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Tag: philanthropists

  • Philanthropists rescue 40 out-of-school children

    Philanthropists rescue 40 out-of-school children

    • By Sherifdeen Amusa

    Some philanthropists have re-enrolled 40 out-of-school children back at Ayetoro Primary School in Akoka, Lagos.

    They gave the pupils uniforms, books and writing materials at an event held in Akoka.

    The initiative was sponsored by L’ecole Bells, Karreno Kids, Funmilayo Charity Foundation and Bayo Osinowo Foundation.

    The Proprietress of L’ecole Bells, Mrs. Joy Goriola, encouraged the parents to allow their children go to school, warning that they would be handed over to security agencies if they prevent their children from having education.

    She lauded Karreno Kids for always giving occasional foodstuffs to parents of out-of-school children.

    Mrs. Goriola said the journey started eight years ago with the involvement of a community leader, Oluwakemi Odulate (Iya Ayetoro), for approaching her to accept some children in her school free of charge.

    She added that the goal was for the children to have equal access to education like other children.

    The proprietress also lauded the CEO of Funmilayo Charity Foundation, Hakeem Olanrewaju, for his commitment to rescuing the children.

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    Head of School Support, Somolu Local Government Area, Mutiu Lawal, said the out-of-school children would cause trouble in future for the educated children if they were left unattended to.

    He added that uniforms and writing materials had been provided, thus, no parent has any excuse not to allow their children to be educated.

    He lauded the philanthropists for complementing government’s effort in eradicating out-of-school children.

    He threatened to involve the government to take over custody of children from parents who refused to give their children basic education.

    He urged parents who are incapable of enrolling their kids in private schools to enroll them in public schools.

  • 17-year-old girl with bloated tummy needs philanthropists to help fund treatment

    17-year-old girl with bloated tummy needs philanthropists to help fund treatment

    Lydia Ogungbayi, 17, who, for over three years, has battled a rare case of abnormally swollen stomach, is in need of urgent financial support to help her access proper treatment and arrest her situation. Preferably, her doctors have recommended a health philanthropist – be it individual or organisational.

    For a clearer idea of her situation, please take another look at her photo. Only last week, one of the doctors handling her case at a Lagos General Hospital, who spoke to The Nation on phone on condition of anonymity, said they drained six litres of fluid from her tummy; and yet it is back all bloated again just days after.

    The need for a heath philanthropist has also become pertinent, as the mother, Mary Ogungbayi, is a mere washerwoman/cleaner and petty trader, while her dad is a struggling pastor, and they can barely afford even transport fares from their Badagry base to the General Hospital in Mainland Lagos, where she was referred to and is now being attended to.

    According to the mum, Mary Ogungbayi, the whole problem started in 2021, when she was 13 years old.

    “Sometimes in 2021, we just noticed that her stomach was swelling, so we took her to General Hospital Badagry, where they attended to her and the stomach retracted. Soon after, it started swelling again and we returned to the hospital. They told us to do an x-ray of the tummy and do some tests. Then they told us it was massive anxiety; they later referred us to another Igando General Hospital.

    “At Igando, they attended to us well, they even took her in on admission twice; gave her injections and drips. The tummy again went down; but when it came up again, they told us to go and do a CT-scan. However, because of our economic situation, it took us a long time to raise money to do the scan, I think it was N42,500. She was also made to see several doctors. Thereafter, we were referred to another general hospital in Mainland Lagos, where she has been receiving treatment since June 2023. However, it again took us some time before we could go because of transport fare. Bare it in mind that we always needed transport fare for two, because we couldn’t let her go unaccompanied.

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    “Since we started going to this General Hospital in Mainland Lagos, they have been doing their best, even waving some of the fees in the process. At a point, I had to stop going to the hospital with her; I only started going with her again recently, when I noticed her reluctance at going alone.

    Doctors diagnoses?

    According to the mum, the doctors have yet to make any definite diagnoses. “They however said her stomach is filled with water. In fact they have tapped her stomach three times to drain the water. Once they do that, it will retract, but it won’t take long before it comes up again. In fact, the last time she came, she could hardly breathe before they drained it. Even last week, they drained six litres of water from her tummy. but you can see how swollen it is again. Usually, when the stomach is tapped, she get some relief, but it is always short-lived.

    “Because of her situation, we have also tried unorthodox methods; we recently came back from a holy prayer mountain, where we sought spiritual help. However, on each occasion, they always tell us she would get divine intervention. But in what mould, we do not know.

