By JOHN ONAH, Abuja –
An organization known as St George’s Ambulance Foundation is set to launch a 4 billion-naira endowment fund to mark its eighteen-year anniversary celebration.
The event which will hold on Thursday, 22 September will witness a colourful array of high level personalities including the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Information and Communication, Isa Pantami, the Minister of Sport, Sunday Dare among others.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Monday, the National Coordinator and Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees of the foundation, Mr Hamzat Adams said the foundation has been setting the pace in emergency rescue in the country, hence the eminent personalities that would be gracing its eighteenth anniversary celebration and awards.
Hamzat said the foundation has been operating on a philanthropic basis without the support of the government and that similar organizations should be encouraged with the support of the government.
He said, “Before the foundation covered 21 states. In fact, Lagos state is the number one state we cover, and Abuja and Kogi and Rivers states and a number of states then but now it is reduced to four, five, six states because of lack of fund. That is why on the eighteenth years, we are celebrating an award night, and to launch an endowment fund for the foundation so the general public can donate so that we can be able to procure ambulances to settle across the states”.
“Even the foundation can do it up to the local government level and even rescue and take care of people that cannot pay their bills. And also, the medical centers are part of the foundation aims and objectives. In fact, ultra-modern emergency hospitals to be built that all kind of emergency cases can be responded to and treated instead of going abroad is part of the aims and objectives of the foundation.
“In America, when they say 9/11, it’s just a central box of it, to co-ordinate. If it happens, you will see many organizations will come up, many ambulances will appear in different form. Like the 9/11, World Trade Center incident”.
“So, Nigerians has witnessed disaster but they have not witnessed a major one that would make them to know because government always think that, oh if something happens in society, they are the only ones that can control it. No, they can support. Okay, from the first of allocation, they are supposed to have a fund facility going to the organizations that are doing this noble objective. So, they can now coordinate and advise through the consultant and so on”, he said.
Speaking on the endowment fund, he said it is intended to expand the reach of the foundation throughout the country down to the community level.
He said: “Our hope for the future is to reduce death rates by rescuing accident victims. Both at the office, homes and the roads. It does not mean that you must be travelling before an accident can occur, even now as we are talking anything can occur, which will require emergency response and even first aid. So, the four billion endowment fund is to be able to raise funds.
“If we have funding we will procure ambulances. If we have funding we will procure medical equipments, if we have funding we will procure more experts, train people, sponsor people to go abroad for train, go to where they can do it and organize conferences and workshops. We could have trainings in the states down to the wards and community level. So that if an incident happens for example in Kwali, you don’t need to call someone from Abuja, somebody from Kwali will respond immediately. Those people will be able to respond to the accident and they have idea of it. There is a retreat of community health centers under this project.
“We have about seven ministers that are expected to attend the award ceremony. We have 25 to 30 potential awardees that have passion for emergency response. So, you can see the caliber of people that are concerned and interested because they understand the importance of our work and they know that anyone can fall victim”.
“So it is a service to humanity. All of those we are honouring we have knowledge of their past works and contributions to society. Like the Oni of Ile Ife, we see what he did during the COVID-19 – 19 and before then he has been doing things, humanitarian and charitable deeds”.
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