Health News of Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Young FOMWAG donate to Weija Leprosarium

Some of items donated to the Weija Leprosarium Some of items donated to the Weija Leprosarium

The youth wing of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Organisations in Ghana has donated items worth GHS1,000.00 and an amount of GHS2, 000.00 to inmates of the Weija Leprosarium, in Accra.

The presentation formed part of the organisation’s support for the needy and the underprivileged in society.

The items include, bags of rice, toiletries, provisions, used cloths, cooking oil, assorted soft drinks among others.

Ms Hafsa Obeng, President of Young FOMWAG, presenting the items, said the presentation was in fulfillment of their religious responsibilities as Muslims to help the needy and the underprivileged in society.

She said it also formed part of the organization’s annual activity to make its presence felt, and it was a way of contributing their quota to the less privileged in society.

Ms Obeng expressed the hope that the donation would go a long way to help the inmates of the leprosarium and enable them experience love.

“We decided to make this donation as a gesture for other youth organisations to emulate,” she added.

Mr George Quansah, the Administrator of the Leprosarium, expressed gratitude to the organization for its continued support, saying this was not the first time FOMWAG as a body had donated items to the leprosarium.

He said the leprosarium since its establishment in 1950, has catered for several lepers and till now they continue to provide shelter, accommodation, for several cured lepers.

“We want them to live very decent lives, so we provide them with the basic necessities of life, since most of them claim they do not have relatives while others claim because of the stigma attached to the disease they cannot go back home.”

Mr Quansah however noted that, over the years the number of inmates they received had reduced due to the discovery of the vaccine, which helps cure the virus within six months.

He said one of their challenges was that the inmates go out to beg for alms, and this deprives the leprosarium of receiving gifts from well-meaning Ghanaians and philanthropists.

“We give whatever comes here to them, and when they go out to beg it creates a different impression about the authorities here.”

He called on other organisations and well-meaning Ghanaians to emulate this gesture and support them.