Each borehole will have a storage capacity of 20,000 liters of water. They will be situated at the central mosque, entrance to the LG School, the market area, Galadima area. The last will be located at the Dutsen Lella. For the year 2014 we have completed 2 solar powered boreholes in Kano State.
The water crisis claims more lives through disease than any war through guns (UNDP 2006). Therefore, it’s importance to our health cannot be overemphasised. Water is life.

The team was excited and ready to go on Thursday 5^th December, the Kaduna team arrived around 11am and we were on our way by 12 noon from Abuja. It was a journey of about 5 hours through Kogi and Edo states before finally arriving Ondo State.

As per our usual modus operandi, AMA logistics team was on site early in the morning to set up and registration began at 9am. For the general clinic we had a team of 4 doctors and 2 nurses all from the community.  The eye clinic was also up and running, we decided not to set up immediately for surgery until we had a few patients.

We were located at the main palace grounds for the general clinic and eye clinic, while the surgical team was located at the Ondo State Specialist Hospital. For the first few hours it was relatively peaceful as most of the patients were elderly, but by lunch time word was spreading about a free medical outreach and people were trooping in. At the end of day one we were able to see over 400 patients in total and 10 had cataract surgery. The health awareness video was shown later in the night and people were fascinated with the outdoor cinema facility. The video focuses on the importance of hygiene and antenatal care with a message in Yoruba at the end.

Day 2 was met with a bigger and younger crowd making it harder to manage and control. With the help of our local volunteers and civil defense we were able to make everyone understand it will be faster if the queue was followed. The OB van was used the previous day to create awareness especially for cataract patients. While the clinics were running Dr. Murtala was doing post op for patients at the hospital. Most of the time we take things for granted simply because we were born with it or have always had it, but sight is a gift from God and we underestimate how lucky we are. The immense amount of gratitude from our patients every single time is always a wake up call. According to World Bank Studies cataract surgery is the most cost effective and gratifying of ALL surgeries. AMAF is proud to be able to do this every month, bringing smiles to the faces of our people.

At the end of the day we were able to see 1015 patients for general, 469 for the eye clinic and surgery was performed on 36 eyes.

There was a large crowd eagerly waiting for us and in line with our new project strategy screening and surgery was carried out on the same day.

We were able to set up all 3 clinics in the same facility, which made the program much easier.

The medical team for the eye clinic was the same personnel but this time around we had an extra doctor and nurse to help with screening and visual acuity. We had about 60 patients waiting. Registration commenced after which they proceeded to visual acuity and refraction tests before seeing the doctors. Some of the patients that were screened for cataract had to be convinced to go for the surgery because they were afraid. After convincing one of the bilateral patients, the next day the old woman was ecstatic once her eyes were opened. Her cries of hallelujah will remain with us and the smiles we are able to put on faces is what makes this worthwhile every single time. The look of pure joy on their faces and to know AMAF was able to that is a moment we will forward to on every outreach. At the end of the program we were able to see 194 patients, surgery on 15 eyes and reading glasses for 70 patients. The number of patients for the surgery was relatively low but we hope those that had surgery are able to go back to their lives and will be more independent as they have gotten their sight back. Post op has been scheduled for the 22^ndNovember 2013 to check on their progress and extra medication will be given out.

Surgery was carried out in the hospital theatre after blood pressure and sugar levels were determined. Some of the patients were given anti hypertensive and told to come back the next day. Patients were prepped, dilated, blocked in preparation for surgery. Seven eyes were operated on the first day and nine eyes on the second day, they all stayed overnight and were given medication and instructions on how to take care of their eyes.

For the general clinic we decide to use the local medical personnel because we were having the outreach program at their facility and wanted to involve the community. As usual with the general clinic the patient turn out is much higher and with a more difficult crowd. With the help of hospital staff, security personnel we were able to start registration and vital signs taken before each patient proceeded to see the doctors. A total of 465 patients were seen and treated of malaria, fungal infections and other minor ailments.

Every patient that came for this outreach program was given at least 1 mosquito net; we were able to give out 507 mosquito nets in total our highest number so far.

The program ran from 1:00pm to 4:00pm everyday alternating between men and women. The official closing time might have been 4pm but we hardly left before 5:30pm. As the days went by we saw more and more patients turning out with some queuing up as early as 5am. While others came to Kaduna from places as far as Katsina for something else but heard about the program and decided to visit us because people were happy with the medical treatment received.

Everyday was a new experience and with different heart touching stories, from the very young patients with cataract to a family where all the children were born blind. People from all walks of life came seeking assistance particularly with eye care and we are proud to say we did all we could and referred the young patients to National Eye Center and AMAF will pay for their treatment.

It was a long and arduous 28 days but worth every minute of it, the lives touched and those that will be changed after the surgery are immeasurable. The numbers speak for themselves 2667 patients for the general clinic and 1998 for eye care.Our motto of‘giving back’ remains the backbone of our dedication to communities across Nigeria.

For this outreach we had a different strategy for the eye clinic. We noticed on previous programs we were losing patients when we came back for surgery after a few months due to extraneous factors. Therefore, to overcome this problem we decided to screen and operate simultaneously. The team was divided into two (2); the surgical team was at Udi general hospital while the rest of the team screening, eye care and general treatment at Nzi Eze. We had quite a few challenges the first being lack of communication as there was no phone service in the village, the second was logistics because the distance between the general hospital and village was about 40 minutes away. Irrespective of these small hitches we can proudly say we had a successful program.

