- 3,300 rural women empowered with agric inputs in Bauchi
Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
Over 50,000 Nigerians have so far benefited from the T.Y. Danjuma Foundation’s Health Care Initiative ‎with about 15,000 having different categories of eye surgeries since inception in 2009.
Care Vision Support Initiative (CAVSI), a collaborative partner of the foundation revealed this in a statement in Jos, Plateau state shortly after an Eye Camp Programme by the foundation was concluded in Gassol LGA of Taraba state recently.
The statement signed by the acting Executive Director of CAVSI, Dr. Pokop Bupwatda added that no fewer than 50 children with cataract have benefitted from the Foundation after undergoing successful surgeries to restore their sights, adding that over 25,000 eye-glasses have also been distributed to those in dire need of the medicated glasses.
Bupwatda added that apart from community health initiative services, the foundation has been in the forefront of other vital aspects of human development like income generation and education; all for the wellbeing of under-privileged Nigerians.
He said CAVSI, a non-governmental organisation based in Jos, has undertaken several philanthropic services on behalf of the foundation since its inception.
Giving details of the treatments in the Taraba medical outreach, Bupwatda said “82 were operated for cataracts, one for Bilamellar Tarsal Rotation (BTR), 21 for Pterygium, 873 given medication, and 263 recommended for eye glasses for refractive error correction.
While applauding General TY Danjuma for his philanthropy, Bupwatda reiterated that the Foundation has been able to provide vision, education and empowerment to the underprivileged across Nigeria, and urged other well-meaning individuals and groups to emulate his gesture.
Meanwhile, the wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Gimbiya Yakubu Dogara has distributed hybrid rice seeds and farm inputs to 3,300 women in Bogoro, Dass and Tafawa Balewa local government area of Bauchi state as part of her intervention programme to empower rural women.
Mrs. Gimbiya who flagged off the distribution of the farm items in Tafawa Balewa local government recently in Bauchi, said each rural woman will get 10kg of rice, 1 litre of Habiscide and half bag of fertiliser.
The wife of the speaker, who is also the founder of Sun of Hope Foundation, said it was the first time she was carrying out an intervention in the area of agriculture, and urged women to invest in agriculture to eradicate poverty in families and communities.
“This is the first time I am doing an intervention for women in the area of agriculture and if women can invest in agriculture, poverty will be a thing of the past. Our people do not have an improved variety of rice, so we are distributing the Faro 4.4 and Faro 4.1. Both of them need water which is called the low farm rice. This rice is not for eating because it has been processed with chemicals which will last for a period of two yearsâ€, she said
The Speaker’s wife, who said each 10kg of rice was expected to produce 10 to 12 bags of rice, added that the rice takes four months to yield.
The Member representing Tafawa Balewa constituency in the State House of Assembly, Aminu Tukur who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries thanked the wife of the speaker for empowering the lives of rural women, saying that the farm inputs would be used judiciously.
