By Okechukwu Onuegbu
Anambra State anaemic orphan and sickle cell sufferer, Miss Chilotam Ezikwelu, Saturday, sought intervention of governor Chukwuma Soludo and other wealthy individuals and corporate entities to undergo urgent medical attention at a teaching hospital.
Chilotam, who is the only surviving child of late Mr Akpu and late Mrs Regina (Opel Ugbondu) Ezikwelu of Irudo Igbuala Village, Ifitedunu in Dunukofia LGA, is currently in need of blood, care and other welfare packages to bounce back to life.
Fact-checkng reports that the 18-year-old girl was weak and unable to express herself as at the time our correspondent discovered her at Sickle Cell Orphanage and Underprivileged Homes, Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State.
Speaking on her behalf, the Director of the orphanage home and National Coordinator, Association of People Living with Sickle Cell Disorder (APLSCD), Mrs Aisha Edward-Maduagwu, lamented that Chilotam was also suffering of depression because she was abandoned to die possibly because of her sickle cell disorder (SCD) condition.
Edward -Maduagwu, who recalled how she was brought to her attention when she was 14-years-old, described her as a promising child who had excelled in weaving, a skill she acquired when SCD crisis and kidney problems she sustained due to poor medical attention could not allow her further her education.
"Chilotam is currently receiving palliative medical care under my watch. We need money to take her to a teaching hospital where her health will be well managed. We don't have money to do that now and we don't want her to die. She is actually from a rich home. But her financial burden and welfare had been under my head for about five years now.
"I enrolled her in a secondary school but she dropped out willingly because of frequent illness. When I investigated it, I found out that aside SCD she also has kidney problem due to poor medical attention she received from her relatives. I learnt that they were administering her with local herbs whenever she felled sick.
"I also discovered that she is suffering over depression probably because most of her relatives are rich but refused to help her. Her auntie, Mrs Vicky Chikwelu served as a commissioner for Women Affairs under the former governor Willie Obiano. Also, Mrs Ify Obinabo, the present commissioner for Women Affairs under the administration of Professor Chukwuma Soludo, is married to one of her father's siblings.
"There are other rich people around her but none is ready to assist her. I have written several correspondences about her to Mrs Ify Obinabo but she refused to provide succor to Chilotam. I have also contacted the former Commissioner (Vicky) on her behalf but all she could provide was ₦10,000 she claimed to have gotten as a gift from one lady. I don't know what else to do to save this promising child. She needs blood donation and other medical attention.
"I am appealing to Mr Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo to help save this girl. I am also appealing to the governor's wife, Mrs Nonye Soludo to come to the rescue of Miss Chilotam. We are seeing the good works you people are doing in health and other sectors, and we believe that rescuing this innocent girl will add to your benevolence. We are also appealing to other well to do individuals and corporate entities to assist Chilotam," she stated.