Residents of Ondo State have appealed for urgent medical and educational assistance as the BTO CARES humanitarian programme received more applications than anticipated within its first week.

The initiative, launched on October 1 by Ondo Community Connect and sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, attracted applicants seeking help with kidney dialysis, major surgeries, school fees and other pressing welfare needs.

The programme’s coordinator, Iretidola Akinrowo Ojekhoa, said the overwhelming response forced the organisers to suspend registration on Friday, October 9, after only seven days.

“Our BTOCARES registration was oversubscribed within one week. The registration came to an end on Friday when the turnout was unexpectedly huge,” she said.

The needs assessment subsequently uncovered several cases requiring urgent intervention, including residents who cannot afford specialised medical treatment and families struggling to keep their children in school.

One of the urgent cases involves a resident who depends on regular kidney dialysis to survive. Although members of his community have contributed towards his treatment, their donations have not covered the amount required.

A community leader, Prince Alabi Adebowale Caleb, said the resident needed about N800,000 for treatment and appealed for additional assistance.

“We have been able to contribute our own quota to help the young man, but our little isn’t enough as he needs up to N800,000. We’ll be glad if you can help us facilitate his medical treatment,” Caleb said.

He explained that the community considered the man’s welfare a collective responsibility.

“I said ‘us’, not ‘him’, because he’s one of us and his well-being is our collective well-being as a community,” he added.

The assessment also identified other residents requiring expensive medical interventions, with some treatment costs running into millions of naira. Their cases reflect the difficulties families face when they need major surgery or specialised care but lack the financial means to pay for it.

Among the applicants is Pa Kolawole Familusi, a 60-year-old man popularly known as Kola Akewi, whose leg tumour has impaired his movement and reduced his ability to work.

His condition has also affected his capacity to provide for his family and pay his children’s school fees. The BTO CARES team said it had received his request and was exploring appropriate channels for medical and welfare assistance.

Another applicant, 50-year-old Ige Ologe, needs urgent surgery for a severe anal condition that his family says has worsened. His relatives are seeking support to meet the cost of treatment.

The assessment further uncovered the case of a 57-year-old resident of Ijare in Ifedore Local Government Area who lives with the effects of a partial stroke. The condition affects his left arm, left leg and speech.

During a visit to his home on October 14, the BTO CARES team provided food items and a cash token to meet his immediate needs. It also repaired his damaged mobile phone and promised to follow up on his medical evaluation.

The team said it would explore the possibility of connecting him with a partner health facility for further assessment and treatment.

Other cases include a 19-year-old with a large facial growth requiring medical evaluation and possible surgery, as well as a young girl with a growing tumour on her leg. Her family fears that a delay in treatment could worsen her condition and affect her future.

Education support has also emerged as a major concern, with applicants seeking help to settle outstanding fees and prevent their children from dropping out of school.

One of them, Ojo Taiwo, a physically challenged father who works as a shoe cobbler in Akoko North-West Local Government Area, is struggling to finance his son’s education while managing his own mobility challenges.

Taiwo is seeking N350,000 to pay his son’s outstanding fees at Western University, Iwo. He said the financial difficulty had already prevented the final-year student from sitting an examination.

“My son called me yesterday that he missed his exam because of school fees at Western University, Iwo. I told him I don’t have the financial capacity and he’s in his final year,” he said.

Taiwo added that he had approached the chairman of his association for assistance, but members raised only N50,000 towards the outstanding bill.

The cases form part of several requests recorded during the programme’s assessment across Ondo State. They highlight the financial pressures confronting families who cannot afford urgent healthcare or meet educational expenses without external support.

BTO CARES was established to provide direct assistance to vulnerable residents facing such challenges. At its launch in Akure, Ojekhoa said the programme would support emergency medical treatment, education, skills acquisition, artisanship, business development and the protection of vulnerable people and youths.

Under its education component, the initiative provides for assistance with school fees, examination charges, books and uniforms. Emergency support also covers medical bills, referrals, food assistance and temporary shelter for disaster victims.

To ensure that assistance reaches intended beneficiaries, the programme operates a no-cash-at-centre policy. It pays approved hospital bills and school fees directly to the relevant institutions rather than giving the money to applicants.

The organisers also profile and verify applicants before approving support. Under the programme’s guidelines, emergency cases should receive attention within 48 hours, while standard applications should be processed within seven working days.

Ojekhoa said the initiative was designed to address personal hardships that infrastructure projects alone could not resolve, particularly medical emergencies and financial barriers to education.

The surge in applications within seven days has brought the demand for direct humanitarian assistance in Ondo State into sharper focus.

The programme’s team said it was following up on the identified cases to determine applicants’ needs and pursue appropriate support.