By Our Reporter
No fewer than 200 indigent persons, comprising males and females from all corners of Rivers State, graciously benefitted from the free cataract surgery project organised by Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi, District 9141 Nigeria, in partnership with Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Atlantic City, Club of Ragusa and supported by the Rotary International Foundation.
The life-touching project, which was done at the Ophthalmology Department of the University of Port Harcourt, had Rotarians, Past Assistant Governors (PAGs), doctors, the representative of the District Governor, District 9141, Rtn. Ohia, including the Rotary International President, Olayinka Hakem Babalola, as special guests in attendance.
Delivering his welcome address at the programme, the President of Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi, District 9141, Rtn. Okezie Emekekwue, remarked that the project is an important event, considering the fact that it will go a long way in demonstrating the true spirit of Rotarians, which is “Service above Self.”
He added that the project, being a memorable one, had given succour to a good number of people with sight problems, most especially among those who felt helpless, thinking that it was all over for them.
Fielding questions from newsmen on the sidelines, the Rotary International President, Yinka Hakem Babalola, firstly commended members of Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi for taking the bold initiative, even though they have been known to organise an Eye Camp Project for the past 15 years, where patients were only given eyeglasses and drugs without surgical intervention, which, according to him, is not done at the Eye Camp Project.
“But, I can assure you that this year, I have Rotarians all over the world who are committed to creating lasting impact. In fact, when the issue of cataract surgery was brought up by Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi, District 9141, I wasted no time in giving it my blessing, having seen that it is one of our top priorities in our theme this year, ‘Creating Lasting Impact.’”
“Truly, there are many who are suffering from cataract problems but cannot afford the money to pay for the surgery in order to regain their normal sight.
“Sequel to the pitiable condition of the indigent patients, we then asked the Ophthalmology Department of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital to do well to conduct a thorough screening to identify those that have the cataract problem, and it was disclosed that 200 persons were affected with the problem. Then, we now agreed to foot their bills so that they will undergo the surgery to regain their sight, and that is what we call lasting impact in one’s life.
“Indeed, I make bold to say here that I am proud and grateful to Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi, which is my club that I have fellowshipped with for the past 35 years.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that Rotary has been involved in rendering many humanitarian services in every community they operate from, and I mince no words to say that one of their top-notch services was the fight against polio to save children from getting deformed.”
He, however, encouraged the Rotarians to do more in community assessment with a view to identifying the serious needs of the people and seeing how they can help them.
“Interestingly, I have already started discussions with some Rotary Clubs in other states on how to build an eye hospital, particularly in the rural areas, so as to help the indigent ones out from going blind.”
Also in his remarks, the representative of the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Ophthalmology Department, Prof. Richard Echem, expressed happiness with the timely coming in of Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi to collaborate in having the cataract surgery exercise done on the patients.
“Unarguably, blindness is one of the commonest mistakes no one will ever like to accept, having seen that whoever is blind cannot do anything by himself. Even when he is tutored or trained in one trade or the other, there is still a limitation on what he can do.
“For me, this humanitarian project from Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi is quite remarkable and deserves to be praised by all and sundry, and I strongly believe that the Ophthalmology Department, having accepted to collaborate with Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi, will carry out the surgery exercise very successfully so as to enable the patients to regain their sight at the end of the day.
“Once more, I want to sincerely thank the Rotarians for this gesture, believing that this will just be the beginning of good things to come, as there will be a lot of collaboration in doing good things in other areas of life to reach out to indigent ones in the society,” he said.
He, nevertheless, charged the patients not to hesitate to tell the story of the good work the Rotarians have done in helping them to regain their sight when they get back home.
Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Mr. Job Chioma, who spoke on behalf of other patients, thanked Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi for their wonderful gesture in coming forward to help them restore their sight once again, hence prayed God to bless and replenish their purse in hundredfold.
