Follow Us on Google
From Joe Effiong, Uyo
Wonder Life Care Mission (WOLCAM) International, a non-profit specialising in the evacuation of mentally challenged persons from the streets, has declared that so it has evacuated and successfully treated 670 of such persons in Nigeria and Cameroun.
Rev Godwin Udoakah, president of the organisation, told Daily Sun on Monday, preparatory to the 25th anniversary celebration of the outfit that the centre, located at Ikot Afanga in Oruk Anan in Akwa Ibom State, is a faith-based organisation that provides shelter, food, clothing, psychological, medical and spiritual needs of the mentally challenged persons in the society.
Udofah said he established the organisation in 1996 with a divine mandate to evacuate the homeless, helpless and rejected mentality challenged persons from danger areas, road junctions, market places, urban and beautification sites, heal, treat and rehabilitate them through capacity building and discipleship training programme.
‘So far, 670 mentally incapacitated persons have been attended to in the Republic of Cameroun and Nigeria in 25 years of WOLCAM existence and this number has been healed, treated, restored and integrated to the society to contribute their quota to themselves and the society,’ he stated.
Other News
Udofah said the aims and objectives of WOLCAM include provision of mental health intervention to persons in need; eradicating and minimising all human rights abuse including rape and on-the-street pregnancy and birth by female persons with mental health; and to comprehensively address issues of destitution, stigmatization and social exclusion of people with mental health and disabilities.
The reverend lamented that, due to the hard times, it has become increasingly difficult to cater for the inmates at WOLCAM facility as they are in urgent need of a bus or ambulance for street evacuation of mentally challenged persons.
‘We urgently need construction of toilet and bathroom, construction of perimeter fencing for security reasons We need people to partner and sponsor evacuation of mentally challenged persons from danger areas with N100,000 quarterly or N500,000 annually.
‘Urgent medical attention and food are needed in the centre as hunger is a very serious issue among the inmates,’ Udofah lamented.
He said the Board of Governors of the organisation, to commemorate the silver jubilee anniversary celebration of the centre coming up on Tuesday, October 12, at Ikot Afanga in Oruk Anan, has approved the naming of a 40-bed hospital ward and administrative block, in honour of the wife of the governor, Dr Martha Udom Emmanuel, and to crown her the Grand Patron of WOLCAM ‘in appreciation to Her Excellency’s numerous life-touching, life-transforming, life empowerment and life restoration programmes and the provision if succor to widows, the less privileged and the youth across the state.’
