Corps member donates borehole, offers free medicare to IDPs

AS part of her community development project, a Batch C 2015 corps member, Ugwu Chinemerem Juliet, with State Code: FCT/14C/0652, has donated a community water borehole for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) at Yimitu Community, Waru District, Kabusa Ward, Abuja Municipal Area council (AMAC), FCT Abuja.

The corps member also provided free HIV testing and counselling to about 200 persons, giving special attention to nursing mothers, pregnant women and children.

Speaking to The Guardian at the commissioning of the facility, Ugwu explained that she decided to embark on the project due to lack of potable water being experienced by IDP’s in the community and also the skin infection on most of the children due to poor hygiene.

She said: “After settling down at my place of primary assignment, Federal Ministry of Works Headquarters, Mabushi, Abuja, I was watching the NTA Network news one Sunday when I saw some Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) talking about their unimaginable suffering conditions due to lack of basic social amenities like water, accommodation, food and medical needs especially for the infants under one year, nursing mothers and pregnant women who are the most vulnerable group affected by the insurgency.”

“Their conditions touched my heart and being a person with great passion for the needy and the down- trodden in the society, I decided to alleviate some of their pains and to make an impact in their lives during my service year. Then I took the first step of visiting the stakeholders managing IDP’s in Nigeria: National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relevant bodies to get the necessary information and guidance.”

“As I remembered that one of the steps to achieving a personal Community Development Service (CDS) project is to identify their highest need, I was told by the IDP Chairman that water was their highest challenge because most of the poor ones among them cannot afford to buy water sold at N30.00 per 25 litres.”

She added: “When I walked to the school batcher accommodation organized by some volunteer teachers, I saw the children sitting on the floor while they were being taught and many of them had skin infection on their heads caused by poor hygiene as shown in the picture. The volunteer teacher also confided in me that water is not readily available. To confirm this, many of the children did not even take their bath before coming to school that morning.”

The Graduate of Geology and Mining from Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), explained that about 150 persons will be receiving treatment with necessary malaria drugs and long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito net (LLTMN).

“Sensitization on best water handling practices, general sanitation and personal hygiene practices will go a long way to sustaining the project.”