Happy to have kids, but sad to see them blind

Their faces at the rented room and parlour apartment clearly conveyed the pains and sorrow of parents with such dire need of assistance. Odion sat on a plastic chair surrounded by the four children, narrating his predicament to our reporter during a visit while his wife was lost in thought. Odion, a former commercial driver […]

Their faces at the rented room and parlour apartment clearly conveyed the pains and sorrow of parents with such dire need of assistance. Odion sat on a plastic chair surrounded by the four children, narrating his predicament to our reporter during a visit while his wife was lost in thought.

Odion, a former commercial driver who no longer has a vehicle to work with, has taken to farming to enable him feed his family.

“I am a trained driver but I don’t have a vehicle anymore. I am now a farmer so that even if I cannot take care of their treatment, I can at least manage to feed them,” he said.

Besides being unable to take care of the medical needs of the four visually challenged children, Odion is also confronted with unpaid rent and piling electricity bills.

 “I have six children but four of them are blind namely; Grace (22), Mashach (18), Faith (16) and Mercy (9). They were not born blind, but problem began as they were growing up. Patience and Samuel who do not have the challenge are assisting them. Patience is in JSS II while Samuel is in Primary 6.

“As they grew, I noticed that they couldn’t walk properly, and were hitting their legs and heads on objects while trying to walk. They have been living with the challenge for several years now. I wanted to take them to hospital but I didn’t have the money  at that time for their medical treatment.

“As a result of the problem, life has been very difficult for us. I cry everyday because I cannot do anything for them. We have been through hell since this problem started. We have lived a life of unforgettable sad memories,” he said.

Odion lamented the inability of his children to continue school like their mates due to the problem, adding, “I am pained that they are out of school, because they are brilliant children. When they were going to school, they didn’t go below third position in their classes during examinations.”

He appealed to the government, organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to assist the children to go back to school.

Their mother, Josephine, who could not hold back her tears, said their helplessness had deprived her of happiness.

“I am always sad when I see their mates assisting their parents and do things on their own,” she said.

Mrs. Odion works as a labourer on other people’s farms for between N1, 200 and N1, 500 daily to assist in feeding the family.

The mother of six who also appealed to the government and individuals to help her children said her consolation was in God and the “I Care Foundation” which is working to see how people could help them.

Neighbour draws attention to their plight

A close friend and neighbour, Miss Constance Okoeguale who described their condition as pathetic, said she got to know of their predicament through her mother.

She said, “I was living in Lagos and whenever I visited my mother, their mother would visit my mother and in the process, narrate her pain of taking care of four blind children. I then promised to talk to people who might help them. So, when I got to Lagos, I spoke to some orphanage homes to see if they could assist.”

But that never materialized before she met one Paulinus Okpere of I Care Foundation on Facebook. “I told him about the children and he picked interest in them and brought their case to limelight and people have been responding. Two days ago, we were at Irrua Specialist Hospital for examination but after the examination, the doctors told me that operation was out of the question.

“Our appeal now is that government and good Nigerians should come to their aid so that they can go back to school or learn a trade to be able to help themselves,” she added.