| Church offers free medicare
By TESSY OKOYE
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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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