Distributes over 8,000 school items to primary, secondary students

Olu Samuel, Lokoja

Following her recent reconstruction and the inauguration of a cottage clinic, through her pet project, Hayat Foundation, the Wife of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Barr. Amina Oyiza Bello, on Wednesday, flagged off a three-day free medical outreach for Eika-Ohizenyi community in Okehi Local Government Area of the state.

The Foundation also distributed over 8, 000 educational items, including sandals, school uniforms, exercise books, writing materials and nursery play items to both primary and secondary school students.

Barr. Amina Bello noted that the foundation was poised to compliment efforts of the state government in rendering basic health care and quality educational services to individuals who lived in the remotest parts of the state and could be faced with minor medical issues as well as barriers of access to quality education.

“There is the need for those financially capable and in positions of authority to give back to the society and often think of ways through which others’ lives could be enhanced and made better. Such people must be geared towards making impact on the people.” She said.

She acknowledged that being in the midst of her people provided the opportunity to listen directly to their plights, feel their pulse and be better positioned to ameliorate the hardship they might be facing.

The governor’s wife noted that the government of Kogi, under the leadership of Governor Bello, had demonstrated its interest in the health and education sectors of the state with the provision of relevant infrastructures and needed policies, while individuals could similarly add their quota.

She revealed that the cottage hospital in Eika-Ohizenyi, Okehi LGA, built in partnership with the World Bank, was the first among several other phases to emerge and that plans were already in the pipeline to replicate similar infrastructures even across the state in the very nearest future.

This, she said, would be with more focus on enhancing easy medical access to those at the local level, while she urged community members to take full advantage of this infrastructure and the medical personalities provided.

A member of the Hayat Foundation, Temitayo Gbela, hinted that the three-day free medical outreach was aimed at catering for the medical needs of over 300 people with a team comprising medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians.

The traditional ruler of the community who also was a beneficiary of the medical outreach, HRH Yusuf Isah Adoke, Oba-Oniya of Eika, asserted that such gesture would go a very long way to help the people have access to medical care at zero cost.

Another beneficiary and community member, Mr. Adava Abdulhakeem, expressed immense gratitude to the wife of the governor, for giving back to her locality and showing concern to their wellbeing.

Similarly, Hajia Hajara Usman another community member, thanked God almighty for giving the Wife of the governor the enablement to bring such medical program to their community, noting that they were so proud to call her one of theirs.

She prayed for more of God’s blessings, noting that although the community was not expecting the cottage hospital, but immediately it was inaugurated, they had begun to make the most of the facility.

In her visit to Al-Adabiyyah Group of schools, Eika Ohizenyi, Okehi LGA, where Hayat Foundation gave out educational materials to the students and gifts to the teachers, the governor’s wife urged the students to show kindness to their parents, siblings and fellow students.

She added that they must be good ambassadors of the school and their community as it was her desire that they would scale greater heights.

Students who received the kind gesture from the governor’s wife through her foundation expressed their gratitude for her benevolence.

Speaking on their behalf, the Head Boy of the school, Yakubu Abubakar, said the students were excited with their school’s new look, other benefits like the planned road rehabilitation, enlistment in SUBEB, their promised school bus and the educational materials given to them by the wife of the governor.

He added that many of the students would be better inspired to learn as the suitable environment and the materials needed had been provided.

The School’s Head Teacher, Mr. Lawal Ochiji Abdullahi, corroborated that within the short period of the inauguration of their school building, they had registered a large number of new intakes, indicating that many more unschooled children within the community and close neighbours would be interested in giving education a chance.

He pointed out that such a remarkable feat was made possible by the kind gesture of the Governor’s wife through her foundation.