainable outcomes.
In order to achieve this, we utilize a ‘multidisciplinary’ team working to encourage behavior change and build internal skills in our clients.
RESIDENTIAL REHABILITATION
House of Refuge, (HOR) has a residential facility, located in a serene, distraction-free environment to enable our clients focus on our program and, also to ensure their privacy is respected and maintained.
At HOR, our clients can participate in counselling, psychotherapy, anger management, spiritual discipleship, and life skills training. Our methodology is Christ-centered. However, we accept clients of all beliefs and faiths. Our goal is to ensure that we are able to respond to a wide range of needs from medical, psychosocial, physical, mental, spiritual and behavioral.
OUT-PATIENT PROGRAM
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The ministry operates two types of out-patient programs:
- The Pre-Rehabilitation Counselling — Here, we provide a soft landing for individuals struggling with addiction and are contemplating seeking help.
- The Post-Rehabilitation Support which is a non-residential program for clients who have been detoxed, and have sufficient family support to reside at their home and make periodic visits to HOR for therapy.
In both categories, clients receive equivalent treatments similar to those that are in the residential program, but less intensive. The effectiveness of this program relies more on individual initiative and motivation.
OUTREACH AND CONSULTANCY
Addiction is a chronic illness, requiring medical and behavioral treatment, much like asthma, hypertension and diabetes. As with these illnesses, prevention is much better than treatment for the individual and the family. Thus we also engage in outreach to poor communities, schools and businesses. We provide enlightenment talks about the effects of addiction and its impacts on the person, family and society. We further provide talks on how to manage peer pressure and, to provide support for individuals struggling with addiction.
HOPE CENTRE FOR HOUSE OF REFUGE
The Drop–in Center treatment center catering to off the street drug users. The program provides treatment services for those who are seeking to overcome addiction. The treatment plan was designed to meet the minimum needs in term of providing care and support in a relaxed, non-residential context.
The facility is opened to men and women, 16-50 years, who are suffering from licit/illicit drug and alcoholic abuse and who are in need of support and structure to achieve and maintain abstinence/sobriety while living in the community or awaiting admission to the residential facility.
Many of our clients have reported that they are poly–drug users (using multiple substances). We have found that cannabis use tops the list in most instances, this is followed by heroine with only a small percentage using cocaine. There are also a few injecting drug users patronizing the center.
Though many clients accessing our services have not altogether stopped their drug usage, many have committed to and actually have reduced their drug intake. Our drop-in center is filling a much needed gap while providing free and easily accessible services for drug users. It is apparent more of these centers are needed across the country.
LOW COST REHABILITATION
While residential treatment can be a fairly costly form of treatment. Hence, the reason for our low cost treatment faclility that is accessible and cost effective for the low – income and financially handicapped population. The treatment is designed to develop each client’s personal strengths and the abilities, which are necessary for a successful recovery. Individual, family and group modalities are employed. A complete curriculum of substance abuse education covering the drug use disorder concept and all aspects of pertinent recovery skills is delivered to clients during their stay at the facility.
OUR CLIENTS
House of Refuge provides detox and rehabilitation services to individuals age 17- 59, struggling with addiction to alcohol and controlled substances such as: prescription medicine, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, crack, codeine, etc.
Our residential facility currently caters to men alone. However we are seeking an additional facility to support a residential rehabilitation program for women.
REQUEST FOR SERVICES
Should you need to talk to a substance abuse counsellor or would like to plan an intervention/treatment for someone you know,
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freedomfoundationng.org
All prospective clients for treatment must complete this form and send it to the email address above.
If you would like us to host a substance abuse workshop at your office/school/special event, please send us an email at: [email protected]
You may be saving a life today.
Please Note: Our residential rehabilitation program is NOT free of charge. We do ask clients to pay a subsidized fee that goes towards medical and professional services provided. Kindly contact us for more information about fees, sponsorship and payment plans.
Whatever the substance of abuse, the pattern of progression from use to abuse to dependence typically begins with the first rewarding experience with a psychoactive substance; a rewarding experience usually results in a person’s seeking another rewarding experience.
Other Programs
https://www.freedomfoundationng.org/house-of-refuge/
3. Bethesda Child Support
Bethesda creates an enabling environment for the development of underprivileged and disadvantaged children, for when they are nurtured and encouraged, there is no telling what they can accomplish.
