The people of Afrike 1 and Afrike 2 in Bekwarra Local Government Area of Cross River State have received a fresh breath of hope and healing as the Odey Stephen Foundation carried out a life-changing free medical outreach that attended to hundreds of residents.
The outreach, spearheaded by the Founder, Odey Stephen Endurance, was aimed at tackling some of the most common health challenges facing rural communities, particularly eye-related ailments. Over the course of the program, hundreds of patients received medical attention, 190 high-quality glasses were dispensed freely, while blood pressure checks were conducted for 403 adults, 175 people benefitted from the free sugar level test and 11 children also benefitted from medical care. Cases of glaucoma, cataract, and pterygium were diagnosed and attended to, giving many villagers access to healthcare that would otherwise have been beyond their reach.
For Afrike residents, the intervention was more than statistics; it was about restored vision and renewed hope. From Afrike 1 to Afrike 2, excitement filled the air as men and women, young and old, testified about how the gesture had touched their lives.
One of the beneficiaries, Joseph Abaji, could not contain his joy as he received his pair of glasses. “I am very excited because the kind of glasses that I have been given here is brighter than the one I usually buy. I am very grateful. Members of our community are very happy; that is why we have excess of people here and many more are still coming,” he said.
Another grateful beneficiary, Fidelis Agbor, described the initiative as a shining example of leadership from within the community. “We say thank you to our brother, Stephen Odey. I am a beneficiary of the free medical glasses. Stephen is a good man and a son of the soil. This is what we want from our sons and daughters, they should do it for us like Stephen is doing.”
Similarly, Ojisor Augustine offered heartfelt prayers for Odey, saying, “I want to really appreciate Stephen for this medical outreach. I appreciate him and the Almighty God who gave him the opportunity to come and help the people of Afrike Nation. I pray that God gives him the enablement to do more for this community.”
For Veronica Ekpang and Ntamu Rose, the story was the same: the gift of sight. Veronica expressed her joy that she could see better, while Rose testified that her long-standing difficulty with vision had been solved through the free medical glasses, adding, “May God bless Stephen.”
Through this outreach, the Odey Stephen Foundation has not only improved healthcare access in Afrike but has also rekindled a sense of belonging among the people, proving that community driven interventions can transform lives. For the people of Afrike, this was not just a medical program, it was a gift of health, hope, and humanity.
