Pistis Foundation, the social intervention arm of The Elevation Church, has, in collaboration with Pro-Health International (PHI), provided health care services to over 3,600 people affected by several ailments. The beneficiaries of the free health care services were the less privileged, poor and neglected rural dwellers with little or no hope of accessing quality medical services. COLLINS NWEZE writes that the programme was part of the church’s commitment to support those at the grassroots, even as it also aimed at bringing the message of love, care and hope to the poor.
In a society where the number of people living in abject poverty is on the rise and access to quality medical care is elusive, it takes more than preaching the gospel to touch people’s hearts and lives.
In its determination to improve the health care of the people at the grassroots, the Pistis Foundation, the social intervention arm of The Elevation Church has, in collaboration with Pro-Health International (PHI), under the Ubomi Medical and Surgical Outreach, provided free health care services for over 3,600 poor residents in Lagos.
The week-long medical and surgical outreach organised by The Elevation Church in Lagos witnessed over 200 health professionals who volunteered to treat people with all forms of ailments.
Most of the volunteers were from Pro-Health International (PHI), a faith-based, non-profit voluntary health care organisation with focus on uplifting the health status of the less privileged, neglected rural populace in the society.
The week-long medical and surgical outreach may have come and gone, but testimonials from beneficiaries of the free medical intervention are unending. Some of them, whose lives have been remarkably changed, have stories to share for a life time.
One of such is Deborah Odeyale, who was among the over 3,600 people attended to by medical volunteers during the outreach.
Thirty-year-old Odeyale had been suffering from fibroid for three years. She could not source the almost N500, 000 charged by a private hospital for the treatment. So, it was no surprise, that Odeyale resigned to fate, completely dejected as each day passed, with no hope in sight.
But Odeyale’s miracle came, not through sermons, but by social intervention spearheaded by the church. It came through the clinical mastery of top-class medical practitioners who trooped in from all parts of the country to volunteer for a medical outreach championed by The Elevation Church in Lagos.
Odeyale was operated on at no cost, and nothing could describe her joy when she was relieved of the burden of uterine fibroid.
With the careful execution of the medical and surgical outreach tagged ‘Ubomi’ and the number of lives impacted, one can say that Elevation has not only set an example for other faith-based organisations, it has also won the hearts of both believers and nonbelievers by spreading the love of Christ in a very meaningful and life transforming manner.
During the programme, Pistis Foundation recorded 6,500 medical interventions. At no cost, surgeries ranging from eye, dental, pediatric, orthopedic sessions, fibroid, and more were performed. Some of the surgical procedures cost as high as N2 million. The Foundation bore the cost.
One of the doctors shared an experience about a patient who was completely blind. “When we removed the patch in the first eye and he began to see, we thought we should go for the second eye as well. It was an unusual move because we do not operate two eyes on the same project. “While we were attending to the second eye, we discovered that the patient also had a problem with his stomach which needed urgent medical attention. The man who came with a cane walked home not knowing where his cane was. He left the outreach with both eyes perfectly restored,” the doctor said.
At the outreach, Jumoke Ishau, another woman with uterine fibroid case also got free treatment. She underwent a myomectomy to remove a 16 kilogramme fibroid growth, the weight of five newborn babies. She had been in this condition for over five years and had lost everything she had. The outreach proved to be a life line for her. Her case also stood out as one of the most striking during the event.
Also, through Pistis Foundation’s partnership with some hospitals, about 74 patients who have undergone surgery will continue to have access to quality health care till they fully recover from their ailments
The Board Chairman of Pistis Foundation and Lead Pastor of Elevation Church, Godman Akinlabi said: “We see the need is great as some of the people can’t even afford to feed. A lot of them came from shanties, from homes made from cardboards and have no good source of living. These conditions make it impossible for them to access mainstream health care services. Ubomi, which means ‘life’ is a medical outreach to bridge the gap in access to medical intervention, especially with less privileged people in our society.”
He said the foundation is overwhelmed by the number of lives the programme impacted. “Witnessing over 3,600 people with over 6,500 health challenges that were successfully attended to by medical volunteers from all over the country is a very humbling experience for us,” he said.
Akinlabi had earlier revealed that Pistis Foundation’s primary goal at inception was empowerment through education. However, in an attempt to do that, the foundation realised that it can only be successful if the people are in the right condition of health.
“What is prompting this move is that we cannot leave everything to the government. Government’s resources are not infinite, they are finite. Nigeria is a very populous country. While the government can do a lot more, faith-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, corporate organisations and others must rise up to the challenge. That is what the Pistis Foundation is doing,” he said.
Founder, Pro-Health International, Iko Ibanga said: “It has been a privilege to partner with a church. It is one of the dreams that I have had for many years. Being in Lagos, I didn’t expect the level of sickness I was seeing in terms of the surgical cases, especially the women. So, it has been interesting. We operated on a lot of patients with uterine fibroids during the outreach.”
He noted that the programme was a life-saver for a lot of widows, orphans and poor people who could not afford medical treatment.
The General Manager of Pistis Foundation, Leonard Thomas, also said the event has been life changing and life transforming not only for the beneficiaries but the volunteers.
“On the first day, we had 21 eye surgeries and majority of the surgeries were cataract issues. I thought it would take a month for them to heal but by the following morning, they showed up, their plasters were removed, and they could all see. As at the noon on the third day of the event, over 2,000 people had been attended to, and over 200 surgeries carried out. The Foundation also took successful delivery of three babies free. In all, there were about 6,500 interventions, 285 dental surgeries, 191 general and eye surgeries performed, three babies delivered, and no single case went bad,” he said.
Due to limited access to health care, outreaches such as Ubomi presents a major opportunity for people in the rural communities to access quality health care. A lot of Ubomi beneficiaries came from small communities in Lagos Island while some also travelled down from far ends of the country to be part of the outreach.
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