No fewer than 160 children of the Oyo State Juvenile Correctional Home have benefited from the free medical mission of Rotary Club, Ibadan Jericho Metro.

The medical mission was held at the Juvenile Correctional Home, Ibadan, on Monday in collaboration with partners from the US.

Mr. Samuel Kolawole, the club President, said the medical mission became imperative following the reports received from Sarah and Kent John Food Outreach held at the juvenile home recently.

“Missions like this are probably once in a year and as such, it is not something that can take care of all the needs of children at the Juvenile Correctional Home.

“What we have done here will give us the idea of what the needs are, apart from the ones we can immediately take care of.

“There is need for continuity and follow up, that is where the government can come in.

“Government needs to continue to collaborate with non-governmental organizations (NGO) to meet the needs here,” Kolawole said.

In his remarks, Dr. Musibau Kasumu, the Team Lead for U.S Medical Mission, said those taking care of the children at the home should be commended, adding that help should be provided for them.

Kasumu said there were many things that could be sourced from the U.S, which could help the society, but there was a need for assurance that it would be used for what is intended.

He observed that there was a need to build more facilities and provide amenities that could adequately cater for the numbers of children at the home, who were currently over-crowded.

“The kids that cannot come out now were in that home, about 19 kids in a room and with a minimum of about five of them on a small bed.

“And, there is a bed that has eight kids and these kids cannot come out because of their condition. One of them is seven years old but looks like a two years old baby.

“Without those people that have been caring for them to this stage, it won’t be possible to have the mission, so they need to be assisted,” Kasumu said.

He stressed the need for continuous interventions to address the issues of malnutrition and medical conditions of the children.

The wife of Oyo State Governor, Mrs. Tamunominini Makinde, said the state government had been doing so much to cater to the welfare of the less privileged in the state.

Makinde, represented by Mrs. Christianah Abioye, the State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, said that most children at the juvenile correctional home were those abandoned on the streets and rescued from abuse.

She said that the state government did its own medical outreach, noting that the office of the governor’s wife had carried out two of such outreaches.

According to her, this is just to ensure that the less privileged in the state get affordable medical care and drugs.

“With a medical team from the U.S facilitated by the Rotary Club, Ibadan Jericho Metro, we are so glad because this is the first time we will be having such from an organization like this.

“This is a very big project; this is not jamboree; when you talk about the real project and real concern for the less privileged, this is it,” the governor,”s wife said.

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Also, Dr. Adebisi Ayoola, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, represented by Dr. Johnson Ajani, a Director in the ministry, appreciated the governor for approving the free health mission on a quarterly basis for those in the home.

Ayoola said this kind of collaboration would help to meet more needs of the less privileged, adding that more people should partner with the government for more interventions.

The media report that the U.S Medical Mission team comprised Naykas Healthcare Inc, Hope4all Inc, and Connect Scare Inc.