The Albino Foundation Public Notice
Sunday, a physically-challenged man in his 30s, from the Nkun community, Riyom, walking with difficulty with two crooked sticks, made his way into the premises of the General Hospital and Trauma Centre, Riyom, in the Riyom local government area of Plateau State to meet hundreds of others who were already gathered there for assistance.
He was optimistic of getting a walking aid among the available options but he wasn’t sure which. At the time he was gifted a wheelchair by the Azumi Ladi Danat Foundation, which was in Riyom for an outreach, his joy knew no bounds as he wheeled around the compound, expressing gratitude to the Foundation.
He told Arewa Voice, AV, that the gift was a dream come true because: “I was born with a disability, and I always find it very difficult to walk with these sticks I cut from the farm. We have insecurity challenges in Riyom, and any time it happens in my community, I always feel trapped, but God has been helping me.
“I have a spot I used to hide but getting to the spot has always been difficult. Once, the attackers entered the house shortly after I positioned myself at the hiding place and I was watching them looking for me in my house. It was a miracle I got out before they came in. I am a farmer, this wheelchair will enable me to move faster and do what I need to do. I thank this organisation for the assistance not only to me but the people living with disability.”
Ryok is not the only one whose mobility problems were solved; other beneficiaries were also gifted wheelchairs, crutches, walking sticks, walking frames, etc., according to their needs while thousands of others benefited from free eye, goitre, fibroid surgeries and hundreds of mosquitoes nets and malaria drugs dispensed in the four days event.
Speaking on the gesture, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mrs. Ladi Danat, said she was out to touch lives positively in the local government area, which has been plagued by lingering insecurity, leaving hundreds maimed, homeless, sick and vulnerable.
She said: “We have a lot of widows, homeless people, physically challenged persons, and traumatised people. I selected this place because if you have been listening to what is happening, you will bear witness to crises that have been on and on in Riyom. We are here to help the less-privileged, those people in need of help. The vision of my Foundation is to dignify people in society.
“We have a lot of people that need crutches, wheelchairs, walking aids. I’m targeting more than 20,000 people because the USAID donated 10,000 malaria drugs to my Foundation, but I’m willing to screen 20,000 people, and give them malaria drugs. We are doing goitre, fibroid, hernia and eye surgeries. Eyeglasses will be given to those who are in need, just as 1,500 treated mosquito nets will be shared.
“We will also share 100 wheelchairs, 40 walking sticks, 40 walking frames, and 40 crutches, free of charge. What we have put in for these four days of the exercise is more than N200 million. It is a joyful thing because my mission is to touch the lives of people in very positive ways.”
However, the Chairman of the Riyom Local Government Area, Sati Shuwa, the District Head of Riyom, Da Samuel Jok, and the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, Dr. Francis Fwangje, commended the gesture, saying the intervention would go a long way in ameliorating the people’s predicaments.
Shuwa noted: “Today is a wonderful day. Having a programme of this magnitude is very commendable; the Foundation has touched the lives of the people who have passed through so many challenges, and we are appreciative.”
Da Jok added: “I don’t know how much we can thank you in such a measure that will complement what you have done.”
To Fwangje: “This intervention is highly needed; the challenges of the economy have not made it easy for people, especially at the grass roots, to access medical care. I believe this will touch the lives of people not only in Riyom but the entire State.”
Credit: Vanguard
