The Adventist College of Nursing Sciences Jengre (ACONSJ) is a member of the worldwide network of over 80 nursing training institutions (4 of which are in Nigeria) spread across many continents which are owned and operated by the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church to provide holistic health care education. The college is nestled in the serene and beautiful savanna valley immediately below the rolling escarpment hills that form the Plateau Highlands at Jengre, Bassa Local Government Area. Jengre is located in the northern part of Plateau state, close to the border with Kaduna State in north central Nigeria.

Responding to the acute lack of trained medical personnel in northern Nigeria the Northern Europe-West Africa Division of the SDA church, posted Nursing Sister Elfrida Yvonne Eurick from the Adventist School of Nursing Kwahu, Ghana in 1975 to SDA Hospital Jengre to establish a School of Nursing. Unfortunately, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria nationalized voluntary agency schools and hospitals all over the country including Jengre which was taken over in October 1976. Undaunted, “Sister” as she became popularly known, remained in Jengre for years hoping things would change. While waiting she and Dr. (Mrs)Inger Karlman came up with the idea of rural primary health care clinics which was mostly unknown in Nigeria at that time. They hoped that these clinics would eventually be used as community posting stations by the  school of nursing. Three months after the takeover they opened the first clinic at Ramin Kura, Kaduna State on 1st January 1977. These were followed by others at Warsa and Ramin Kura. Even in this endeavour the lack of trained manpower was very pressing.    Originally, from British Guiana, Sister Eurick who was distinguished as the best nurse tutor in Kwahu took this challenge head on by horning her teaching skills to the informal training of local volunteer workers to register patients, weigh children, take blood pressures, do urine tests etc. Attesting to her teaching skills, Dr. Jean-Marc Michel remarked: “A great teacher, she had many pupils…because she enjoyed passing on her nursing skills to the local people. In recent years we have sponsored some of these trained volunteers to schools of health technology and all have been at the very top of their classes because of Sister’s excellent background teaching.” Subsequent medical directors of Jengre SDA Hospital notably Dr. Akin Obisanya and Dr. Randell Skau kept striving to establish a health workers training institution at Jengre being pressured by the acute shortage of qualified nurses for patient care in the hospital.

Sister Eurick did not only did teach nursing in her informal school she also invested personal resources in the training of young people in various fields. Among these were Yohanna U. Harry and Sarah Koshi whom she helped to teachers’ training colleges as well as Manoah Yohanna who she was sponsoring to train to be a medical doctor before her untimely death in a motor accident on Monday 30th January 1984. Harry joined the gospel ministry and served as the chaplain of the hospital for seven years where he experienced first hand the dire need for trained nurses. When he eventually became the President of the Northern Nigeria Conference of the church he teamed up with Manoah to actualize Sister’s vision of establishing a College of Nursing in Jengre.

Sister Eurick’s investment paid off long after her demise when the college opened its gates on 3rd December 2023 to admit 95 eager students with Pastor Harry as the pioneer Chairman of the Governing Board and Manoah, whose medical education was truncated by Sister’s death, as the pioneer Registrar.  Elder Emmanuel Adetunji Oyedele and Elder Yohanna Sale are the pioneer Provost and Bursar respectively while Miss Sheerah Bamnas Laiya was the first student that enrolled in the new college. From his new base in the United States of America, Dr. Skau donated the funds to lay the foundation of a female students’ hostel. Dr. Obisanya on his part was swift to contribute an equipped vocational training centre for entrepreneurship/innovation education which is the cutting-edge strategy for sustainability of the medical missionary enterprise.

At the Adventist College of Nursing Sciences Jengre our vision is to be a Centre of Excellence in the art and science of nursing care and caring.  Our mission is to nurture skilled professionals who combine knowledge and global best practices with virtue and compassion to provide holistic health care for the restoration of mental, physical and spiritual wellness. At ACONSJ we prepare young people for successful careers while deepening their spiritual journey through the integration of academic rigor with spiritual growth and a commitment to excellence in service to God and humanity.