A humanitarian group, De Norsemen Kclub International, on Sunday, donated materials to indigent patients at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, and also offset bills of discharged sick persons.
The beneficiaries were erstwhile sick persons of the AE-FUTHA, who were discharged two weeks ago, but had no money to pay their hospital bills.
Leader of the Ebonyi State chapter of the group, Okenwa Uka, stated this while handing over the items and receipts of the bills to the beneficiaries, adding that the gesture was in commemoration of its annual event.
He said, “We are members of De Norsemen Kclub International, a humanitarian service organisation, and we have branches in all parts of the world. In Nigeria, the Kclub is present in all 36 states of the federation.
“Today is our humanitarian service day. It’s a day we normally set aside to extend assistance to people, we feel in our hearts that we are better than.
“What we are doing here in Abakaliki today is happening in Umuahia, in Enugu, in Asaba, in Port Harcourt, and in other states of the country.
“Our theme for this year’s event, ‘Health For All,’ represents why we are here at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki today.
“This is because we are to extend a helping hand to some discharged patients of the hospital, who for one reason or the other, have not been able to pay their hospital bills.
“In our own little way, we are here today at AE-FUTHA to help these ones. It may not be big, but we are here to extend assistance to them and also look out for people who, consequent upon one or two reasons, have been discharged but need assistance to get back to their homes and then pay their bills.
“Some of our members work here, and so, they helped us do a forerunner job to get the patients’ details for us, to make things easier.
“We have buckets, detergents, toilet tissues, and others to distribute to patients here. The idea behind this is, that in the hospital, there are some patients who can not easily move to the public convenience point to ease themselves. But with these buckets, they can ease themselves easily within the comfort of their hospital corner. This is just a little way of assisting them because if we didn’t bring these to them, they still would have gone out there.”
One of the beneficiaries, Alo Mathew, described the gesture as an unusual show of love by the group for the downtrodden.
According to the Deputy Director of Nursing In-charge of Male Ward, Mrs. Ohenle Julian-Ezinwanyi, the group’s assistance to the beneficiaries was timely, adding they had suffered so much in the course of the sickness.
She said, “Patients at hospitals, not just here, are always faced with one challenge or the other. Except we start to analyse what patients go through, you will not understand. Maybe you have had sick ones here before, that’s why you are able to muscle up this unusual courage to do this for these ones. It’s not easy.”