He is also a stakeholder in
Genesis House, a residential rehabilitation center that provides behavioral, emotional, social and educational reformation for young women who have been victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Dr TOny Rapu also leads the House of Refuge project, an initiative that provides a home for the forgotten, rehabilitating and reintegrating drug dependent people into society by equipping them with the life skills necessary to assume responsibility for their future.
Dr. Tony Rapu
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Dr. Tony Rapu is medical doctor, filmmaker, life coach and the Senior Pastor of the House of Freedom.
His vision is to bring about developmental change to lives and communities by reaching out to different demographics through strategic interventions. He has developed innovative methods and solutions in tackling issues such as drug addiction, urban poverty, and community development. He undertakes this work in his role as Freedom Foundation’s Chairman Board of Trustees and more particularly, the Genesis House (a residential rehabilitation program for girls and young women who have been victims of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation), House of Refuge (a drug rehabilitation and resource center which caters specifically for the rehabilitation needs of drug and alcohol dependent persons ), Bethesda Child Support Agency (which mobilizes community resources with the assistance of partners to help children from impoverished backgrounds secure a better future through education) and King Solomon’s Funds (which provides empowerment programs to young men and women via career skills training, business and entrepreneurial development training, vocational skills training, counselling and mentoring). Through mission and ministry, he continues to bring purpose, empowerment and life-changing opportunities to numerous people.
He has also produced and edited short films documenting his work ‘on the field’, including the critically acclaimed “My Lagos Diaries” documentary series. As a life coach, he has had an impact on the career of so many people in positions of authority in both the public and private sectors.
He is married to Nkoyo, and they have three children. His wife,
In 16 years of existence, Bethesda has been able to offer free Educational Support to over 5000 indigent children mainly through the 4 schools that the agency had set up in poor communities. The Scholarship program at both the secondary school and university levels ensures the continuity of the education of these children.
The success of the Bethesda Model culminated in an invitation in 2015 to Harvard University to speak at The Institute of African Studies on “Social Entrepreneurship in Africa: citing The Bethesda Model” .
Our Vision is to become a model for delivering social reformation in order to achieve individual and community transformation.
Our Mission is to reach out, give hope, Rehabilitate, Educate and Empower impoverished persons in Nigeria through community-based programs and initiatives in order to achieve individual and community transformation.
Freedom Foundation is a non-profit organization, committed to addressing the ever-mounting and staggering challenges in our society by empowering individuals who are plagued by various categories of social and economic challenges. Freedom Foundation’s model of Rehabilitation, Education and Empowerment is augmented by research and awareness promotion. We actively partner with the Government, other NGOs, civil society organizations and corporate institutions to ensure the delivery of human services at the greatest points of impact.
At Freedom Foundation, we believe that everyone has the right to live freely, free from addictions, free from sex slavery, free from ignorance and free from poverty.
Our Mission is to reach out, give hope, Rehabilitate, Educate and Empower impoverished persons in Nigeria through community-based programs and initiatives in order to achieve individual and community transformation.
Our Vision is to become a model for delivering social reformation in order to achieve individual and community transformation
Our target population segments are the socially and economically disadvantaged and vulnerable men, women and children within our society.
Freedom Empowerment
Freedom Empowerment Project is an initiative that seeks to work through different yet interrelated programs with a view to providing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to the poor. The objective of this initiative is to build economic capacity among millions of young people in Nigeria who have little or no skills
Freedom-Empowerment
An initiative that seeks to work through different yet interrelated programs with a view to providing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to the poor.
The objective of this initiative is to build economic capacity among millions of young people in Nigeria who have little or no skills. These vulnerable and underprivileged young people who get frustrated due to poverty, lack of education and marketable skills, desire a better life, but faced with little opportunity for it often resort to armed robbery, hooliganism and sexual exploitation.
From vocational and skills training, to financial empowerment through micro-lending, Freedom Empowerment’s Holdings intends to target different aspects of the problem of unemployment the un(der)skilled and entrepreneurial poor.
FREEDOM EMPOWERMENT
Since inception, Freedom Foundation’s empowerment programs have provided career skills training, business and entrepreneurial development training, vocational skills training, counselling and mentoring, as well as post-training follow-up to young men and women, thus ensuring long term solutions to the challenges of poverty, unemployment, lack of marketable skills and illiteracy.
