May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Romans 15 v5-6
The Spirit of Unity has become a reality as we have learnt so much from each other.
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History
Where
is
It has a vast slum area with little infrastructure, and inevitable problems of water and
electricity
supply, drainage, sanitation, refuse disposal, and poor roads.
How
did the Health Centre start?
In 1992 Dr Basil O. Obasi drew the attention of the Presbyterian Church of
Nigeria
(PCN) to the worsening condition of the slum dwellers of
Rev. Richard W Fee, a Canadian Missionary, was then Principal Clerk of the
Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) and he helped to create awareness of the urgent
health needs of this community to the PCN, the Presbyterian Church of Canada and
the Netherlands United Reformed Church.
With
the assistance of the
was
purchased. In 1995 a basic primary Health Care centre was opened to the public
at
53 Iheorji Street with 1 staff nurse, 1 community Health visitor, 1 nurse and 1 security man.
A governing board was established with Dr B O Obasi as chairman and Rev. Arlene Ounoha as secretary.
The aim was to provide affordable, basic , medical services for the poorest people in the slum area.
It started to provide maternity services, immunisation against preventable childhood diseases,
treatment
of minor ailments, family planning, and education in health, personal hygiene
and sanitation .
When the clinic opened it immediately started to help some of those most in need.
The clinic is self-supporting in terms of salaries and drugs through the modest charges it makes
to those who can afford to pay for their treatment. No one in need is turned away. The staff
work with great dedication and faith, and are making a real difference to people’s lives.
However, the income generated has not been sufficient for any upgrading or
development. Further investment was needed to improve the facilities at Iheorji in order
to
help more people and generate more income for the clinic.