BY FRANCIS IGATA

Umunkaka community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state came alive recently on the occasion of the formal opening of the new Primary Healthcare Centre tagged “Peace Health Centre”

The joy and elation of the people was understandable. For decades, the densly populated community situated in the heart of Nsukka, had been without any visible healthcare facility to attend to the growing medical needs of pregnant women, children, the aged and others.

But thanks to the benevolence and public spiritedness of an indegene, Dr. Sam Maduka Onyishi, Founder/CEO, Peace Mass Transit who built and equipped the health centre to mark his 50th birthday, the community now prides itself as having a befitting and well-equipped healthcare facility to attend to needs of the people.

Speakingat the Centre’s official commissioning, the Town Union President, Aneze Emmanuel, described the coming of the facility  as “a  prayer answered”. He said the donor, had been touching millions of lives far and wide because of his humanitarian disposition and belief  in serving God through uplifting the lot of the poor, the needy and down-trodden.

“Earlier this year, precisely in March, this Town Union that unites six villages that makes up Umunkaka namely Amukwa, Mbuke,Umunwara, Amofia, Orihe and Umuabere villages got a message from Dr. Sam Onyishi requesting for a piece of land to build a Primary Healthcare Centre for the community. All of us present in that meeting, being his kinsmen received the message with great joy and gladness, knowing him very well through his antecedents and pedigree that each time he opened his mouth to make a pledge it is good as having been fulfilled.

“The problem of scarcity of land for the project came up and we were faced with several options including compromising this compound we are now gathered and you can agree with me that such option could have dealt a big blow to the aesthetics of this compound and capable of making our fore father who envisaged and left this legacy restless in their graves.

Continuing, the Town Union President declared that, “the community has decided to add another chieftaincy title to the litany of titles he (Onyishi) already has in his kitty. We are giving him a symbolic ram in Igbo tradition to nudge him to trudge on his life fearlessly and never to look back. Also, we are presenting him a Holy Bible haven perceived that it is his priciest possession in life to enable him pursue his evangelism.

“This legacy we are celebrating  today will go a long way in enhancing grassroots healthcare of all and sundry in this environs and we are pleading with government at different levels to come to our aid  by putting measures in place that will encourage proper functioning and maintenance culture and practices comparable to other similar health institution elsewhere.”

Said Onyishi, “We in Peace Group have deemed it necessary to offer this gift of healthcare centre because it will help our people to live healthier and longer at very subsidised fees. Consultants from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, will now be at your reach.”

He said the Association of Resident Doctors, UNTH has offered to help achieve this. Overall, tthe project  cost N20 million. A breakdown shows the land  cost N800,000, the  building N8.0 million while drugs/equipment and disposables worth N2 million have been stocked. A brand new 18- seater executive bus valued at N5 million has also been donated to the healthcare centre.

Onyishi, who is undertaking one year subvention of the healthcare centre to the tune of N3,600,000, will hands off  after one year of operation. “Umunkaka Development Union in collaboration with ARD, UNTH, will continue to run the Centre professionally and service to Umunkaka community and Nsukka in general.”

In a response, leader, ARD, UNTH, Enugu, Dr. Ugwoke Celestine said the project will boost primary healthcare services in the community while ensuring optimal services at the hospital.

Adding value to lives should be frontal in the Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, of any company or Group in the country. Such, will immeasurably loose the binding thread of penury, poverty and pauperism prevalent in the society that will bestow a sense of belonging to such class of people and to mankind.”