The program in NziEze was carried at the local primary school and the turn out from that community and neighboring communities was good. After screening we transported the patients to the hospital and back the following day.

We were able to show a health awareness clip in Pidgin English from our mobile cinema, gave out over 60 reading glasses and 300 mosquito nets. In total the foundation was able to treat over 920 patients for both the general and eye care. A total of 20 eyes were operated and we will be returning on the 21^st September to check on their progress.

AMAF remains committed to touching the lives of Nigerians in all 6 geo political zones and is dedicated and geared towards improving lives irrespective of tribe or religion.

The team left Abuja early Friday morning at 7:00am and had a brief stop over at Kaduna. We arrived Malumfashiaround 1:00pm and proceeded to the hospital immediately after Jummah prayers. Most of the patients had their results from the urinalysis and we started registration immediately.

 As with the previous and initial outreach program in Katsina, patients came from all over the State, some from Funtua and remote villages such as Dutsen Kura. We had shortlisted 120 candidates and by the end of the first day surgery had been performed on about 35 patients including 4 bilateral. One of the bilateral patients was Baba Musa who amazingly came all the way from Keffi alone, as he was unable to attend the Keffi surgery. On Friday Baba Musa was totally blind in both eyes and by Saturday morning he could see with one eye and by Sunday morning his vision had been restored in both eyes. It’s truly heart warming how a simple 15-minute surgery is able to change lives in unimaginable ways. This is just one story and the foundation intends to keep on touching and impacting lives in every way we can one day at a time.

On Saturday morning we had another set of about 40 patients waiting for us. Dr Murtala opened eyes from Friday’s operation and medication was given out,meanwhile Dr Amina checked out some of the patients that were not shortlisted to determine whether they were eligible for the surgery. At the end of the outreach program we were able to successfully carry out surgery on 72 eyes. The foundation will return to Malumfashi on the 22^nd of June 2013 to give out medication and check the progress of the patients.

To make up for the time loss, we left Gusau early Saturday morning and arrived RuwanDorawa by 8am. The patients were waiting for us as some had slept over at the hospital including patients that followed us all the way from Katsina and Kaduna States. Set up began immediately, while the doctors began checking the patients and most of the patients had their urinalysis test results with them and surgery began at about 12noon. We were able to successfully carry out all surgeries for the patients that were around. This time around we had a larger surgical team, which included 3 surgeons and 4 ophthalmic nurses. Therefore, our output was much higher thus we finished quite – 4pm with 42 eyes operated on.

Mallam Muhammad Jatau was scheduled to have his operation on Saturday but unfortunately developed a complication. We couldn’t carry the surgery that day and he was asked to return the following day. On Sunday when we got there he was amongst the first patients to be examined and his eye was cleared for surgery he was extremely happy and grateful at the good news and the chance to be see again with his right eye.  Surgery commenced almost immediately after our arrival as we were scheduled to go back to Kaduna that day. As the patients were reviewed for their post op and medication given out 2 doctors scrubbed in and surgery commenced. One of the ophthalmic nurses who resides in Gusaureturned to RuwanDorawa on Monday for the post op, and we will be returning on the 5^th July to check patients progress and give medication.

In conclusion, the foundation successfully carried out surgery on 54 eyes, including 3 bilateral patients. Bringing the total number of surgeries to 155 patients across Nigeria. We remain committed to helping Nigerians regain their vision and improving lives.

The village of Ruwan Doruwa is located about 40 minutes from Gusau and has a population of about 16,000 people who lack basic social amenities such as clean water, tarred roads, and most importantly health care provision. AMA’s mission in Zamfara involved educating the people of Ruwan Doruwa about basic hygiene techniques and also providing free health services such as cataract screening, malaria treatment and the distribution of 300 mosquito nets and 100 eye glasses.

A small crowd greeted the AMA team as we arrived Ruwan Doruwa. The AMA team, made up of 28 people including medical doctors, nurses, volunteers and other management/logistics personnel, were organised into three groups. The first group formed the general clinic, which dealt with general health concerns. The second group was the eye clinic, which specifically focused on eye screening to detect cataract, eye infections and other problems related to the loss or impairment of vision. The third group was the public relations (PR) team who used the Outdoor Broadcasting van to inform the residents of the village about AMA’s health programme and screened a film later that night about basic health techniques. About 200 patients were seen by the end of the first day because the clinics didn’t start until around 4:00pm.

On the second day of the programme, a larger crowd arrived at the venue of the health outreach. Through word of mouth and the PR team’s announcement around the village, more people in Ruwan Doruwa and other neighbouring villages were made aware of the on-going health outreach. Towards the end of the second day, our activities were interrupted by rainfall; the gusts of wind and rain brought about an early end to the health outreach. However, the team was successfully able to conduct eye screening on a total of 537 patients while also providing medical assistance to 414 patients in the general clinic. About 52 patients were shortlisted for cataract surgery, which will be conducted between June 7th, and 10^th, 2013.

The District Head of Ruwan Doruwa, Alhaji Kabir Makau, was present during the health outreach and remarked on how pleased he was with the Foundation’s work, “With the work that AMA Foundation has done, there is nothing left to say except may God bless the foundation, the biggest health concern of the people in Ruwan Doruwa is eye problems. About 70 percent of the sick people in this community suffer from eye diseases. And now, Alhamdulillah, most of them have received treatment for their eye problems”.