Novant Health providers bring to their jobs their medical expertise – and their personal passions. This is the 10th in a series of stories showing how personal blends with professional to improve the lives of patients.

Dr. Nena Lekwauwa, a psychiatrist at Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center and native of Nigeria, has been helping the underserved people of her home country for 12 years now. In 2002, she and a group of other medical practitioners started a small clinic in the community of Abiriba where they would spend a month each year. Witnessing the need of these people who would have no medical care otherwise, the group has since expanded its mission and built a permanent clinic.