No fewer than 500 residents, predominantly elderly persons, benefited from the 6th Annual Free Medical Outreach organised by the Gladys Fagbemi Elderly Care Foundation in Surulere, Lagos.
The outreach, held on Friday, 26th June, provided beneficiaries with free medical consultations, blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, eye examinations, prescription medications, reading glasses, and palliative packages aimed at improving their health and well-being.
Medical professionals, including doctors, optometrists, nurses and other healthcare workers, attended to beneficiaries throughout the exercise, which attracted residents from Surulere and neighbouring communities such as Shitta and Akerele.
Speaking with journalists, the founder of the foundation, Mrs. Aderele Fagbemi, popularly known as “Mama’s Child,” said the annual outreach was instituted to preserve the humanitarian legacy of her late mother, Mrs. Gladys Fagbemi, a retired nurse whose passion was caring for the elderly.
She explained that this year’s outreach also coincided with the third memorial of her late sister, Pastor Aderele Fagbemi-Lamaye.
“Today, we are celebrating the legacy of my late mother, Gladys Fagbemi, and the three-year memorial of my sister, Pastor Aderele Fagbemi-Lamaye,” she said.
“My mother devoted her life to nursing and was deeply passionate about caring for elderly people. To preserve that legacy, we established the Gladys Fagbemi Elderly Care Foundation. It gives us great joy to put smiles on the faces of elderly members of our community.”
According to her, the outreach has become an annual event through which the family continues to honour the values of compassion, service and community care that their late mother exemplified.
Mrs. Fagbemi noted that although the foundation has the capacity to expand the outreach to other parts of Lagos, the programme would remain rooted in Surulere because of its emotional and historical significance to the family.
“Surulere was my mother’s home throughout her married life. It is where we were born and raised, and it is only fitting that we continue to honour her memory here,” she said.
She, however, disclosed that the family also operates the Adasa Global Foundation, established in honour of her late sister, which carries out humanitarian interventions in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, the Philippines, Kenya and Tanzania.
Speaking on this year’s outreach, Mrs. Fagbemi said approximately 500 beneficiaries were registered and attended to by a team comprising eight medical doctors, four optometrists, a matron and four nurses.
She added that the outreach has remained fully funded by members of the Fagbemi family since its inception.
“By God’s grace, my family has continued to sustain this initiative. It is our way of keeping our mother’s legacy alive and giving back to society,” she said.
On the growing popularity of the programme, she explained that attendance has increased significantly over the years, with beneficiaries now coming from neighbouring communities beyond Surulere.
“The outreach continues to grow every year. We have outgrown the venue in front of my mother’s house, and we are already considering relocating next year’s edition to a larger venue within the community to accommodate the increasing number of participants,” she stated.
Mrs. Fagbemi also called for stronger collaboration between government and private individuals in improving healthcare delivery, stressing that quality healthcare should not be left to government alone.
“Government is playing its part, but healthcare is a collective responsibility. Individuals, families and organisations must also contribute to improving access to quality healthcare, especially for vulnerable members of society,” she said.
Also speaking, Prophetess Dr. Augustina Ifeanyi Uche Ureamaka, a niece of the late Gladys Fagbemi, described the outreach as a reflection of the family’s long-standing tradition of compassion and selfless service.
She recalled that the late Gladys Fagbemi inherited her humanitarian disposition from her father, who was renowned for providing medical assistance to people regardless of their ability to pay.
Beneficiaries expressed appreciation to the foundation for the initiative, describing it as timely and impactful.
One of them, Pa Ade Kayode, commended the organisers for their consistency and expressed hope of contributing financially to the outreach in the future.
“I am very happy with what the foundation is doing. It is a wonderful initiative, and I pray that one day I will be able to support it financially because it is touching many lives,” he said.
Another beneficiary, Mrs. Mary Irabor, said she underwent blood sugar and blood pressure tests, received medical consultation and was given a prescription, which she later exchanged for free medication at the outreach.
The Gladys Fagbemi Elderly Care Foundation has continued to provide free healthcare services and welfare support to elderly residents in Surulere through its annual medical outreach, reinforcing its commitment to promoting healthy living, preventive healthcare and compassionate community service.
