At least 800 residents of Awha Ndiagu, an agrarian community in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, were last weekend given free health care services by a team of medical personnel in a 2-day free medical care sponsored by Okeke Obinna.
Speaking with newsmen at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Hospital, venue of the exercise, Obinna said he was touched by the health challenges faced by members of the community.
He further noted that the programme was driven by passion for service and gratitude to God, stressing that it had no political undertone.
“I invited a team of medical doctors to come and embark on a 2-day free medical care for my people.
“The doctors from Abuja, Lagos and Enugu are screening, diagnosing and giving drugs to the patients. Special cases are being referred to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital.
“I discovered that one of the major reasons why our people die prematurely is lack of access to medical treatment and then I told my wife that anytime I have the means, I will start a foundation that will help in bringing those sensitive facilities so that our people can access them.
“The starting point is what we have done today by bringing these doctors here; we did it last year in Nsukka, my wife’s place; probably next year, we will go to another community that has serious need.
“What we are doing is purely on our own sponsorship; we are not getting fund from anywhere; it is a way of telling God ‘thank you for how you have blessed us’.
“What I am doing has no political undertone; it is just a passion, a dream, I am not aspiring for any position come 2015, I don’t intend to aspire. For me and my wife, we don’t have any political aspiration unless it comes by miracle.”
Leader of the medical team from Abuja, who also spoke with journalists, Dr. Taiwo Fasoranti described the exercise as one of the best ways to bring about the much needed transformation in Nigeria.
According to him, “we have seen a lot of hypertension, diabetes, and a lot of eye illnesses. Lucky enough, the couple that brought us has been so generous to have provided a team of eye doctors as well, with a consultant ophthalmologist, so we refer eye cases to the ophthalmologist.
“We have also seen a lot of malnutrition on the part of children, we have seen a lot of under-nutrition, we have seen a lot of fungal infection, we are trying our best to do deworming and to explain the importance of good nutrition to the mothers so that they can have healthy children.
“I am humbled, I am overwhelmed by what God is using one Nigerian to do here these two days. In Abuja, I see a lot of stupendously rich people, if they all start doing this kind of thing in their communities, there will be a lot of transformation in Nigeria,” he said.
