From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
They had been restricted to the outskirts of the city for decades due to their ailment, yet they accepted their fate, continued raising families and expanded their territory.
Apart from farming in their enclave, they also go out to solicit alms around major streets and public places like filling stations to meet their daily needs, especially to raise money for their medicines. They are leprosy patients, popularly known as “Kuturta” in Hausa language. They were constrained to their village called Amanawa, in Kalgo Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
Their enclave, domiciled between Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, and University of Science and Technology, Aliero, KSUSTA, Teaching Hospital, could not be said to be hidden from the public.
In the course of their struggle to survive in life, many important personalities in Kebbi State, including governors and their wives, have extended good gestures to them.
The present Kebbi State governor, Dr. Nasir Idris, has had many encounters with them at a filling station when he was president of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT). It was gathered that, since then, they have been praying for Idris, their benefactor, who had not even conceived the idea of contesting for the governorship position of the state.
Succour came their way recently when Idris was approached by the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, an international non-governmental organisation, saying the lepers were in need of attention.
Idris did not hesitate. He noted that he used to see them at a filling station along Kalgo road whenever he returned home as the NUT president from FCT.
While narrating his encounter with them during distribution of food items and a borehole to the leprosy patients living in Amanawa village by the Wash Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, Idris said: “I usually met them at the filling station along the road here in Kalgo and they would be praying for me to become the governor of the state. At that time, I had not conceived the idea of contesting for the governor of this state. So, today, their prayers have been answered.”
He observed that the gesture extended to them would certainly be a source of relief to the people of the area. He noted that the foundation had became a household name in Kebbi State for more than 20 years, which started with eye treatment for the underprivileged within and outside the state.
“As far as we are concerned, this foundation has delivered, because not only the residents of Amanawa village, people come from as far as Niger Republic to receive free eye surgery or treatment.
“The foundation moved from eye surgery to other beneficial activities to our people, like provision of water and foodstuff. The Kebbi State government and its people will never forget this foundation,” he said.
The governor appealed to the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the items in their houses and continue to pray for the foundation to succeed.
The food items distributed at the event included 50kg bags of rice, 10kg bags of maize, 10kg bags of millet and 10kg bags of sorghum as well as a borehole to ease the water scarcity in the settlement.
While speaking at the event, Dr. Shravan Kumar-Kasam, the chief executive officer, Wash Tulsi Foundation, who commended the governor for personally attending the distribution of the food items, noted that his administration has been doing a lot in transforming the state towards greatness.
According to him, this is not the first time the foundation is rendering assistance to the community; it has been doing that for the past 20 years and it would continue to do so.
The leader of the community, Mallam Usman Adamu, in an emotion-laden voice, appreciated the governor for coming to his village, alongside the foundation, to distribute relief materials to them.
He explained that, before the coming of the governor to the village, he had sent N1.5 million to them. He stressed that his physical presence has demonstrated his love for them.
Another woman, Hassana Umaru, who benefitted from the gesture, called on the people to come to their aide so that the women in the community would not be begging on the streets. She said: “We have children at home and sometimes we can be on the street without getting any money because of the harsh economy in the country now. So, we shall be happy if other NGOs could come to our assistance by providing work tools for us in terms of empowerment so that we can be self-reliant and be using it to take care of our families.”
In his remarks, the Secretary to the Kebbi State Government, Alhaji Yakubu Bala-Tafida, said: “This administration is committed to improving the livelihood of our people, which was the reason we have welcomed the Tulsi Foundation’s support in this community.”