    “Right now, things are so bad that if they give us a three weeks appointment, we may not be able to raise money to go for six months.” 

    Asked if the water in her stomach may be a result of the water she drinks, Mrs Ogungbayi said she does not know, but stated that her daughter urinates normally. “Even the doctors have not been able to explain where the water comes from or what exactly is wrong with her. And she has done series of tests. Even last week, we did x-ray. The hospital has also waved a lot of the payments because of her condition and age. Thankfully, they said her kidneys are okay; in fact, they said all her internal organs are okay. They however said that the water has enlarged her liver, so they recommended a drug, Livolin. Even that Livolin, we may not be able to buy in six months.”

    She added, “Her condition is so bad that anytime she gets to a hospital for the first time, the attendants always want to rush to assist her, thinking she is due for delivery, because she’s hardy able to walk. Meanwhile she is not pregnant.”

    According to one of the doctors in charge of her case who craved anonymity, “There are so many things that can cause this kind of thing. It could be a liver problem, it might be from the heart or kidney. Also, her status as a sickle cell patient may be suspect, but it is rare to see a sickle cell patient with such case. So right now, we want to run some tests on her to further investigate and get to the root of the matter, but she has serious financial constraints due to the financial status of her parents. This financial constraint has also made her default on hospital appointments. This is why we are suggesting that she gets a philanthropist to step in and pay for her treatment. That way, we will be able to run all the necessary tests on her and give her the necessary treatment.

    Interested philanthropists and kindhearted Nigerians willing to support Lydia can make donations into: First Bank Mary Ayanwumi Ogungbayi 3094406518.

    Mrs Ogungbayi can also be reached on 08132141769.

  • Philanthropists to unveil skills centre in Imo community March 30

    A Nigerian philanthropist residing in Canada, Mr. Bernard Uzoagba and his wife, Sarah, have concluded arrangements to inaugurate a mobile skills acquisition centre in Imo State.

    The event, which will take place at the Central Primary School, Amandugba, in Isu Local Government Area on March 30, is expected to be attended by many dignitaries.

    The donor, who is also the Managing Director of One Skill Charity Foundation, noted that the concept behind the centre is to empower and train youths with quality skills to enable them to be gainfully employed and employers of labour.

    Uzoagba added that the gesture, which would begin with Amandugba community in Isu Local Government Area, would be extended to other communities in other local government areas in Imo State and Nigeria.

    The businessman, who said he had not received any financial assistance from anybody for his philanthropic efforts, added that he was not doing them for politics and has no intention of joining politics soon.

    He enjoined the people, especially the youths, to see the centre as his little contribution to their well-being, which he urged them to reciprocate by also giving out to others when they must have secured jobs in future.

    Uzoagba, who described the youths as the leaders of tomorrow, added that his foundation will provide hundreds of them in batches with skills on how to make bread, hairdressing and barbing, plumbing, electrical fittings and others.

    “Right now, we have constructed a skill acquisition free school that will be going round the local governments starting from here to all parts of Nigeria, if God permits me. We have bought the land for the centre and spent over N2 million in constructing the mobile school.

    “We shall soon construct the second mobile school in another local government in Imo State so that we can reach out to more youths with quality time and training,” he said.

    Uzoagba said the school will take off in September, this year.

    The couple came calling in the community unannounced last Christmas with clothes, shoes, bags and money for the people in the spirit of the season.

    Since 2012, the 33-year-old and his 30-year-old wife have given out over 43,000 exercise books, including pens, pencils and school supplies to the children in the community and surrounding villages.

    He said: “We did not only distributed the items in this community. Before getting here, we gave out 13 bags of these items to Christian faithful at Redeemed Churches in Aguda, Surulere and many bags to Dustbin Village in Okoafor, Ikotun, Isolo area, Lagos. In another Lagos church, we gave out bags to people to start business with the items. At an Anglican Church in Owerri, we gave out 10 bags to the members.”

  • A philanthropist’s campaign to save Igbo language

    A philanthropist’s campaign to save Igbo language

    There are attempts to keep the Igbo language from dying. In 2012 UNESCO predicted that language might become extinct in the next 50 years. The organisation noted the general apathy by the youths to speak the language, preferring instead to speak English or pidgin.

    A businessman and philanthropist Dr Maduka Onyishi wants to prevent that from happening. He wants the youth to be comfortable speaking their native tongue. He demonstrated his plan by staging a student debate in Igbo, with collaboration from the National Association of Southeast Nigerian Students (NASENS).

