Azeez Adeleye. Remember the name? He is that 12-year-old boy with a monstrous mouth, the boy that needs the sum of N134, 350 for a corrective surgery at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
Well, for the boy, a 10-year travail may soon be over.
Twice, on Wednesday, August 11 and Tuesday, October 12, Daily Sun had published the story of the unfortunate youngster whose parents have been running from pillar to post in search of money to save their son. But no help was forthcoming.
But a non-governmental organisation, Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care (GIPLC) has come to the aid of the boy. The group, after reading about the boy’s plight, commenced raising funds for him. It soon came up with some amount. And last week, the group stormed the corporate headquarters of The Sun Publishing Limited alongside Azeez and his mum.
There, they handed over the sum of N140, 000 to Azeez’s mum. The money would start the process that would enable the boy overcome the growth known as neurofibroma that has been tormenting him since he turned two.
Coordinator of GIPLC, Mr. Nuhu Kwajafa, made the presentation to Mrs. Iyabo Adeleye on behalf of the group.
The Consultant, Oral and Max. Surgery at LUTH, Professor G.T. Arotiba had said the sum of N134, 350 would be needed for a surgery to tackle the disease. In the breakdown of the estimate, Arotiba explained that admission for two weeks would cost N34, 000, operation fee N38, 250, drugs N25, 000, feeding N7, 000, haematology tests N3, 000, blood chemistry tests N3, 000 and miscellaneous N15, 000.
Kwajafa, who hails from Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, explained that he was moved with compassion to assist the boy after he read the story captioned: Strange growth ravages boy’s face, with a rider, Family needs N134, 000 to cure disease. “I was touched in my heart to render help to Azeez after I read his story published in the Daily Sun of Tuesday October 12, on page 16. After reading the story, I knew Azeez was going through a lot of pains. This made my NGO to appeal to people to donate to Azeez, and today, we have raised the sum of N140, 000 for Azeez to be able to undergo the surgery.”
It wasn’t the first time Kwajafa’s group would be involved in such charity. Two and a half years ago, Daily Sun reported the story of Ebuka Anene, a child with tumour of the eyes. The NGO was able to raise N445, 000 for the boy.
“I believe that The Sun newspaper is carrying out its own responsibility to the society. Without these publications, we wouldn’t have known the plight of all these people. We give glory to God that The Sun in one way or the other is contributing positively towards mankind,” he stated.
Kwajafa also delved into some projects embarked on by the organisation to help the needy in the society. According to him, one of the projects tagged Food For One Million, began about four years ago. Through the project, Kwajafa stressed, the organisation has been able to assist underprivileged Nigerians in different orphanage homes across Abuja, Nasarawa, Benue and Anambra states with food, clothing, toiletries and other items.
He continued: “In the last four years, we have been able to take care of over 7,000 children through our other project called Child Education Support. We usually pay the school fees of about 1, 500 orphans. “Our third project is called Save A Child, where we also raise money for children who cannot afford to pay medical bills. So far, we have donated over N45 million to children. I will say that we are a vessel of help to the underprivileged. We get information from the media and later we get across to relevant people in the society who we believe can support us financially.
“In my organisation’s account, we don’t have much money but we have the muscle and power to raise millions of naira. I was reading the newspaper and I saw another story of a girl that was raped by her father and I sent a couple of SMS to people and they replied that they are willing to assist me.
“In Nigeria, there is a lot of money and that is why GIPLC does not look for support from any foreign donor, rather we deal with our own people. Nigerians should remember that they have a purpose of being on earth and they should always look at the next person as their own. Nigerians should stand up and show love to one another.” Ecstatic Mrs Adeleye, while receiving the money, thanked GIPLC for the gesture. She prayed that God would continue to bless the organisation so that it would keep on assisting the needy in the society.
She asserted that following the publication of her son’s story in the Daily Sun of October 12, a sum of N85, 000 had been paid into the bank account opened for the purpose. “I am using this medium to thank you all and to appeal to you again that you should continue to render assistance to my son so that he will be saved from this strange disease. This surgery is the first of four that doctors said my son would need so that he would become normal. After this operation, we would still need financial assistance for subsequent operations. Please, we need your prayers for the success of this surgery,” she said.
Azeez currently studies at the St. Thomas Nursery and Primary School, a Catholic school in Ibefun, Epe area of Lagos. Despite the ailment that has taken the better part of his face, Azeez is described as a brilliant pupil who loves soccer. He hopes to combine his academics with the round leather game. The strange growth started like a boil when Azeez was two years old. It soon grew beyond normal proportions and defaced him. Since the strange ailment began 10 years ago, the family has spent a lot of money going from one hospital to the other.
Mrs. Adeleye can still be reached on 07087727561 and 07053133454.
Source:http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/11/national-11-11-2010-010.htm
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