A group of Farmers, known as the Unity Farmers’ Association, has donated cash to the patients hospitalised at the Ganye General Hospital, in Adamawa State with the aim of helping them buy a few medication.
Chairman of the Association, Mr. James Jared, said the gesture was nothing, but something at the same time, because it had been discovered that a lot of people, especially those who patronise government hospitals hardly afford simple and cheap drugs, let alone afford other expensive medical services.
He said the non-governmental, non-profit, non-political and non-religious organisation targeted the maternity and children’s Wards, because they represented the most vulnerable.
Voice of Nigeria reported that the association went beyond the target groups by visiting and distributing the cash to all patients on admission at the hospital.
The Vice Chairman of the group, Mr. Joseph Buba Daniel, also told Voice of Nigeria that the visit was to reach out to the sick and show concern, because many of them could not afford the simplest of medications.
“We decide to choose the hospital because the people in the hospital are more vulnerable and need to understand the love of Unity farmers’ Association. WFOURhich stands for love so. We choose the hospital so that we can come and demonstrate our love to the people who are sick,” Mr. Saniel said.
He called on other organisations to discover themselves and know that the world needed help, that the little drops of help would go a long way to make the world a better place.
The Principal Medical Officer, Ganye General Hospital, Dr. Titjani Ali Mandaka, while appreciating the kind gesture by the farmers’ association in the area, said token given would go a long way in making a lot of difference in the lives of some of the patients.
Dr Mandaka says, “Sometimes some people come to the hospital with just 500 naira or 600 naira on them. They will go to the pharmacy and take drugs on credit, some will be able to pay, some may not.
“If we have social organisations like yours, who will come today and give 500 naira and others will come tomorrow and give 500 naira or 1000 naira, at least it will help the patients a lot. As I have said earlier, we take people to the theatre with nothing on them and some will come with emergencies, but there is nothing we can do. This is a Government hospital, we take them to the theatre with nothing on them because they do not have.”
He encouraged similar organisations to emulate the gesture of the Unity Farmers’ Association to help the less privilege.
He suggested that the help to be rendered should not necessarily be cash, but donations such as dugs, to help those who cannot afford them.
A patient’s relative at the hospital, Mr. Michael Abel, appreciated the kind gesture extended to his brother by the Ganye Unity Farmers Association, promising to support them in any way he could in the future.
The Chairman of the Unity Farmers’ Association in Ganye, said the association had future plans to visit correctional centres, in order to facilitate the release of inmates with minor offences and fines.
“We have future plans. Our next plan is to visit the prison because we discover that they are people with minor offences, with minor fines but they cannot afford to pay. So we want to visit them next time and wen want intervene and off set some of this charges,” Mr. Jared said.
The chairman of the association said the mission of the association was to promote and encourage unity among members and the society, because it believed when there is unity in the society there will be peace.
He said the money being donated was from the monthly contributions made by members.
Confidence Okwuchi
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