Group, Belgian Partners Plan N20m First Aid Centre In Bauchi

A non-governmental organisation, Behind MaryGift Walls Foundation (BMWF), in partnership with international organisations under the City of Antwerp Belgium is to build a N20 million First Aid Centre at Kutulu Community of Miri District in Bauchi local government area.

At the groundbreaking of the facility yesterday, the founder of the organisation, Mrs MaryGift Chukwura said the project is supported by the International Solidarity Team of Belgium, Lalucas Team among other local and international groups.

“We have the city of Antwerp, the International Solidarity Team of Antwerp. They are in support of this project and giving their support financially for this project to form.

“We have a lot of partners also in Belgium, the LaLucas Team, their team of researchers, and they are giving their support.

“We also have local partners here in Nigeria that are giving their support. We have also contacted the Ministry of Health, Bauchi, and they said they would give their support as long as we build it to the standard of the Bauchi requirements of owning a first aid centre. So individually, the people of Kutulu, a lot of people across the globe are giving us their support”, the founder highlighted.

MaryGift said the community, being agrarian in nature was firstly surveyed for an intervention in agricultural storage facilities but due to the persistent problems of snake bites, minor injuries as well as maternal and child health, the organisation deemed it necessary to seek for international support towards addressing the challenge.

“I was told they are mostly farmers. So I thought, since they are farmers, they will need a storage facility to preserve their crops. But after the survey, they said they needed a first aid center. Sometimes they encounter a lot of injuries, and before they can travel to the city it’s a long distance, and some of them get disfigured and badly infected.

“So that’s how I started looking for funds to build the first aid center for them because that is the need, and that is the voice and we made a promise to them that we are going to do something, and I’m so happy that today it’s becoming a reality”, MaryGift narrated.

She said the project which is the first major infrastructure intervention by the foundation in the state will cost between N15 to N20 million for its completion.

Earlier, the state coordinator Behind MaryGift Walls Foundation Mr. Victor David said the community was selected after a survey in 2024 led by a team from the foundation on the needs of each and every household in the area.

Victor David said the facility designed to accommodate cases of snake bites, minor injuries, as well as maternal and child care is to be completed in 2028.

“It’s the first, let me say, major project that we are about to embark on. Though there are other projects that we’ve done, like we reach out to widows, and sometimes we also reach out to the less privileged, and also we empower the women on skills acquisition, like making of shampoo, liquid soap, and the rest”, the state coordinator revealed.

Responding, the village head of Kutulu, Shari Fada who thanked the foundation, Antwerp Belgium and other partners for choosing the community to benefit from the intervention, promised to provide all needed support, both physical and financial to ensure the success of the project for the benefit of generations to come.

“I want to appreciate all stakeholders, especially the NGO, for coming to our aid, and we promise to use our energy and little resources to ensure the project becomes a reality”, Shari Fada stated.

The International Solidarity Team of Antwerp is a multi-faceted movement involving NGOs, activists, artists, and citizens, while the LaLucas Team is a non-profit research organisation in Brussels focused on public health, research, and support for Africa and Belgium.

Highlights of the event included symbolic groundbreaking of the facility, cultural dance, display of local dishes, presentation of a goat and conferring traditional title of Sarauniyar Kutulu on the founder of the (BMWF) Foundation.