By Chidimma Okoye :
Lifted Hands Inc. Organization, a U.S.A. based non profit group has embarked on free eye surgeries and free medical outreach programme amid Nwafor celebration of Ogidi.
The free eye surgeries took place at their referral hospital, Iyi Enu Teaching Hospital, Ogidi where they were able to access a theatre to conduct the surgeries.
The Igwe of Ogidi in Idemili North LGA, HRM. Igwe Pharm. Alex Onyido has extolled the selfless services of Lifted Hands Inc. Organization by their annual visit to Nigeria with American based health professionals to conduct free medical outreach exercises to the benefit of ndi Anambra.
He said that their visits during Nwafor festival give the American visitors the opportunity to explore and appreciate Igbo culture.
Igwe Onyido however, called on other well meaning Ogidi, Anambra and Nigerian people at large to emulate the good deeds of Lifted Hands Inc. Organization by helping out in their various communities, not leaving everything to government alone.
The founder of the organization, Mr Moses Okaro said that the reasons for the free surgeries and medical outreach programmes were to lend a helping hand to the less privileged and the vulnerable people in the society who could not afford medical bills, to access it freely, to give back to the society by thinking home and to continue in the legacy of their late mother, Mrs. Gladys Akueze Okaro who had a habit of reaching out to everybody within her reach in various ways with whatever she had.
He said that his organization has been into humanitarian services for over 16 years and that each of the outreach programmes were unique by being bigger and better in the quality of their services to humanity.
Mr. Nelson Okaro, a U.S.A. based business man and the eldest son of the Okaro family that founded Lifted Hands said that they had a target of 100 patients for the free surgeries but got screened down by the doctors because some of the patients were not eligible for surgery yet but need eye drops, some other medications at the moment and a medical follow up to access their response to treatment.
Dr. King Okafor Chidumeje, one of the medical personnel that participated during the exercise said that eye related sicknesses were quite prevalent according to his data on the outreach exercise.
He therefore called on the people to always go for eye screening from time to time to ascertain their status.
Ekenem Okaro, a U.S.A. based nurse, said that according to experience gathered from previous outreach programmes, that it was discovered that people do not only have medical need but also material, financial, and psychological needs.
For such reasons she said, that they brought in food, cloths, shoes, reading and exercise books, envelops of cash as palliatives.
