By Ediri Ejoh

In a bid to alleviate the sufferings of the less privileged, a Non-governmental Organisation, Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation and Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital, provided medical assistance, donated eyeglasses, and assisted in carrying out heart surgeries for Nigerians in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Council Area, Anambra State.

The medical outreach in partnership with Vincent Obioma Ohaju Memorial (VOOM) Foundations, USA, saw excited residents of various communities coming out in large numbers to benefit from the medical outreach, with over 600 beneficiaries smiling home.

The founder of the foundation, Dr. Emeka Okwuosa, in his address, said that the organization aims to support the poor and needy in the country aswell as rural communities.

He said: “I am after the welfare of the less privileged as my main concern is to help the poor. The aim of establishing the cardiology hospital was to make a difference, bridge the gap in medical health delivery and to immortalize my late mother.

“For me, to put that in perspective and actually conveyed that feeling, it’s good to know where we are coming from and it’s just basically the life of empathy, the life of making a positive difference in the lives of the people across the board, that has been the driver of the entire thinking.

“And when you look at healthcare delivery, we are talking about the Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital and the activities that we carry out there and most importantly the open-heart surgeries that are being conducted here giving people their lives back (so to say).

“At the Primary Healthcare Centre of Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital (DIOMH), about six hundred and thirty-five people (642) were present and were registered.  Out of the 642 people that registered, 641 were attended to by medical doctors and were given drugs with other check-ups carried out on them.

“Furthermore, 250 stripes were used in checking 250 patients’ sugar levels. An eye test was carried out also on 150 patients that same day, with free glasses, eye drops, and drugs that were also given to them. However, the total number of Men who attended was 255 (young and aged) while Women were 386 (young and aged).

“It’s a thing of joy, so my experience we have had here based on past surgeries that has been done here, it’s good to see even young kids who prior to that will not live a normal life, you see them smiling jumping, being able to actually be human beings again, there is nothing more joyful than that. So for me, it just shows also that one of the key indicators is that what we are doing is working and then we are making a difference in the life of the people.

Also, the President of VOOM Foundation, Dr. Vincent Ohaju, happily announced that the medical mission was highly successful commending the volunteers and Sir Emeka Okwuosa for putting up security apparatus which gave them the confidence to come down and work.

According to him, “Emeka Okwuosa has literally created an environment where Bill foundation can come in and provide high quality care, especially in cardiac surgery, but without any sort of intrusions on this part, on how we select patients that are taken care of in this environment, that for our generation is very, very appealing.

“Well, Nigeria, as you know, over 200 million people live in this country. And yet, open heart surgery is only made available to a very select few. I will say that, I think, well, last year’s account; maybe about 200 open heart surgeries were performed in the country.

“Well, I live in a very small town, in Texas, where there are two major hospitals and in a very small town of 125,000. Yet open heart surgery has been done there in each program, doing over 200 cases a year.

“In Nigeria, we have not scratched the surface. And so imagine what would happen if there were many Okwuosa’s individuals in this country. Nigeria is blessed with people who have the means to do so, but only very few think that they can make a difference in providing care for themselves, but also maybe extend to other people.”