Emma Elekwa
A group, Great Ifedinma Friends Club of Nigeria has pledged to undertake a surgery worth N10 million to remove the tumour of the six-year-old Chimuanya Emegwaribe.
Chimuanya has been diagnosed with severe brain tumour that had paralysed her since the age four.
Born a normal child, she had developed partial visual challenges, which later degenerated into severe problems when she fell and hit her head on the floor.
According to the mother, Mrs Jennifer Emegwaribe, the victim’s brain tumor diagnosis was in 2024, with surgery then valued at N7 million.
Regrettably, she had neither money to undertake the procedure, nor relatives to support her.
Narrating her ordeal, Emegwaribe said she finally brought the daughter home after several years of moving her from one hospital and local medicine practitioner to another, and exhausting her fortune without any improvement.
“My daughter, Chimuanya developed severe sight problems which made her partially lost her vision, and suffers repeated seizures.
Deteriorating condition
“The more I spend money carrying her to various places, the more her condition deteriorates.
“To worsen the matter, the father had since abandoned us,” she lamented.
Emegwaribe who describing the benefactor’s intervention as divine, said the support would enable her child start the medical process to reclaim her life.
She appreciate the club for their dedication to the plights of the poor and the distressed.
While praying for God’s unimaginable blessings upon them, she expressed hope that the daughter would once again bounce back to life.
Earlier, while presenting the case, Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo recalled the distressing situation she met the child and her mother.
This necessitated her decision to help her source for support for the treatment.
She said the club, through the gesture has not only saved a life, but also given hope to the downtrodden that God still answers prayers.
“When the mother of the child met me, and said she believes I could help her, I was at a loss as to how.
Major breakthrough
”But, when I reached out to the Great Ifedinma Friends Club and they obliged, I knew that what God cannot do does not exist.
“For the Club to commit to undertake the N10 million surgery is indeed a major breakthrough in the process of getting the young child’s life back, and I want to sincerely appreciate them for this.
“I also want to commend the Gender Based Violence and Peace Organization, GBV&P, for the work they did in sourcing help for the victim.”
Announcing the donation, President of the Great Ifedinma Friends Club, Prince Uche Oduche, said they would be making initial payment of the first tranche of N5 million to enable Chimuanya proceed to hospital and commence treatment, while the balance would follow later.
Oduche noted that the gesture by the club was in keeping with the message of love as exemplified by St Valentine.
He added that the donation was one of the numerous ways the club has been giving back to the society.
“This is what the Great Ifedinma Friends Club is known for. We believe in love and charity.
Moved to pity
“When we heard about the plight of this child through the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, we were moved to pity and immediately we decided to do this.
“The idea is to secure the life of this suffering child and give her a future and we want to believe God that this procedure will go as planned and she will be well again.
“The gesture is also in support of the State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo and the good works he is doing in the state.
“The Ministry of Women Affairs under the present Commissioner has done noble thing that have brought honour to the Soludo administration.
Chairman of the Charity Committee of the club, Chief IKC Chukwuma said the donation was expression of gratitude to God for his mercies to members.
He assured that they would continue to follow through the entire procedure to ensure its success.
On his part, Programme Manager of Gender Based Violence and Peace Organization, Ubaka Onwuanibe, described the support as timely and urged more support for the suffering child and her family from other public-spirited individuals.
