Following the recent outbreak of cholera, the Home for the Needy Foundation, a non-governmental organization, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, has urged the government to intensify efforts to stop open defecation.
During a press briefing where the foundation presented its three-year scorecard, they emphasized the urgent need to end open defecation due to the significant health risks it poses.
The foundation, known for its support of healthcare workers, highlighted its ongoing efforts, including the donation of infection prevention and control materials to the state, aimed at safeguarding healthcare workers and communities.
Pastor Solomon A. Folorunsho, the coordinator of the foundation, added that beyond ending open defecation, the government should also consider measures to alleviate the economic hardship faced by Nigerians.
“As a foundation, that is what we are doing. We have provided shelter, food, and primary health care for more than 4,393 orphans, widows, and internally displaced persons, from Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Kebbi, Kaduna, Benue, Niger, Bauchi, Plateau, Taraba, Edo, Delta, Ondo, and Kogi states.
“We participated in World Menstrual Hygiene Day in 2022 in collaboration with WHO, Edo State Ministry of Health, Loretta Foundation based in the UK, and Medical Women Association of Nigeria;
We collaborated with Simeon Pantry Group based in the USA to provide hygienic food for the children.
“We collaborated with the Jimmy Carter Foundation based in the USA to provide training on the administration of Mectizan. In collaboration with Kitchen That Love Children, based in the UK, we provided foodstuffs for the children,” he said.
He further said the organization had trained and prepared 456 children who wrote JAMB, WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB, resulting in 137 of them getting admission to study Medicine & Surgery, Nursing, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Law, Accounting, Business Administration, Public Administration Engineering, Mass Communication, Philosophy in different universities.
“We produced 18 graduates of the following disciplines: Nursing & Midwifery, Chemical Engineering, Law, Pharmacy, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Accounting, Public Administration, Computer Science, Health Education, International Relations & Diplomacy, Mass Communication, Religious Studies.
“We collaborated with Wells Mountain Foundation based in the USA, Futura Foundation based in Germany, and Community Sports Educational Development (CSED) based in the UK to provide scholarships for 21 university students studying Medicine & Surgery, Nursing, Law, and Engineering.
“We collaborated with AIESEC based in Canada to provide voluntary teachers for our secondary school; In collaboration with Rural Health Initiative for Improved Living (RHIFIL), we floored seven uncompleted classrooms.
‘We reunited more than 3,000 IDPs with their families. We provided IDPs with the capital to start over in life. We provided psychosocial support to the IDPs to help them overcome trauma and improve their mental health,” he said.
Folorunsho said that the organization has empowered women who are now running their businesses successfully.
“We embarked on farming activities to cater for the more than 4,393 children and widows in our centre; We cultivated a pineapple farm of more than 15 hectares and have been able to harvest hundreds of thousands of pineapples as a part of the children’s proper nutrition.
“Additionally, we have farms of altogether more than 70 hectares, where we have been cultivating different crops like cassava, yam, corn, plantain, and all kinds of vegetables.
“We provided internally displaced persons with farmlands to generate an income for themselves. They have been planting crops like watermelon, corn, cucumber, paw paw, among others,” he said.