Types of skills include hospitality training, bead making, plumbing, welding, catering, fashion designs and computer training.
Our programs are dynamic usually delivered in lectures and even practical hands-on workshops. Follow the link below to see our gallery of Freedom in Action.
Other Programs
The House of Freedom is one House with Different Expressions. Each expression has a unique focus yet are connected by common threads of vibrant worship, social reformation and excellence in governance. THese expressions include:
- The Waterbrook Church
- This Present House: Popularlyt known as TPH,This Present House is a multi-cultural, INTER-GENERATIONAL FAMILY. WHATEVER YOUR AGE, BACKGROUND OR CULTURE, WE HOPE YOU WILL FEEL AT HOME WITH US. TPH is home to a diverse group of people from different denominations or no church background. Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to join us. At our services, you will find real people lifting their voices and hearts to worship God our king, be inspired by messages based on the undiluted truth of God’s word, be empowered by God’s manifest presence to live your life without limits and be all He created you to be. We are a unique assembly of worshipers passionate about the advancement of God’s purposes here on earth and living as catalysts for godly change in our societies
- God bless Nigeria:
- The Potter's House of Lagos: This is a ministry founded on biblical principles. We serve in the spirit of excellence with integrity and compassion for our community, our nation and our world. We are the house of God established to raise leaders with spiritual excellence, who influence Society through Christ.
- HolyTrinity Lagos: Holy Trinity Lagos (HTL) is a spirit filled church where we experience the power of the Word of God in the beauty of tradition. We worship with a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary genres. We are a family of God’s people with a mandate to establish Godly values in our Homes, our Communities and our Nation.
Holy Trinity Lagos (HTL) is a church with “Power, Tradition and Innovation”. Power represents our empowerment through the Holy Spirit to manifest the Gifts of the Spirit to the profit of the body of Christ. Tradition is expressed in our core values – which include love, family and simplicity – and in the mode of our services and worship. Innovation speaks to our relevance in today’s world and to the practical and effective application of technology to effectively disseminate and apply the Word of God in our homes, in our communities, in our nation and to the ends of the earth”.
At Holy Trinity Lagos (HTL), We experience the Power of the Word of God, in the beauty of Tradition, infused with the Innovation of Technology – an environment to nurture God’s people to become all He has called us to be in every facet of life.
6. One London (Power Healing and Purpose)
One London Retro Church exists to develop a spiritual network where power, healing and purpose come together. We want to reach out to Londoners, to preach and teach the Word of Truth in Christ Jesus. Our vision is to become a thriving and growing congregation in London.
Our Mission is to see people freed, Realise their potential, Be Equipped & Be Empowered To Lead & to Influence in every sphere of life. On the other hand, our Vision is to build a Kingdom-focused church, where people come together to experience God’s Love, His Healing Power and discover God’s Purpose for their lives.
Established in 2009, The Waterbrook Church (TWB) began with a focus on the “unchurched” generation. Our initial focus was and is to make Church what Christ has always wanted it to be; a place of love, peace, honesty, bonding and power; whether this is in a cafe, lounge or restaurant. Over the years, we have continued to adhere to the directions and instructions of God in order to fulfil our purpose. We believe in the powerful Word of God, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and the life of Jesus. We adhere to the mandate of making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19). We are eager to see a generation of true believers who know the truth of the Kingdom and are not swayed by the ways of the World. We are passionate about intimacy with God and we want every Believer to have a close relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Waterbrook is a member of the House of Freedom and supports the Freedom Foundation.
Pastor Tony Rapu is a phenomenal pastor, teacher, filmmaker, medical doctor, life coach, social reformer, Senior Pastor of The House of Freedom as well as Head of a group of ministries comprising This Present House, God Bless Nigeria and The Waterbrook.
Born January 1st 1957 in Kano state, as the only son to an Ibo Catholic family. Tony is the fourth of six children. His father, T.D. Rapu, worked with the Nigerian Customs while his mother, Maria Rapu (nee Ofili), was a teacher.
He grew up like any well-bred, middle-class young man as would testify those who knew him at King’s College Lagos in the 70s or in the 80s at the University of Ibadan where he took a degree in Zoology and later in Medicine.
