…3,000 patients screened by Foundation in God’s Gift of Sight Project community outreach

After more than five months of military-enforced curfews, and mounting health crises, residents of Amasiri community in Afikpo North LGA of Ebonyi State, finally received a measure of relief as the Healthy and Smart Children Foundation (HASCF) stormed the community with a comprehensive medical outreach tagged the “Amasiri Community Relief Medical Mission”.

The intervention was initiated by Dr Christian Inya Oko, the Executive Director of the Foundation, led by Pst Maurice Ekuma, the Community Outreach/Engagement Officer, while Fred Oko-Otu, the Project Manager worked tirelessly behind the scenes and Mrs Beatrice Oko, the Matron gave the moral support and care for the volunteers.

The intervention came on the heels of a prolonged and debilitating communal conflict between Amasiri and its neighbouring community, Okporojo, in Edda LGA, which had prompted the Ebonyi State Government to deploy military personnel and impose a 12-hour daily curfew on the area. 

The resulting lockdown effectively brought life in Amasiri to a standstill: schools were shutdown, markets closed, economic activities grounded, and health facilities rendered almost inaccessible to residents who needed them most.

The consequences of the prolonged siege were devastating. With hospitals and health centres shut and movement severely restricted, the health of Amasiri residents deteriorated sharply over the months-long crisis. 

Community members were left without access to routine medical care, medications, and other health services, and by the time normalcy began to gradually return, following the withdrawal of military forces, the toll on human health was painfully evident — ailments spread, and death tolls climbed.

It was this humanitarian emergency that moved the Healthy and Smart Children Foundation to act on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

Seizing the opportunity presented by the gradual restoration of calm in the community, the Foundation deployed a team of medical professionals to Amasiri, offering services entirely free of charge to residents still grappling with the aftermath of the crisis.

The outreach, led by Maurice Ekuma, featured a wide range of services, including free medical consultation, free medications, free eye screening, free eye medications, free glasses, and selection of eligible patients for free cataract surgery. 

The breadth of services offered underscored the Foundation’s commitment to addressing not just immediate health concerns, but also the long-neglected eye health needs of a community that had been cut off from care for months.

By the close of the outreach, a total of 256 patients had been attended to for various ailments. 

Every patient, who passed through the outreach, received tangible support, whether in the form of medications, a pair of glasses, or a slot for the Foundation’s free cataract surgery programme.

The Amasiri Relief Medical Mission is not an isolated gesture. It forms part of an expansive eye screening effort the Healthy and Smart Children Foundation has been carrying out across communities in the Afikpo area since March 2026 in their God’s Gift of Sight Project, a programme with an already remarkable impact.

Since the commencement of the God’s Gift of Sight Project community outreach, the Foundation has screened over 3,000 patients, distributed over 1,300 pairs of free glasses, and selected approximately 260 patients for free cataract surgery – a surgical intervention that will restore sight to many people and transform lives.

The Director of the charity organisation,  Dr Christian Oko, explained that the inclusion of Amasiri in this programme, particularly given the community’s recent ordeal, signals the Foundation’s determination to reach the most vulnerable and underserved populations, including those emerging from crisis situations.

“The Amasiri outreach was more than a medical exercise, it was a powerful statement that they had not been forgotten. 

“After months of isolation, fear, and deteriorating health, the sight of medical professionals arriving with free care and medications offered both physical relief and an emotional lifeline to a battered community finding its feet again. The gospel of salvation and healing was also preached.

“The Healthy and Smart Children Foundation, through its sustained and expanding medical outreach, is rapidly cementing its place as a critical pillar of grassroots healthcare delivery in Ebonyi State and beyond, proving that even in the wake of conflict and hardship, compassion and organised action can make a profound difference.

“The Healthy and Smart Children Foundation continues its free medical outreach across communities in Afikpo, Ebonyi State and beyond, he said.