The people of Opume Community in Ogbia Local Government Area cannot forget the Robert Sunday Iworiso Foundation in a hurry.
The foundation has been making efforts to solve most of their social and economic problems.
The foundation has given scholarships to their children, purchased JAMB forms for them and identified with their pressing needs. Recently, the outfit moved truckload of drugs into the community to lift the medical burdens of Opume community.
The foundation was established by the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson in honour of his late father. His father lived in the community and was known for his generosity. Iworiso-Markson was also born in Opume. He is a prince of Opume.
The commissioner has been using the foundation to lift his people out of poverty. Therefore, knowing the medical conditions of his people, the commissioner took medical experts and drugs worth millions of naira to his community.
The Head of the medical team, Dr. Tamara Johnson, said the foundation brought five medical doctors, 14 pharmacists, five nurses, two laboratory scientists and one counsellor to the community of Iworiso-Markson.
She described the initiative as laudable adding that hundreds of persons from the community received medical attention for ailments such as hepatitis, diabetes, malaria, eye problems, stomach upset, malaria among others.
He said Iworiso-Markson showed genuine concerns for the problems of his people and called on others to imitate the gesture.
She said: “The response was very good. The people had already assembled at the venue before we got there. It is a wonderful initiative that all leaders from the state should emulate. They should join hands to support the efforts of the state government.
“The commissioner has shown his people genuine love through the foundation he established in the memory of his late father. This is one of the best ways to give back to your society.
“We came with the drugs for diabetes and we have necessary equipment to check if someone is diabetic. We have hepatitis vaccine. We also did general body checks. Malaria, general body pain and stomach issues were rampart. We had five doctors, five pharmacists, seven corps members who are pharmacists, five nurses and two laboratory scientists and one councillor”.
Speaking on the initiative, Iworiso-Markson said it was borne out of his desire to give back to his community adding that improving the living condition of his people had been his priority.
He said the foundation was not only concerned about the health of his community, it had also intervened in promoting educational interests through granting of scholarships and distribution of free JAMB forms.
The commissioner commended the achievements of Governor Seriake Dickson in the community and Ogbia local government area saying he was able to drive into his community through a bridge project the governor completed in the area.
Iworiso-Markson called on other government appointees to give back to their communities to complement Dickson’s developmental programmes in the state.
He said: “This is giving back to my community. The medical rhapsody is courtesy of my father’s foundation, the Robert Sunday Iworiso Foundation. My father was born and grew up here before moving to Lagos. So, this is my home. I felt in honour of the memory of my father I should give back to my community.
“Apart from the medical outreach, we are also involving education as well. A number of them are benefitting from a scholarship programme that the foundation is sponsoring. Recently, we bought JAMB forms for a number of young people in the community to be able to write Jamb and go to universities. They don’t know that the foundation is ready to sponsor as many of them that will write JAMB and go to the university.
“The governor has been kind to Opume people. I just drove into the community using the Opume Bridge. Two years ago it was not possible to drive into this community. You need to stop at the waterside and find your way to the community. Courtesy of the restoration government, we can drive into our communities. The same applies to all the communities across the state.”
He insisted that Dickson made it possible for him to return to his community and contribute to the development of the state.
He said: “Without Governor Dickson giving me the opportunity to come to Bayelsa to serve l wouldn’t have the opportunity to be here. So, I thank governor Dickson for the opportunity to serve in the government of Bayelsa State and because l represent the people of Opume, my hometown, l try to reach out to them.
“I drove into the community using the Opume Bridge. I couldn’t have done that two years ago. I would have stopped at the waterside and then find my way to the community. But the Restoration Government of Governor Dickson has made it possible.
“The same applies to virtually all the communities across the state. Communities that hitherto could not be reached by road cannot be accessed by road. The governor has made it possible.”
Residents of the community, which went agog following the medical outreach, poured encomiums on the commissioner for his generosity.
Leave a Reply