By Humphrey Onyima
A cross section of residents of Enugu State precisely Awgu and Aninri Local Government residing in the rural areas have commended the Wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi for her commitment to the wellbeing of the people through her pet-project, Ugo – Touch of Life Foundation (U-TOLF).
According to a number of rural women who converged at Boys Secondary School Mgbowo in Awgu recently expressing their gratitude through Mrs. Ifeoma Okeke, the wife of Awgu Council Chairman saying that the Governor’s wife has assisted a lot of under-privileged women, children and youths in the rural areas, through free medical treatment, women empowerment, girl-child education, gift items and other donations aimed at giving them a sense of belonging and impacting positively on their lives.
Mrs. Agatha Ukah from Mgbowo, a retired state permanent secretary, added that the governor’s wife through her pet-project has also offered “free treatment to many, who hitherto did not know that they were having any health challenge”, saying: “One wonders what would have happened if this gallant woman, our Mummy and our amiable Governor have not been providing us with this kind of gesture”.
The Awgu council chairman’s wife, Mrs. Okeke, urged the people of the state, especially the rural dwellers to avail themselves of “this unique opportunity” bearing in mind the inherent benefits of the programme.
Other people, who made their assertion at Aninri Local Government Area, when Mrs. Ugwuanyi visited the council, in continuation of her free medical treatment programme across the state, added that the pet-project has helped them overcome their health and material challenges.
One of the beneficiaries of the medical outreach programme, Mrs. Uju Nwoye, a primary school teacher from the council, thanked the Enugu Governor’s wife for her selfless service to humanity, stressing that many of them would have died if not for her intervention across communities in the state.
She said: “There is a boy, who is an Albino. When Madam (Mrs. Ugwuanyi) visited here last February for her free medical care, that boy was very sick to the extent that everybody was afraid, considering his family’s poor background.
“This boy was taken to them and they diagnosed him and treated him freely. That boy is here today and very healthy”.
Shedding more light, the wife of the Aninri council chairman, Mrs. Dorothy Chukwu, described the ongoing free medical treatment by Mrs. Ugwuanyi as a reliable antidote that has stemmed the tide of mortality in the state.
Responding, Mrs. Ugwuanyi disclosed that her free medical and empowerment programme was designed to impact positively on the people of the state as well as to make them self-reliant to ameliorate their sufferings.
The governor’s wife, who appealed to the privileged ones in the society to assist those in need, stated that the first round of the free medical exercise was successfully carried out in the 17 local government areas of the state, adding that the programme is presently in its second phase.
“My dear brothers and sisters, always strive to assist those in need. Look around; you will see people who are less privileged than you; assist them. My purpose of establishing this NGO is to touch people’s lives positively”, she said.
