Corps Member Conducts Free Cataract Surgery For 20 Residents In Bauchi
By Abdullahi Idris,Bauchi
As part of service to the Community Development Service (CDS), a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Oluwasegun Isiaka has embarked on free cataract surgery for 20 indigents suffering from the disease in Bauchi.
Bauchi State Coordinator of the NYSC, Alhaji Namadi Abubakar while speaking at the commencement of the surgery at the State Specialist Hospital, Bauchi on Thursday, commended the Corps member for the selfless task he embarked on as his CDS project.
He called on other Philanthropists and well-to-do members of the public in the state to encourage Corps members to execute Community Development Projects by coming to their aid financially and morally because according to him, CDS is not always an easy task.
The NYSC Coordinator also said that this would offer them the required morale in executing projects that would have direct and positive impacts on the lives of the people in their host communities.
Namadi Abubakar also appealed to the beneficiaries and every member of the state to cooperate with the authorities in ensuring the safety of life and properties of Corps members posted to their communities for one-year mandatory service.
In his address, the Corps member who is doing his primary assignment at the State Specialist Hospital said that the project was to assist the indigents who had been diagnosed with cataracts but could not afford to pay for the surgery.
He further said that he observed that a lot of cataract patients patronize unorthodox treatment (Aiki gargajiya) for the disease because they could not afford the surgery and most of them came back to his PPA (the Specialist Hospital) still blind.
The Corps member with the State code BA/21B/1948, 2021 Batch B stream II said that this motivated him into embarking on the project as well as sensitizing them on how and where to seek proper treatment.
According to him, “The project was done to help those who can’t afford the surgery so that they will see and educate people of the community on the proper treatment when they are in the situation after we have created awareness and a platform to educate people about cataract and the proper treatment”.
He stressed that “This will prevent them from patronizing unorthodox treatment (aiki gargajiya) and also help convey the message as to the right treatment (cataract surgery) for others with the same condition.”
Oluwasegun Isiaka said that “20 people were selected and out of this number, we have 11 females and nine males” revealing that the project was singlehandedly carried out by him at the cost of N620,500.
One of the beneficiaries who spoke on behalf of others, Malam Mohammed Mohammed from Duguri community of Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state, appreciated Isiaka for the kind gesture recalling that the Corps member was among those who attended to him during the NYSC medical outreach in his community last year.
He then prayed to Allah to take over the corps member’s affairs in all that he did and wish him a successful life after service.