    The competition spanned over a  month, with the theme ‘Asusu Igbo, Ejiri Mara M’, (Igbo language, my identity).

    It took place across the five states of the Southeast where the language is spoken. Participants came from all the tertiary institutions in the zone with the grand finale taking place at the Enugu State College of Education and Technical (ESCET) Auditorium.

    •Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi taking a long walk on the dilapidated Uzam- Mechi-Idodo-Inyaba-Umunevo-Magunze inter-community wooden bridge in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state during an inspection tour of the bridge.
    •Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi taking a long walk on the dilapidated Uzam- Mechi-Idodo-Inyaba-Umunevo-Magunze inter-community wooden bridge in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state during an inspection tour of the bridge.

    Former Anambra State governor Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife chaired  the grand finale while the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Enwo Igariwey was the Father of the Day.

    In his welcome address NASENS President Comrade Nweli Ifeanyichukwu Hillary said the association staged the debate to save the language from extinction.

    He said: “Of late, Igbo language has suffered a lot of setbacks. It is hardly spoken by the people who own it. It is rejected by the young, not used in Igbo homes and families and even not spoken at Igbo cultural programmes.

    “Suffice it to say that language is a part of a people’s culture and culture is an important of human existence that depicts the way of life of a particular people. It expresses their norms and beliefs and it serves as their identity. Therefore, the Igbo language is an integral part of the Igbo man’s life.”

    The sponsor of the event and CEO of Peace Mass Transit Limited said the Igbo debate is coming at the right time when the Igbo culture is being hampered by foreign cultures which are speedily taking the place of our original culture especially among the younger general.

    He said, “They have embraced and imbibed these foreign cultures so much that they have infiltrated into the society as a cankerworm and it is negatively affecting the Igbo people as a nation. Language is a unifying force that binds any given people together. It stand as a bond to such people. Therefore, the Igbo will be made to understand through these debates, the relevancy in imbibing their mother tongue”.

    He canvassed that Igbo should be accepted and spoken compulsorily and frequently in churches, schools, media houses and religious places and employed as a general means of communication among the Igbo nation.

    “This is because there is no place in the world where one can find an Igbo nation except in Nigeria, therefore, there is need to be proud of where we are coming from”

    ‘The essence of this programme will be to strengthen our culture, language and create enabling environment for the younger generation to demonstrate virtue and value for their culture”.

    Chairman of the occasion, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife praised the event sponsor, Dr Sam Maduka Onyishi for the initiative and urged him to sustain the event.

    Ohaneze Ndigbo President, Chief Garry Enwo Igariwey urged the executives of NASENS to do more in sustaining and improving on the programme and making it more impactful.

    “There is still hope for the survival of Igbo language if the youths especially our undergraduates can stage a programme like this since they are the future of the Igbo nation”.

    At the end of the debate part of the event, Miss Nzubgo oluchi from Ebonyi State University was the overall winner. She and other top nine participants of the event were awarded full university scholarship while other ten participants went home with various consolation prizes.

    There were also other competitions and activities during the event such as Igbo essay Competition, Igbo drama competition, Igbo news broadcast competition, dancing competition, Igbo proverbs and Idioms exposition among others.

    Imo State University won the best participating institution.

  • Attitude of governments, philanthropists and relevant institutions not helping matters

    Continued from last week

    As is often whispered, those who have paid their dues should be given a break. That was unusual compared with an incident that occurred not too long ago in one of the Hospitals in the South South geopolitical region; the wife of a medical Doctor developed abnormal vaginal bleeding at eight months of pregnancy, ultrasound scan done about the sixth month had revealed that baby was presenting breech and so the area of the buttocks which usually do not help in the gradual opening of the cervix would make first contact . That was not considered to be any major challenge, but the scan report also showed her Placenta was located at a point dangerously close to the neck of the womb(grade 3 placenta praevia).

