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Church Offers Free Medicare

Sun News
Tessy Okoye
23rd April '08

The premises of the St. Gerald Catholic Church, Sholuyi, Gbagada, Lagos was a beehive of activities recently when the Society St. Vincent DePaul organized a free medical treatment for indigent people of Lagos.

In the programme, the aged, male and female as well as youths came in their numbers to receive medical attention. They were examined by doctors and got drugs for ailments. The Priest in-Charge of the church, Rev. Fr. Chiamaka Innocent, said at the event, that just as the Lord Jesus cared for everybody that the church also cares for all people. He said that the church basically focuses on humanitarian issues to make sure no soul is lost and thereby takes care of the down trodden.

The cleric said that in a normal situation, every human being should go for check up to know his/her health status, whether rich or poor.

"If we keep saying no money and then one dies in silence, then who is to be blamed? Just as God is doing the spiritual work, He has also endowed some individuals, like the doctors and nurses with the knowledge to look into our physical problems. That is one of the reasons the team of professional doctors are here today," he said.

For the National Coordinator of the health programme, Dr. Carl Chukwuemekas Onunkwo, Nigerians wallow in poverty, as many people may be ill but avoid going to the hospital for medical attention so as to save some money for the kids to feed. He advised Nigerians not wait till they fall ill before going for medical check ups, adding that the exercise has also revealed that most people don’t know that they are ill until they are given opportunities like the one provided by the church.

He said: "Over 90 percent of those who have been found to be hypertensive or diabetic do not have the idea that they have the diseases. They go for malaria test only to discover that they are having more than malaria. We think that if only getting them to be aware that they have such problems is what we would achieve, it would go a long way to save lives. At least, people would know that they are suffering from certain diseases and would then know how to manage them rather than just die in ignorance."

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May we be strengthened with the ability, willingness and capabilities to be good ambassadors of Nigeria contributing to its uplifting, rather than its detriment. - Cxsm