By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Ahead of the annual Islamic fast known as Ramadan starting in the coming days, a group known as the Zenith Pathfinders has organised a free medical screening for a community in Ogun State.
The group also shared free healthcare packages to residents of the Adiyan Muslim Community in Agbodo Oja, Ogun State, to enable them to be medically for the annual Islamic ritual.
According to a statement, the event was held on Sunday at 296 Orodu Road at Ilese Bus Stop, Adiyan in Agbado Oja, and more than 200 persons benefited from this.
The screening involved blood pressure, sugar level tests, as well as specialist consultation, with the required prescriptions and drugs given to the inhabitants of the community.
In a bid to also alleviate the suffering of the less privileged, Zenith Pathfinders also donated household items like shoes and clothes, among other items.
Addressing newsmen, the founder of Zenith Pathfinders, Hajiah Aminah Yahya, expressed joy at seeing the smiles on the faces of people who benefited from the gesture.
She explained that the purpose of the programme was to encourage Muslims to know their medical status before fasting so that can be able to have a hitch-free Ramadan.
“We are at the Adiyan Muslim community for the second edition of Pre-Ramadan Medical Screening. We started last year with over 300 participants, but this year, we have over 200 participants.
“The essence of having this programme before Ramadan is to encourage our people to know their medical status before Ramadan comes in.
“They have to know their health status so that they can take care of themselves before Ramadan so that they can have a hitch-free Ramadan. We also gave free household items like cloth materials, fans, freezers and others to over 150 Muslims,” she added.
On his part, Dr Alabi Olarenwaju Usman of the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Ojo, Lagos, said the majority of the Muslims who participated in the medical services were medically fit to fast in the month of Ramadan.
“We are here for humanitarian services for Adiyan Muslim Community. We attended to over 200 Muslims in the community. A few of the cases here involved hypertension, diabetes and malaria. We have given them the necessary assistance, and most of them are eligible for Ramadan,” the medical practitioner, who was the consultant on the ground, said.
Some of the beneficiaries commended Zenith Pathfinders for the gesture, urging the government to do more to make health services affordable.
“This is good, and we sincerely thank the organisers. They conducted medical screening for us without collecting a dime. We are so grateful,” the Imam of Ajumoni Central Mosque, Mutta Three, Ustadh Usman AbdulRaheem, said.
