I bought their land N1.2million to save their son of diabetes

David Lawal
Aug 8, 2017 · 4 min read
David by the River of Ogbese in Ondo State. He was coming from Okada in Edo State to visit Ogbese village in Ondo State — Photo By David Lawal

There is no denial that finding long lasting solutions to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require all hands on deck as much as it requires cohesive model strategies as planned for the #UNLEASHLAB2017.

It is in line with this strategy that UNLEASH has invited about 1000 talents from 129 countries believing that to achieve the SDGs by 2030, according to the United Nations, will require new and innovative solutions that challenge traditional business models and approaches. Hence, seven of the SDGs will be addressed this year in Copenhagen, Denmark.

According to UNLEASH, every year, different themes within the SDGs will be chosen to work on. This year the seven themes are: Education & ICT, Energy, Food, Health, Sustainable consumption & production, urban sustainability, and Water. The proper integration of policy interventions in different areas can make the difference between achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and failure.

On my part, I am a 29-year-old multimedia journalist who is based in Lagos, Nigeria with five years of experience in the Nigerian media sector. I earned the Higher National Diploma (a BSc equivalent in Nigeria) in Journalism from the prestigious Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos.

Demolition of Adegoke shopping Plaza for road construction along Ijoko Road in Akute, Ogun State — Photo By David Lawal

While studying at the institution, I signed up for a Child’s Right Advocacy program called Voice of Children Africa (VOCA) and later became the General Secretary. Before now, I worked in the teaching sector for six years.

As a journalist, I work closely with Action Health Incorporated, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the health and development of Nigerian youths to promote and protect young people’s sexual and reproductive health especially, increasing their ability to prevent early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS as well as to make informed decisions about their sexuality, free of discrimination, coercion, and violence; while developing competencies to thrive now and in adulthood.

I am a Google certified multimedia journalist and was a delegate of UNESCO to the World Press Freedom Day 2015 in Latvia. A member of Nigerian Union of Journalists, Journalists For Christ, Africa Press Team, Africa Young Entrepreneur and Wise Corpers Network. Similarly, I am a member of a team from Global Editors Network who designed a program to combat Ebola virus diseases out of Nigeria in 2014.

As such, I have never been satisfied merely reporting ugly occurrences in health failure when I could play a part in curbing and eventually eradicating this preventable health problems. Thus, I began to seek ways and found out that Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds kids and 145 women of childbearing age every day, who are 99% rural settlers. The data is staggering.

This is why I birthed Rural Health Riders (RHR) with the aim of helping to bridge the gap between professional Health workers in the cities and disconnected communities in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Rural Health Riders was birthed after I visited a family while investigating activities of Politicians in the state during and after election period. I met this family, whose first son, 46years of age died of Malaria after losing his wife at Child birth 14 years earlier.

Three years after, the second and only surviving son (45years old), is bed ridden by Diabetes, yet the 78 year old mother of three kept saying her enemies are at work, blaming the situation on spiritual rather than medical.

A very bad portion of road on Ijoko Road at Bashy Bus Stop, Ogun State — Photo By David Lawal

Like many others in the community, she trusts the traditional health care givers, yet for 7 months, the young man’s health kept deteriorating and he was skinny when I arrived. This wasn’t a case for the nearest Health Centre, about 85kilometres away, but a General Hospital which would require the grandma selling her entire properties, inherited and acquired, to embark on.

As a learned and passionate individual about health, I advised that the man be taking to the hospital for proper attention but all efforts proved abortive since there wasn’t the fund for it. Eventually, I entered a business deal to raise money for the family, bought a parcel of inherited land for N1.2million.

The community is about 200 years old yet the only health centre built is now deserted of workers who complain of distance from the cities and have often refused to reside within. Pregnant women patronise traditional health care givers. No option! The two access roads to this community is either by road (not motorable or by a 10minute ride over the river (no safety measure).

Unfortunately, other than poverty, bad hygienical conditions and limited access to medical treatment, lacking enlightenment often is the primary cause for high mortality rates among babies (8–20 % in their first year of life) and mothers. 8–12 ‰ of child-bearing women between 13 and 49 of age die before, in or shortly after childbirth. One wonders if UNICEF captures the data of women and kids from such communities since there is no access.

As for #UNLEASHLAB2017, I am in to contribute to the integrated analysis which is required to successfully address such complex development issues that balance social, economic, and environmental development from August 13 through 21st.

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