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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Rotary Clubs in Xone 7 of District 9110 have observed the Rotary Day of Service with health talk in secondary schools, sanitation exercises and donations to Festac Girls Junior Secondary School and Amuwo-Odofin Mother and Child Maternity Home in Festac.
The event was to sensitise schools on dental health and keep the community clean by embarking on the clean-up, as members of Rotary Club Festac Town, Rotary Club Lagos West, Rotary Club Festac Central, Rotary Club Lagos Festac Cosmopolitan, Rotary Club Festac Metro, Rotary Club Canal Estate, Rotary Club Satellite Town and Rotary Club Amuwo came out in their numbers to ensure the exercise was a success.
The district’s assistant governor, Kefe Adedibu, said the Rotary Day of Service was dedicated to project the club as a service organisation, a day dedicated to ensure that members of the club render community service like the cleaning up exercise and other deeds to make the environment safe for all.
“The main goal is to ensure that the community where we live is clean and healthy for us all because a healthy community is a wealthy community and we keep it clean; some of the dirt can cause epidemics. People should stop dumping dirt along the road, expressway, and open defecation be stopped. Lagosians should take corrective measures and live in healthy environment,they should properly dispose waste,” she said.
Adedibu described the event as very successful because a handful of various clubs members represented made the task easier through their corroborative effort.
“Another major motive is membership drive and we are happy today that people in the community has seen our service to humanity and is interested in what we do, can join us.”
She described Rotary Day of Service as an international programme that the President, Rotary International, has made mandatory for all clubs to carry out with a view to showcasing and publicizing Rotary for everybody to know what the club is all about.
Moreso, president of Rotary Club Festac Town, a dentist, Dr. Slyvester Bassey, gave the students of Festac Girls Junior Secondary School useful tips on oral health.
“We are worried about the prevalence of cavities among Nigerian children; they have to kick off the oral health campaign for students to achieve better oral health. Oral hygiene is a necessity for our future generation; the aimed of the project is to reduce the impact of dental cavities.”
Dr Bassey stressed the need to inculcate healthy oral practices into the Nigeria children.
In his words: “Our entire focus is on building strong foundation through oral hygiene for our future generation”.
He explained that the campaign is to educate the children on the essence of oral health, saying, “Rotary is going round schools to educate the students and we believe it would make a lasting impact.”
Bassey said that the teeth are very important in our lives, right from the first tooth that the kid has to the last tooth dropped from the mouth.
“The entire body function depends on foods either chewed or swallowed and any slight issue on oral hygiene always brings a serious discomfort and this automatically slows down the body. The simple organ called teeth plays a critical part in our day to day activities.”
Bassey urged parents to introduce oral hygiene to their children at the early stage of their lives. “I urge all caring parents to ensure good oral hygiene for their children especially using toothpaste with carvity protection.
He added that oral hygiene was one of the great ways for the children to stay healthy, long-lasting health through nature and it is also a great way to have a bright future for their children because a saying goes; “a healthy body has a healthy mind,” he noted.
Also, a member of Rotary Club of Lagos West, another dentist, Dr. Beatrice Egbeogu, sensitized the children on care of the teeth. She had a practical section with the children,stating that Rotarians are being dedicated to the health and well-being of every household in Nigeria.
Egbeogu said the campaign is aimed at improving oral health across their host community by educating school children on the importance of oral health to ensure overall health and well-being.
She said: “This campaign is to impact good oral hygiene teachings and practicals to schools and we are still going to do a lot more.”
Speaking on the topic: “Oral hygiene, common dental myths and misconception”, Dr. Egbeogu said that oral diseases had gradually become the most common diseases worldwide, despite the fact that it was easily preventable through brushing of the teeth twice daily with carvity protection toothpaste.
Dr. Egbeogu further advised that Nigerians should see their dentist once in six months and that people should not always wait until they have problems with their teeth, “our mouth is the gateway to the body and poor oral health can lead to anaemia and other systematic diseases. But these can be diagnosed and nipped in the bud before it gets out of hand and the way forward is oral health education”.
