Poverty pushed us into touching lives – Ezeocha

Photo: The Ezeocha’s starting from left is Chisom, Chioma, Osmond and Chinedu

From Everest Ezihe, Owerri

Having experienced the excruciating pains of poverty during their childhood, and as children of primary school teachers, Dr. Chisom Ezeocha says he and his siblings were patriotically motivated into touching the lives of the poor and poorest of the poor in Ogwa Anunu Umu Mgbe ancient community and its environ.

Ezeocha who is the founder and CEO of Nicer Foundation and hails from Umuezeala-Abazu in Umueze /Abazu Ogwa autonomous community of Mbaitoli LGA of Imo State disclosed this on Wednesday at Ogwa Mission Hospital, Mbaitoli LGA while addressing Journalists on the 100% free comprehensive multi million Naira medical outreach his non governmental organization with other partners have embarked upon in memory of their parents, Mr. Benaiah Chikwem Ezeocha and Mrs. Hulda Ikwuoma Ezeocha

According to the youthful Philanthropist, ” our NGO is critically in the service of humanity, under the focal points of helping the less privileged and the poorest of the poor achieve their educational career, render comprehensive free medical services to communities and empowerment programmes aimed at eradicating poverty through jobs creation.

“These are our little three cardinal areas of helping to emancipate people from the clutches of poverty. Our childhood experiences as people from poverty driven home instigated us into these philanthropic gestures.

” Our parents were primary school teachers, I could recall that despite all the infrastructural developments and transformations, late Chief Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe, the then Executive Governor, did in old Imo State between 1979 – 1983, there was a time, he owed teachers of the State for over 6 months, simply because his administration felt that teachers in the State under the umbrella of Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT were not supporting him and his political party as NPP gubernatorial flag bearer, thus there was this NPP and NPN political rift, dichotomy and cold war. Old Imo State teachers were victims of the political bro haha.

“It was really tough for us then. We experienced abject poverty in our family, we suffered penury, we know what it means not to have one kobo to go to school or hospital, and ironically, despite our poverty level, our family used to be a beehive of economic succour to some families around. Whenever we’re eating, you will see a minimum of 4 to 6 children from other homes joining us to eat the little food we have. To us, it was annoying and fun, so we learnt to give and share with others right from kids, so in the midst of our poverty, there were people we were better of, they always find pleasure in coming to our house and every body was always welcomed.

“It was unfortunate both of them is dead, they died in between one and half years of each other. Their death was very very devastating and we resolved to immortalized them through these comprehensive but qualitative free medical health out reach.

“The maiden medical health out reach was done in 2022. Then it was a five day programme in collaboration with my partners in Operation Blessing which is an affiliate of Christian Broadcasting Network ( CBN), America in which their Nigerian office is 700 Club, we worked together then and did 39 fibroid surgeries, and a further combination of about 40 appendicitis and hyenia we gave out over 500 reading glasses, did 117 cataract surgeries, almost 70 dental procedures were done and more than 600 people had consultations and they’re given one form of medications or the other.

“It was a huge success, all the Medical Doctors were from Operation Blessing, a non governmental organization and they’re all volunteers. Something significant happened on the day we were leaving, at the hospital gate, I saw a lady who said she came from Enugu State, that she heard that we were doing free fibroid surgery and she was crying, for me, it was a low point of my life. Unfortunately ,we couldn’t help her and I said okay, something must be done.

“We then resolved to be doing the medical outreach every two years, thus, this is the second edition, again because of the incident, we decided to extend it now for 10 days and increased our partnership like Operation Blessing, Soteria-Afrique Rural Health Initiatives so as to capture more people. This programme started on Monday 27th May, 2024 and to end on Friday 7th June, 2024. Could you believe it that within 5 days we have registered over 1,700 patients seeking for different medical attentions.

” Let me shock you, we have people coming all the way from Kano, Adamawa, Kaduna, Abuja, Edo, Delta, Ekiti, Bayelsa Anambra, Abia , Ebonyi and Rivers States among others . The entire 27 local government area and 647 autonomous communities that constitutes Imo State are fully represented here.

“So far, we have been able to attend to over 889 patients, in terms of consulting and surgeries. We dedicated some days for surgeries like fibroid, appendicitis, hyenia, etc We have budget to do cataract surgery for 200 patients even though over 230 patients have been identified, definitely, we must see how we can help. It’s really sympathetic.

“This is the life changing situation we are impacting on our people. It gives me uttermost joy and happiness, knowing my background and how God is using me and my siblings to be a source of blessings and happiness to others. It’s really great and marvelous.

” There are people who have carried hyenia for 8 to 15 years even fibroid, we are attending to them.One of the greatest testimony we had is that during the maiden edition of this programme, a Lady came married for 8 years without any child due to fibroid, we did the fibroid operation, she came on the first day of this second edition with her husband, simply to give testimony with her baby boy . Am glad we are an instrument for changing and touching people’s life. All we are doing is 100% free for the people and the society.

“One other striking issue about this programme, is the dental surgery we do here, which is possible because of the state of art dental clinic equipments our brother, Dr. Bennett Iheanacho from Amaegbu Ogwa donated to the Mission Hospital. The Dentists who are collaborating with us, attested that the world class dental clinic here can only been seen in National Hospital Abuja, Nigeria.

Ezeocha who is also a product of Community Primary School, Abazu Ogwa, Comprehensive Technical School, Oboro Umueze Ogwa, a graduate of Electrical Electronics of Federal University of Technology, Owerri,Institute Me dresser Maldrid Spain, Australia University, and a Doctorate Degree holder in Public Leadership of American University passionately appealed to all distinguished and illustrious sons and daughters of Ogwa and it’s environ, to assist the hospital, for instance in the areas of power supply, medical scanners, skilled workers etc so as to make the hospital globally competitive.

He further lamented on deplorable state of the community internal and external road networks and enjoined the Federal and State government to give the area an accelerated face lift in terms of roads rehabilitation and reconstruction as well as infrastructural developments.