• solicits for financial assistance

By Bose AdelaJa

Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley Amaechi, both native of Orlu in Imo State are in dire need of help.Kingsley, 37, is a cleaner with Eleganza group of companies with a meagre monthly salary of N10,000, while his wife Ijeoma, 34, is a house wife.

Kingsley was formerly a motor parts dealer in Lagos and was doing well before he was duped of his N250,000 in 2004. In a bid to make ends meet, he went in search of a white collar job and eventually secured one with his present employers.

Kingsley, a school certificate holder from Command Secondary School, Vola, got married to Ijeoma and the couple was blessed with a baby girl in 2003. But since then, their desire to have more babies had met with frustrating disappointment.

The situation did not change after several prayers and fasting as well as visits to different places to seek for the fruit of the womb. They stay in a one- room apartment at No 6, Mbanugo Street, Ikate in Ijeshatedo area of Lagos where they pay Nl,500 per month. To compound their problem, the house is situated at an area that is prone to flooding such that the occupants must wade through flood before they can move to and from the house when it rains.

The single room occupied by this couple approximates that in a typical village setting. Some of the roofing sheets are rusty and full of holes, resulting in constant leaking when it rains. In most cases, Kingsley and his wife have to scoop water from the room after a downpour.

As if this is not bad enough, the landlord recently issued a quit notice to some of the tenants to enable him renovate the house. The couple was still battling with this accommodation problem when Ijeoma took ill and was taken to a private hospital in Lagos. After undergoing some tests, she was confirmed pregnant after eight years of waiting.

An ultra sound scan later revealed she was carrying a set of twins. But rather than elicit joy, the news threw the couple into trepidation on account of how to raise money to take care of the basic needs of a large family.

They received another shocking surprise on Friday May 20 when Ijeoma went into labour and was rushed to a private hospital where the babies were delivered through Caesarian operation. The surprise package came in the form of a third baby which the doctor discovered lodged deep in the womb as he was cleaning up.

At the end of it all, Ijeoma was delivered of a set of triplets– two boys and a girl. But the joy of the couple was cut short when the hospital presented them with a whooping bill of N150,000. Kingsley was only able to pay N35,000; his wife and the babies were only discharged after he signed an undertaken to pay the rest later.

Although the arrival of the babies brought joy to the family, but it has thrown the couple into a serious dilemma. Not only is their single room no longer big enough for the family, feeding also poses a serious challenge. However, Ijeoma and her four children have moved to a room and parlour apartment at Lawanson owned by Kingsley’s younger brother, a bachelor, while Kingsley stays in the single room apartment at Ikate.

The triplets

The babies are already two weeks old but Kingsley has exhausted all his savings and is finding it difficult to cope with the daily expenses. Apart from that, Kingsley’s brother will be getting married in a couple of months, which means Ijeoma and her children must vacate the apartment as soon as possible.

The family still has the outstanding Nl15,000 hospital bill to settle. Kingsley is also at a loss on how to raise money for pampers, feeding, medicinal drugs and ·numerous expenses incurred by the family.

It was this situation that prompted Kingsley to visit the Vanguard Corporate offices in Lagos recently to solicit for financial assistance from well- meaning Nigerians. As at the time of his visit around 3.30pm, he claimed that both mother and the babies have not had their break fast for the day. “I need help; my wife and I are orphans.

The burden is too much for me. The babies were delivered through Caesarian operation and I have borrowed a lot of money. My younger brother will soon get married and I have no place to put the family. I have sold some of my property to take care of them but the expenses are increasing everyday. Also, our landlord has issued a quit notice in order to renovate the house. We need food and shelter so that the babies will not die. Please help,” he pleaded.