Group, Destitute Home Lament Inmates’ Health Conditions

The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity), Ebonyi State chapter and the leadership of St. Vincent De Paul Old People’s and Destitute Home in Abakaliki have expressed concern over the deteriorating health conditions of the inmates of the home.

They called for urgent steps to address the challenge, lamenting that the conditions of most of the inmates were critical and life-threatening.

The association’s president, Prince Chidi Aloh and the caretaker of the centre, Mr John Lekpa, said a recent medical outreach by the group showed that the blood pressure and other health conditions of the inmates were at an alarming rate.

He expressed regret that many of them were not on drugs to control the situation.

Aloh said that, having observed with dismay the abandonment and neglect of the inmates by public-spirited individuals and the government, the association periodically visits the home and conducts medical outreach, adding that the recent condition of the inmates called for urgent government attention.

The group said it had carried out other special intervention programmes aimed at meeting the inmates’ health needs and alleviating their suffering and other challenges.

The inmates are predominantly the elderly, disabled and orphans.

The Ebonyi State Chapter of the Pirates Confraternity has adopted the home since 2014. Most of the facilities in the home, including the borehole were donated by the group

The caretaker of the home, Mr Lekpa, said, “Most of us here are just living by the grace of God. There is a high level of hunger. We have been forgotten and abandoned. No support or assistance from the government or any individual. All we get to hear are promises that are never fulfilled. We need help.”