Members of the National Association of Seadogs, Calabar South branch, have provided for some aged persons residing in Pope John Paul II Good Samaritan Home in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
The elderly persons, aged between 60 and 80 years, were examined by the medical team assembled by the association before they were presented with foodstuff and other items.
The Coordinator of NAS, Calabar South, Mr. Bassey Effiom, said the association was moved to carry out the gesture as part of efforts aimed at providing care for the weak and needy in the society.
While noting that the aged should be the pride of every society, Effiom said regular health checks on them were imperative towards prolonging their lives.
He said, “As part of our external activities, we come out with different programmes that are aimed at protecting the weak and needy through humanitarian activities. For us, the elderly people are the greatest assets of the society. We should look after them and ensure their well-being.
He said, “As part of our external activities, we come out with different programmes that are aimed at protecting the weak and needy through humanitarian activities. For us, the elderly people are the greatest assets of the society. We should look after them and ensure their well-being.
“We are carrying out these checks on them because some of these problems of diabetes, high blood pressure, eye defects, among others are common with the old people. So, we are here to check these challenges and give them drugs.”
The Sister in charge of the home, Yvonne Nwankwo, said 13 elderly persons, made up of both sexes, were brought in from different places, adding that some of them were picked from the street after being abandoned by their families.
Nwankwo said, “Some of them are abandoned by their families; so, in most cases, we pick them up from public places. Others are rejected and thrown out from their home by their families over flimsy excuses and when we see them, we accommodate them.
“For instance, just last week, we went to bring in one old woman who has been sleeping in the cemetery tomb for a while now. We tried to reconcile some of them with their families, but if it is not possible, we keep them here and bury them when they die.”
She pointed out some of the challenges in the home to include dilapidated structures, lack of orthopaedic items such as wheelchairs, among others.
During the medical examination which lasted for over three hours, a 70-year-old man, Emmanuel Ette, was discovered to have cataract on his left eye and conic ulcer on the right.
Ette, who pleaded with well-meaning individuals to come to his rescue, said he came into the home after he was thrown out by his family at Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
The association later donated bags of rice, beans, garri, groundnut oil, noodles, seasoning cubes and toiletries to the home.
The Punch
September 16, 2015
September 16, 2015
