RAMADAN OUTREACH

For our annual Ramadan outreach we once again returned to the primary healthcare in Unguwar Sarki, Kaduna. Our focus this year was on eye care- cataract screening, eye diagnosis, medication and dispensation of reading spectacles.

Prior to the commencement of the program announcements were made early so as to enable us achieve our target of reaching out to as many patients as we can. Access to quality and adequate healthcare still remains a major challenge for the vast majority of Nigerians, due to this we were determined to see as many as possible.

We started on the first day of Ramadan, six times a week for four weeks. As the days passed the number of persons we saw grew astronomically, patients came from all over the State, some from places as far as Niger and Katsina State.

Meeting Osama Muhammad was an experience that put into perspective the dearth of the health sector and the immense poverty faced by most Nigerians. He was suffering from orbital cellulitis; an inflammation of the bony structure that houses the eye, it’s a common disease seen in children and can result to meningitis. His mother brought him from Mararaban Jos a farming community near Kaduna seeking for help and was directed to us. His situation was so bad he was admitted to the hospital for several weeks. When we first met him, he could barely speak and was in a lot of pain. At the end of the day, we were finally able to see and get to know the real Osama who happens to be a jovial kid with an answer for everything.

Though our primary focus was on eye care, Osama was not the only patient given extra care. We also met Abubakar Tsoho fondly referred to as Baba Tsoho, he walked into the centre hanging on to the cord of a catheter tucked in between his threadbare trousers and skeletal frame. He was suffering from a severe case of urethral constriction that took him to various hospitals until he found us. Today we can proudly say Baba Tsoho is walking around catheter free.

After a month of eating and breathing eye care, over 3500 patients, 763 reading glasses we all heaved a sigh of relief, from the management team to the medical team all the way to the cleaners and guards. It was time to say goodbye even though we were relieved there was a sense of nostalgia.