By Olumide Lawal
Health is wealth. With this age-long words of wisdom at the back of their minds, the Management of Springtime Development Foundation Ede, Osun State, in collaboration with Grace For Impact, from Georgia, United States of America, on November 13 and 14, 2017, embarked on free healthcare outreach programme for citizens of Ede North Local Government Area and Ede South–East Local Council Development Area, Sekona, to avail them state-of-the-art mobile medical facilities and drugs to take care of their various ailments.
Springtime Foundation is a not-for-profit Non-governmental Organisation that has over the years, extended its philanthropy in various ways to the needs of Nigerians from all walks of life. The 2017 healthcare outreach took off elation from beneficiaries.
The palace of Timi of Edeland, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, was as early as 7am on Monday, November 13, filled to capacity, while would-be-patients, eagerly waited to be attended to. Ditto for the Palace of Olu of Sekona Oba Abdul-Waheed Adebowale in Ede South East LCDA. They came from neighbouring villages to partake of the robust healthcare outreach. They were not disappointed, as the team of Springtime Development Foundation led by the Vice Chairman, Mr. Banji Adesiyi and the CEO, Pastor Samuel Oyalabu and Grace for Impact outfit led by Pastor Dapo Oriola gave a good account of themselves. They attended to the patients with smile and professional touch, with salutary effect on the beneficiaries.
The entire workforce of Springtime Development Foundation, whose efforts were complemented by some Adhoc staff from NYSC, gave a very good account of themselves, as they worked tirelessly to meet the needs of the patients. The 2017 edition of the exercise spanned general health care services; cervical cancer screening, optical ailment rectification and supply of free glasses and drugs, dental service and minor surgeries.
On Monday, November 13, 2017, 125 and 250 patients were attended to at Sekona and Ede Centres respectively, while onNovember 14, 150 patients and 200 patients were respectively attended to at Sekona and Ede centers, bringing to 725 beneficiaries of the free health care service in 2017.
There was passion on the faces of beneficiaries, who saw the event as God-sent. They praised the organisers, who thought it fit to bring the programme to the people at grassroots, particularly the low-income earners, who had lost hope of such standard treatment being extended to them. They praised the kindness of the Chairman of the Foundation, Dr. Deji Adeleke and prayed God to grant him long life and increase in prosperity.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Vice-Chairman of the Foundation, Mr. Banji Adesiyi, assured the people, that the exercise would continue to expand so as to accommodate more beneficiaries. He promised that the gesture would be extended to other local government areas in Osun in future without consideration for tribe, creed, religion or sex. The Foundation, Mr. Adesuyi recalled, had been championing the cause of the less-privileged over the years without attracting public attention to itself. He stated that when good health was lost, everything including wealth was lost. He therefore appealed to the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the drugs dispensed to them.
The leader of the team from USA, Pastor Dapo Oriola, said that they felt proud to be associated with Springtime Development Foundation, in its effort to make life worth living for Nigeria citizens, who could not afford the high cost of good health facilities, through provision of free Medicare to them. The Grace For Impact organisation, Dr. Dapo Oriola said, was an assemblage of thorough-bred medical professionals from USA, who on their own volition, chose to come down to Nigeria at their expense to collaborate with the Foundation and help out in the provision of good health care delivery to the people.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Pastor Samuel Olu Oyalabu emphasised that the Foundation would always put the plight of the less-privileged people in the society at its front burners, so as to fulfill the vision and mission of the Founder and Chairman, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, who he described as a silent philanthropist of no mean order. It would be recalled, that the Springtime Development Foundation in June this year gave out 700 mattresses and 700 pillows to each of Ilesa and Ile-Ife prisons to cushion the effect of the health hazards attendant on sleeping on bare floor by the inmates. There is also in the offing, donation of skill acquisition materials such as barbing equipment, sewing machines and other entrepreneurship materials for the inmates of both Ilesa and Ile-Ife prisons, to make them self-reliant after serving out their various terms.
The efforts by the two bodies responsible for the health care outreach is worthy of emulation by other well-to-do Nigerians, endowed with means of helping the less-privileged, but chose to look the other way, by embarking on mundane and vain-glorious activities.
Timi of Edeland, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal and the Olu of Sekona Oba Waheed Adebowale, eulogised the organisations for the kind gesture which they assured would go a long way to make them enjoy robust health. They prayed for the continued success and growth of the Foundation and Grace for Impact outfit & wish them safe journey back to USA.
–Lawal lives in Ede, Osun State
