Man who broke spinal cord begs Abia Government, individuals for help

BY CHUKS ONUOHA.

Pa Uzoma Okegbe, 70 years old, is living in penury.
He is sick, crippled and languishing in abject poverty.
Ironically, the Governor is unaware of this.
Okegbe’s four children are out of school due to poverty, his wife, who was once a full time house wife is the one struggling for the family of six to eat daily bread as her husband is confined to the ground due to spinal cord challenges.

Most times, they go without food for days, pending when Mama Joy Okegbe,(for that is the name of his wife), will provide from her hustles.
Their dilapidated building is more deplorable than the home of an unprivileged animal.
Some of the partitions of their hut, called house, were pulled down by midnight flood, which almost ended their lives.
But neighbors were at hand, to rescued them, and support remnant of the hut with wooden poles for it to still stand.
A visit to Pa Okegbe’s home bring tears into the eyes of the most hardened hearts.
He had been reduced to the most deplorable condition any one living will not pray to live in. He is urgently in need of being saved from the clutches poverty, lack and suffering.
His story can be likened to that of the Biblical sick man at the pool, who spent 38 years waiting for help, before Christ found him. Could this be the lot of pa Okegbe, time will tell !
He hails from Umuikogele Village, in Isialangwa South LGA of Abia state.
Incidentally, his village, Umuikogele, shares common boundary with Umuoba, the Local Government headquarters of Isialangwa South LGA, and is ten munites drive to Nvosi, the home of the current performing Governor Alex Chioma Otti of Abia state.

Despite the proximity of the Communities, the pathetic condition of Okegbe is yet to t be brought to the knowledge of the Governor, reason being that “he has no man”, as the good book said
He attended primary and Secondary schools when his mates did, made efforts to survive like others, but life happened to him.

His ordeal started in 2011, then he was 55 years old, he fell from a height, while harvesting palm fruit from palm tree for a widow in his Community.
He was rushed from one traditional healing home to the other,until the mean resources of the family was spent without good result.
There was no more money to take him to orthodox hospital for proper treatment of the spinal cord injury that has today confined him to the ground. His children dropped out of school due to non payment of school fees and other expenses.
This situation became worse as there is no money to purchase wheel chair for his movement .
He can neither stand nor walk, but only use his two hands to shift his body from one point to the other.
A visit to their home revealed that both children and their parents look malnourished . They indeed look pitiable.
Dressed in tatared clothes that can be described as rags, some days, this family go without food and only hope on the return of their mother for food.
Sprawled on the ground, wobbling and crawling for movement in the most agonizing manner is Pa Okegbe, who could do better with the use of wheel Chair, but there is no money to get one.
Speaking during the visit, Okegbe explained how the family of six was nearly drowned by a ravaging flood that hit their mud house and almost brought it down at the middle of the night recently.
“Whenever it rains with storms, we become apprehensive, fearful and agitated, because anything can happen. We are living here because we have no choice, we only hope that God will touch the mind of people, including our amiable Governor to come to our assistance”.
Okegbe, who had not given up hope on God, said that he ” can still earn a living if I have support,that will enable me to engage in poultry farm business to assist the family.
“I know that the Governor and his wife have been magnanimous to the less privileged in and outside Abia state, I strongly believe that if they hear about me and my family, they will not hesitate to help. Please tell them and other good spirited Nigerians to come to our assistance, Okegbe pleaded.
Speaking, Child Right Network, Coordinator, (CHIRN), an NGO, that had been supporting Okegbe family since they learnt of their ordeal, Mr Ben Ezinma said; ” it appears the Okegbe family has left their lives in the hand of God, who alone can touch the heart of men to help them.
” The truth is that the family need help in different areas like shelter, wheel chair, medical , Education for his four children , empowerment and feeding etc.
“All these are beyond our NGO to handle at this time. We have only been giving them meagre support, because of our financial situation now. We are yet to get somebody that will sponsor this support fully. That is why we are calling on the government and good spirited individuals to save this family from this life threatening situation, and anyone who want to assist can reach them through this numbers ; 08087196918,
0837840422, Ezinma said. End.