Foundation conducts free medical checks in Lagos
Raliat Anako Abdulsalam Foundation (RAAF) a non-profit organisation promoting citizens welfare, on Thursday carried out free medical checks and welfare programme for Aguda residents in Surulere area of Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that health workers set up two points for the medical checks and another point for feeding and distribution of welfare packages.
Residents had their blood pressures, blood levels and weight checked before moving to the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists for further examinations.
While the medical tests were ongoing, the residents and other guests at the event were treated to different delicacies.
Packs of raw food items comprising rice, garri, pasta and condiments were distributed to adults and the elderly in attendance while children were given school bags and exercise books.
Mrs Raliat Abdulsalam founder/Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, said that her passion for wellbeing of the less privileged citizens and children led her into service for humanity.
She shared a brief history of how the RAAF idea was born and thanked God for her parents who taught her the virtue of generosity.
Abdulsalam stressed the need for residents to carry out regular health checks on themselves and not wait till the conditions degenerate, hence the medical checks for the residents.
She said the checks for the community by a team of doctors hired by the foundation would help them to refer people with underlying health conditions to the proper hospitals for treatment.
Listing various efforts of the foundation, she said that they organised a talent show for children and were able to secure scholarship for two children to study in Canada recently.
Abdulsalam said she choose April 1, which is her birthday, for the programme in order to impact lives positively and put smiles on faces.
“I am getting a lot of satisfaction from giving back. Maybe I was created like that, I can’t stand people suffering,” she said.
She advised other Nigerians to look out for wellbeing of people in their communities, while urging all tiers of government to provide basic infrastructure to increase wealth creation opportunities.
Abdulsalam said that the welfare and medical programme captured 900 residents of the community.
The foundation, she said, would carry out three of such programs in other Lagos communities annually and extend to other parts of Nigeria.
She declined comment on the cost of putting the programme together, insisting that there was no need to count the cost when helping the less privileged.
“Please let’s touch a life every day, do it one at a time,” she said.
Dr Saadat Yahaya, Consultant, ENT Doctor and Surgeon with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, (LASUTH) who was among the doctors attending to residents commended the efforts of the foundation to create health awareness in Aguda.
Yahaya said several Lagos residents were at risk of diabetes and high blood pressure because of daily stress, hence the need for constant health checks to ensure timely interventions.
“Health is wealth anywhere in the world, there is no amount of money that can compare with good health,” she said.
One of the health check beneficiaries, Mrs Morufaf Hussain, a sales attendant in Aguda, thanked the foundation for the opportunity to do vital tests and also go home with foodstuff after eating and having drinks at the event.
“It is a long time I went to hospital, I am happy that someone is kind enough to check my health status, feed me, give me take away pack and raw foodstuff to carry home for my family,” she said.
Master Chimobi Anene, a pupil of Gabcory Private School, Alafia and other beneficiaries expressed happiness for gifts received at the event.
Clerics, associates, friends and well wishers took turns to commend the foundation and its founder at the mix of birthday, welfare and medical checks programme.
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