500 residents get foundation’s free medical care

No fewer than 500 residents of Surulere, Lagos, benefited from a free medical outreach organised by the Gladys Fagbemi Elderly Care Foundation, with beneficiaries receiving health screenings, medications, eye care and palliative support. The annual outreach featured free medical tests for high blood pressure and blood sugar, eye examinations, and the distribution of prescription drugs and eyeglasses to those who required them. Medical personnel, including about eight doctors, four optometrists, a matron and four nurses, attended to beneficiaries during the exercise. Speaking at the event, the founder of the foundation, Princess Aderemi Fagbemi, popularly known as Mama’s Child, said the outreach was organised to preserve the legacy of her late mother, Gladys Fagbemi, a former nurse whose passion was caring for the elderly. “Today we are celebrating the legacy of my late mom, Gladys Fagbemi, and the three-year memorial of my sister, Pastor Aderele Fagbemi-Lamai. “This is the sixth edition of the Gladys Fagbemi Elderly Care Foundation Medical Outreach for the Elderly, which is something my mother was passionate about because she was a nurse before she passed. “She always had compassion for the care of the elderly, so when we decided to uphold her legacy, we established the Elderly Care Foundation,” she said. Fagbemi expressed delight that the programme continued to impact residents of her childhood community. “I’m happy this is our community; this is where I was born, and I’m happy to put smiles on the faces of the elderly in our community. I pray that it will outlive me and that my children will continue the work whenever God calls me home,” she added. She explained that although another family initiative, the Hadassah Global Foundation, operates in about 10 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, the Philippines, Tanzania and Kenya, the elderly care outreach would remain in Surulere in honour of her late mother. “In terms of the elderly care outreach, it has to be in the Surulere community,” she said. Fagbemi also urged individuals and organisations to complement government efforts in improving healthcare delivery, noting that greater collaboration would help expand access to medical services. Also speaking, Prophetess Dr. Augustina Ifeanyi Uche Ueamaka, a niece of the late Gladys Fagbemi, described the deceased as a compassionate woman who inherited a culture of generosity from her father. “Mama was a nice person. What you are seeing today is inborn. My grandfather was a doctor who helped people freely without collecting money from those who could not afford treatment. Mama took after him,” she said. Some beneficiaries commended the initiative for bringing healthcare closer to the community. One of them, Pa Ade Kayode, described the outreach as a commendable intervention and expressed hope of supporting the foundation financially in the future. “I am so excited. The foundation is doing well. I believe that one day I will contribute because what they are doing is great,” he said. Another beneficiary, Mrs. Mary Irabor, said she underwent blood sugar and blood pressure tests, consulted a doctor and received a prescription for medication. She described the outreach as timely and appreciated the foundation for providing free healthcare services to members of the community.