    She had registered for Antenatal care(ANC) with the Teaching Hospital and a holding decision had not been taken before problems declared them selves, Unfortunately a warning strike by, Doctors in the Teaching Hospital began that day and so she had to be rushed to the state owned Hospital. She had lost close to 1500mls(about three bags of blood)of blood and had begun to show signs of shock. For reasons better known to the Anesthetist, he was reluctant to put the patient to sleep. Doctors from other Hospitals had to go talk to him and he dragged on and on for as long as he could delay, even when the Consultant Surgeon and assistants were in their full theatre gowns, his attitude took time enough for the baby to die in the womb. While she hung between life and death, as she watched herself bleeding helplessly, the patient wondered how shocking, how un imaginable it would be for any one to hear that the wife of a Medical Doctor died with her unborn baby after getting to Hospital with both alive, in the depth of her mind she wondered whether her decision to marry a medical Doctor had been a good one. She was sectioned to save her own life and the baby was lost to arrant negligence. She vowed to spend the rest of her life taking good care of the ones she had, and never to think about getting pregnant. While this gory scenario lasted, the hospital had no other Anesthetist in that Hospital to call, coupled with ethical issues of getting someone from outside to administer an anesthetic agent to a patient in another Hospital. Anesthetists have become very few, and in rural surgical practice, the surgeons do more to ensure they have successful surgeries. Quacks of course who are less inclined the principle of do no harm (primun non nocere) will simply open op what ever cases, with a readiness to blame any unfavorable outcome on paranormal or spiritual forces of darkness.

    The are two of the thousands of situations that can be encountered by any one and when you are not affected you may never know how bad things can really get.

    It is difficult to know precisely when the summersault occurred in the life of this country.

    The choice of medicine as a career is not so much the desire for money as is the joy and fulfillment of having life entrusted to your care from the time of conception, through birth, and finally to the grave. The attitude of the policy makers in the period before now was informed by the understanding that a Medical doctor will not exist in a vacuum, but amongst people, with his nuclear and extended family. There were well furnished Doctors’ quarters for House officers ; Medical Doctors during youth service had bungalows and duplexes, well furnished, so they could take call duties with very little stress. Job satisfaction was remarkable and with it was a huge sense of patriotism and the spirit of belonging. Governments placed maximum priorities on health, people’s health, shelter and education. Post graduate training was available to those who showed interest at home and abroad with grants for research and scholarship provisions. Most of those who went abroad came back and others who remained here contributed in one way or another to the growth of the Medical profession. People now talk about Post Graduate Medical Training overseas in very special circles, because getting positions or centers for newly graduated Medical Doctors to do internship so they can complete the first stage of their medical career, register and do other things is now a problem, applicants are now expected to know some one who knows some one who knows, Where to stay and commence the post graduate residency training has also become infiltrated by the cancer of tribalism, where you are told to your face that certain areas are simply for indigenes. What is really biting now is that with regards to what the future holds, the medical profession except for those from affluent background is increasingly becoming unattractive in this country and this is in spite of the pains, denials sacrifice that an individual puts in from secondary school through the long uncertain road of the MB; BS program and the additional years it takes to specialize approximatel 15 years

    The initial training of a medical doctor takes seven years, (eight during my time); six years in pre clinicals and then one year as a preregistration intern. He then goes for youth service or is exempt. Depending on his age.

    Usually Doctors in the Teaching Hospitals are expected to partake in academic activities no matter how many patients they have to care for. This is in addition to the mandatory requirements of either passing regular exams or being sent out. To do this effectively they travel long distances for updates and exams. Apart from risks of death through road or Air accidents, there have been cases of attacks by armed Robbers on the journeys and in Hotel rooms. The entire costs of exam fees, feeding, hotel room charges, transportation and others are borne by individuals, it is only in very few instances and very hospitals that refunds are made

    In the past, many people were scared out of the path to become Consultants because of many issues, what you don’t see actually remains mysterious to you, Doctors who by their youth service posting served in places where exams were routinely conducted ,saw that all they needed to do was read and see their patients in the wards, and these exams became demystified; they knew and defined what they wanted and charted various courses for them selves; majority are the medical consultants of today. For those living far away from these centers, travelling to these places with very little to hope, was like the head of a camel passing through the needle. Those who didn’t have to travel, enjoyed writing the exams, encouraged by teachers who though felt strongly that post graduate medical training should indeed be very strict were equally convinced that the exams should be given a human face .Some students during undergraduate training had the misfortune of coming under people who took them as invincible and un teachable in a manner much like what American blacks suffered under Whites. The Students were given the most unfavorable environment (centers to learn and prepare for exams, in fact some were given the impression that God designed post graduate specialist training for some particular tribes in Nigeria. Fortunately, evil machinations don’t last for ever and in these places, human beings have taken over these positions, they eat and dine with residents just as people do when the feeling of one family is there. Unfortunately however, Nigeria is a country where certain people continue to remain in circulation in very active capacities. They are there and have carried the same mentality of assuming that some certain human beings are there but don’t exist in their scheme of things. To be continued

  • Attitude of governments, philanthropists and relevant institutions not helping matters

    While people in the sports and entertainment industries are smiling to the banks and taking possession of properties donated by people from different walks of life, there are people; citizens of this same country who although they share in the glory coming from these sectors , people who appreciate the blood pressure lowering jokes and drama these groups produce. These humble citizens are happy that success attended the efforts sportsmen and women put into their legitimate activities. However, there are issues, feelings of injustice, disregard and neglect, which can translate to negative reinforcement on the people who by their training are not expected to give vent to these bottled up feelings.