Pastor Rapu’s vision is to bring about developmental change in lives and communities by reaching out to different demographics through strategic interventions.
He chairs freedom foundation, a non-profit, working towards social transformation and human security. He has also produced and edited short films documenting his work ‘on the field’, including the critically acclaimed “My Lagos Diaries” documentary series. As a life coach, he has had an impact on the career of so many people in positions of authority in both the public and private sectors.
While he was working as a Medical Doctor at Eko Hospital, in 1986, he gave his life to Christ at a Friendship Bible Study meeting in the Ikoyi residence of his eldest sister, Mrs Bridget Itsueli.
Shortly after his conversion, he had an epiphany and in a bid to make sense of it, his sister introduced him to a doctor of mathematics-turned-preacher called Pastor E.A. Adeboye.
Pastor Adeboye describes this meeting as a divine one. He explained that the day Tony Rapu stepped into his office, God told him the young man was one of three men who would be instrumental to the realisation of the vision of the RCCG to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
He is married to Pastor Mrs Nkoyo Rapu (Nee Bassey), and together, they have three children. They got married in 1987. At the time, Mrs Nkoyo Rapu was a lawyer working with Allan and Ogunkeye. She had come to know the Lord at a Bible study in the Victoria Island home of Gabriel and Rosalyn Oduyemi. The couple became active members of the RCCG and worshipped at the Head Quarters Church in Ebute Metta. They also held a house fellowship in the Rapu family home, at 27 Ekololu Street, Surulere, where they lived. This home ‘church’ consisted mainly of young, upwardly mobile professionals from different denominations. Here, Pastor Tony Rapu would also hold prayer meetings that would sometimes last through the night or for what seemed like unending hours during the day.
In 1991, under the direction of Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, Dr Rapu led a team of some 50 newly converted born- again Christians, mainly members of the Ekololu house fellowship, to begin the Apapa Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
Pastor Tony preached an intelligent yet uncompromising gospel attracting professionals and recruiting them into the service of the Lord. From hours spent in daily personal study and prayer, he developed training material with which he would disciple the church workers. These intense discipleship sessions comprised hours of worship, bible study, prayer and frequent seasons of fasting.
He gave the worker training groups prophetic names such as Pioneer, Elisha, Freedom, Frontline, Reformer, Government, Missionaries, and Territorial Workers. He also programmed them to see the world as our congregation, our vocation as our pulpit and our lives as the epistle that people will read to be drawn to God. He taught us that we were all in full-time ministry, whether we held secular jobs or not and that serving God is never something we do at our convenience but a cause around which we built our existence.
Many of these professionals would pastor RCCG churches alongside their regular employment.
The church was aggressive in winning souls. Evangelism was avant-garde and unconventional.
He planted churches in night clubs, cinema halls and restaurants. It was he who began the giving of individual names to RCCG parishes. He came up with then unusual names like Jesus House, City of David, Courage Centre, Hope Hall and also named the London Holy Ghost Service Festival of Life.
Pastor Dr. Tony Rapu is the Senior Pastor of This Present House, God Bless Nigeria & The Waterbrook Church. He is a medical doctor, filmmaker, life coach and the Senior Pastor of the House of Freedom. His vision is to bring about developmental change to lives and communities by reaching out to different demographics through strategic interventions. He has developed innovative methods and solutions in tackling issues such as drug addiction, urban poverty, and community development. Through mission and ministry, he continues to bring purpose, empowerment and life-changing opportunities to numerous people.
Pastor Tony Rapu has also ministered alongside great men of God, including Pastor Andy Osakwe, Pastor Poju Oyemade, Bishop Keith A. Butler, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, Dr. Bill Winston, Bishop Tudor Bismark, Rev. Matthew Ashimolowo, Pastor Andy Osakwe, Dr. Mensa Otabil, Dr. Cindy Trimm, Dr. Kay Ijisesan, Pastor Keion Henderson, Apostle Joshua Selman Nimmak, Pastor Chuks Ozabor to mention a few. He is a regular speaker at the WAFBEC Conference hosted yearly by Pastor Poju Oyemade.
Pastor Dr. Tony Rapu is active on social media. You can connect with him via his official handles on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.
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