In 1989, the family of NFL star Sam Acho started a medical mission in Nigeria; A few years later, his two NFL Man of the Year nominations for Walter Payton brought $100,000 to the permanent hospital

Sam Acho’s NFL honor helped his family raise $100,000 for a Nigerian hospital (Getty) Sam Acho’s family started providing free medical care in Nigeria in 1989. His parents, Dr. Sonny Acho and Christie Acho, wanted to help people who had limited access to health care. Their annual medical missions treated thousands of patients, but the teams could only stay for a short time. The family eventually began working on a permanent medical center that could serve the community year-round.Years later, Acho’s NFL career helped further that goal. His two Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award nominations in 2016 and 2017 combined for $100,000 in charitable donations. Acho directed the money to Living Hope Christian Ministries to help fund the hospital project. Living Hope Medical Center opened in June 2017.

Sam Acho joined his parents’ medical mission as a teenager

Acho grew up in Dallas, Texas, but his family’s connection to Nigeria remained strong. His parents spent years working to improve access to health care in the country, returning regularly to provide free treatment to people struggling to find medical help.Their work was organized through Living Hope Christian Ministries, founded by Acha’s father, Dr. Sonny Acho. Medical missions brought health workers into communities where local facilities often lacked basic resources. Doctors, nurses and other volunteers treated patients during visits that usually lasted around two weeks.As a teenager, Acho joined his parents on a medical mission. He wasn’t there as a doctor. Instead, he helped with tasks such as crowd control and guiding patients through the treatment process. Seeing the conditions firsthand gave him a better understanding of the work his parents had undertaken.In an interview with the University of Texas at Austin in 2023, Acho recalled a makeshift facility where medical teams worked.“They would go to these ‘hospitals’ – I use quotation marks because they were really just abandoned buildings in the village – and they would provide free medical care,” Acho said.The teams treated thousands of people during their visits, but the need for health care continued after they left. Patients could get help while they were volunteers in country, but many had nowhere to reliably turn for further treatment after the mission ended.Acho’s father wanted to find a permanent solution. His vision was to build a permanent medical center that could provide year-round care. The family spent years traveling to Nigeria and treating patients during short visits. The hospital would allow this work to continue between missions.“This was my father’s dream and vision,” Acho said. “We went for two weeks and treated as many people as we could – thousands of people. But we left and people still needed help.”The family began the hospital project in 2016. Building a permanent facility required significant funding, and the family continued to look for ways to support the work. Acho’s NFL career soon gave him the opportunity to contribute through charitable donations tied to his award nominations.

Sam Acho’s two NFL award nominations brought the hospital $100,000

Acho played college football at the University of Texas before joining the NFL. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He later played for the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers while continuing to support his family’s charitable work.His community involvement has earned him two nominations for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. The award recognizes players for their work off the field along with their achievements in football. Acho was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2016 and 2017.Each nomination came with a charitable donation of $50,000. Acho directed both donations to Living Hope Christian Ministries, bringing the total for the hospital project to $100,000.The first donation arrived just months after the family decided to continue construction. Acho recalled his reaction when he learned the money could go directly to the project.“When was I nominated for this award?” Acho remembered asking. “It was only a few months after we said ‘Let’s build.’ So $50,000 went directly to Living Hope Christian Ministries, which went directly to the hospital.”His second nomination in 2017 brought in an additional $50,000. Together, the two contributions provided the family with $100,000 to help move the hospital project forward.The money was part of a broader fundraising effort rather than the sole source of support. Acho and his family also received help from people in the football community and supporters associated with the University of Texas. Fundraising events have also helped the project, including a celebrity waiter event that raised $60,000 in 2016.Living Hope Medical Center opened in June 2017. The facility gave patients a permanent place to seek medical care and helped the family exceed the limits of its annual medical missions. Instead of relying solely on visiting teams, the community now had year-round access to the medical center.The opening marked a major step for the project, which had grown from a family operation since 1989. Ach’s parents had spent years providing care during short visits, and the hospital offered a way to continue that service after the volunteers returned home.Reflecting on what the project has achieved, Acho said, “It was amazing to see.” He also talked about how one person’s beliefs and actions could have an impact beyond their immediate community.In Acho’s case, the hospital was a way to support a mission his parents started long before his NFL career. His two award nominations brought the facility $100,000 in charitable donations, while years of medical missions and broader fundraising helped bring the project to fruition.Living Hope Medical Center gave the family’s work a permanent base in Nigeria. What began as an effort to provide free treatment during annual visits eventually grew into a medical facility serving patients throughout the year.