    Members of the Medical and allied health profession whether in training including post graduate Medical training spend day time hours working to save lives, and at nights sleep with one eye open, ever ready to be called out even in dangerous hours of the night . Unlike before and contrary to what obtains in the civilized countries we seem to copy , this sector of the Nigerian society are completely abandoned. They have become the invincible class. People who care to listen to them assure them that like teachers, they will be rewarded after death. They have no houses of their own , drive rickety vehicles, and carry stress levels three times what non medical people of same age and sex will carry, and yet they watch and listen helplessly how millions and billions are showered on fellow citizens. The general feeling is that if so much can be released so quickly for some people, others should never be made to wait before they get theirs, indeed the cry is that it is human to ask for equity , fairness and justice

    One billion naira given to Federal Government owned Universities to build Research Labs will alleviate the sufferings of Students and Lectures , who are disabled from exploring into some areas .

    When during planting seasons a farmer puts much into Grains and abandons Tubers, he should not expect to harvest Yams and Cassava. In terms of Nationalism and patriotism no one can actually quantify the cost of saving lives, reducing the burden of disease, illness and absence from work ? will any one talk about economy if more people stay away from work , or fail to resume due to illness, impairment and disabilities? Or perhaps surgical teams should now go on television to perform Caesarian sections before panels of judges so people will no they are wonderful and deserve to be rewarded

    Where will the drive , the perseverance and the will to continue the struggle for emancipation come from if certain groups are begged to come collect millions and billions while those who in agreement with God make it possible for their fellow citizens to sleep , wake and go to work are treated as if they don’t exist?

    The internet has now made it very easy for basic personal information concerning any fairly well known person to be assessed. The media have also from time to time made public the financial standings of people ,such that when such well known individuals as a group are being begged to come and collect more money , in a country where others have for over a decade been embarking on strike actions to press home their demands for what is actually due to them, then something has terribly gone wrong. We must be seen by the rest of the world to be proactive

    On the other hand, there are medically qualified lecturers in universities and other higher institutions , they are equally faced with the challenge that they either publish or perish ;again what is very clear but not recognized is that research is costly ,and when completed publishing costs money. Costs of publishing journal articles are denominated in foreign currency. In all these, the problems are enormous and people take glory in criticizing the present level of technological inferiority, and the educational system without doing something. As Europe and America now facing economic challenges of their own, reliance on donor agencies will be fruitless and so organizations , Governments , Governors and individuals who have access to funds should feel challenged to come to the rescue

    Perhaps, Doctors are not crying loud enough. Is housing scheme for civil servants out of place ? It could also be that those they have elected or appointed to speak on these and other issues are unable to get their list of grievances to make the list of public agenda.

    With the heart rending morbidity and mortality indices coming out from various organizations , those at the helm of affairs should worry if these are warnings are not enough, because awareness is getting higher every day and very soon, the young ones will find ways and means to express their grievances, and when that happens, ordinary people will see Medical Doctors all over the place with their ward coats and stethoscope , and yet can not afford to hear a word from any of them not to talk about sitting down to be examined properly. Such a time is staring us in the face when people will need to go to India to have pus drained from a finger or take treatment for typhoid

    At the time of writing, the doctor population ratio is one medical doctor to 10000 persons in the population. Literacy level has dropped and in some states of the federation HIV/AIDS prevalence is higher than the National average . In rural areas, the situation is and you may have one Doctor available to care for over twenty thousand people,

    The events as narrated under will serve as an index to what is about to characterize the Health care system;

    In the Accidents and Emergency unit of a Teaching Hospital, a Consultant Physician exclaimed in frustration that she had gone round the Hospital and there was not a single Consultant present in any of the departments . A few minutes past mid day it was a working day and a few minutes after mid day. Imagine a lorry load of victims of RTA being driven to into the Hospital within that period ,how would the few Doctors on duty have coped? What with the agonizingly unreliable mobile communication services operating in this country she added in palpable frustration and annoyance?