journey – Page 2 – Doctors health initiative

DHI Cares

In the morning, I wake up to a roof over my head and food on my table. My parents alive and healthy, my siblings as well.

In the morning, I go to school. A school with good teachers and facilities. I challenge myself because I am in an environment that allows for that. I become a smarter and ultimately better version of myself.

In the morning, I talk to my friends. Happily and healthily, without a care in the world.

In the morning, I am blessed. That’s the truth. I know many of you share my truth.

In the afternoon, I attend some more classes. I go home in a car, fully air-conditioned. I am at home with a roof over my head and food on my table. I do my work on a good table and write with good pens and paper.

In the afternoon, I am blessed. That’s the truth. I know many of you share my truth.

In the evening, I lie down in a bed that does not creek. Pillows beneath my head that not feel like wood. A roof over my head.

In the evening I shut my eyes and finally will myself to imagine a world without my blessings.

I imagine a world where there is no roof over my head, no food on my table and no school to attend.

I imagine a world of hardship, terror, displacement and poverty.

A world that many many people live, even as I dream.

The difference between me and them is that when I wake up, that dream vanishes and is replaced with my reality. When they wake up, however that is their reality.

What great deed have I done to deserve what I have?

Am I better than they are? No. Am I kinder? No. Am I somehow more special? No.

Who am I to pretend not to see their needs?

How can we all sleep peacefully knowing that things aren’t right? We see the little kids and their mothers on the street and what do we do? Nothing.

How do we not loose our appetite knowing that there are kids who are starving?

Tell me, don’t you think that it’s time to do something about it?

Are you just going to sit down and do nothing?

The Doctors Health Initiative (DHI) is one of many voluntary organizations that provides a platform for you and I to do something about it. To reach out! DHI cares!

Maybe the director of this organization can’t change the world. Maybe I can’t change the world. However, I know that we can at least try.

In the words of John F. Kennedy, “One person can change the world. And everyone should try.”

Don’t just sit and home and turn a blind eye. Be a part of something bigger. Make a change. Leave a positive mark on the world.

“Earth has enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.” -Anne Frank

Most importantly, inspire others to do the same.

Let humanity be our race. Let love be our religion.

Written by Tolulope Olasewere

January 24, 2017January 24, 2017 by dhi

IDP outreach of DHI with the Preventive Dentistry Department of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)

It was a sun-filled day.

Trainee dentists of the Preventive Dentistry Department of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and volunteers filled the settlement with equipment.

Some members of Doctors Health Initiative ( DHI) were overseeing the project to make sure things started off smoothly.

The internally displaced women, children and men looked eagerly upon what was being offered. There were kids wailing at their already tired mothers.

As food was provided, their wails surprisingly began ceasing.

Cheerfully, women began to relax as their teeth were being taken care of by student doctors.

They conversed with their peers and smiled more.

The dentists could not have made any more impacts on these lives.

Work kept on, as more displaced persons came by to register and be attended to.

It was a success!

The dental care came to an end successfully and it was all I could inhale in the ambience… a feeling of being cared for from each smile of the displaced members.

Thank you Preventive Dentistry Department of LUTH!!!

Thank you Doctors Health Initiative!!!

Written by Nkechi Ikoh

-DHI Approved

January 15, 2017January 24, 2017 by dhi

Who Are We?

Who am I? I’m just a teenage girl with hopes, dreams and aspirations for myself and the world. Just a girl who believes in love, equality and peace. Just a girl with many flaws, yet many strengths. I’m just a girl who has somehow been lucky enough to have an education, clothing on my back, a place to come home to and many other gifts not everyone is blessed with.
Who are they? They are men, women and children ripped from their homes and families. They are mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. They mean everything to some yet nothing to others. They have seen, experienced and felt things many of us could never imagine, yet smile like most of us never have. They are people just like everyone, who deserve to love and be loved. They are Internally Displaced Persons, living in camps and praying for a better tomorrow.

Who are we? We are human beings with beating hearts, capable of influencing and changing lives. We are capable of leaping, falling, succeeding, failing, crying, smiling and so much more.

We have the ability to speak up against injustice and help those who need it. When we are capable of so much, why are we doing so little? When we are capable of loving, why do so many of of us choose to hate? When we all have so many gifts to give this world, why do we refuse to? So once again, I ask, who are we? We are who we choose to be, kind or unkind. We can choose to change someone with a smile. We can choose to change someone with a hug. We can choose to change someone with a conversation. We can choose to change and influence someone or multitudes of people by giving our time.

We all have the choice, may we make the right one.

Written by Fatima Musa

-DHI Approved

December 31, 2016December 31, 2016 by dhi

Throwback To A Little While Ago

On 10th December, members and volunteers of Doctors Health Initiative once again reached out to the *IDPs that live in the **Eleko beach area. It was a great experience. On arrival we saw a long queue of women waiting to be seen by the team from St. Kizito Hospital who partnered with DHI to provide gynaecological care to the women. The women were all smiling and did not mind the heat nor the slightly lengthy wait. Looking around I saw a good number of the children looking with anticipation at the volunteers. Tolu gathered them and taught them some games. Soon the venue was ringing with the high pitch laughter of excited children at play. Watching the children play with so much excitement as if there was no tomorrow was an unforgettable experience.

Soon our own doctors were all settled and ready to start seeing patients. Dr. Erere Otrofanowei, consultant Dermatologist and Dr. Ugwu, paediatircian were greatly in high demand. Mothers and children all seeking medical attention crowded their tables. We were hard put to maintain order. Thanks to Dr. Erere’s strategic input we achieved some order and calm. Our nurses Osariemwen, Gloria and Patrick were a big help in maintaining order. The Pharmacy was manned by Sharon, Patrick and Cynthia. And of course not forgetting the help of Francisca, Chisom, Nwanneka and Ginika who helped to oversee the weight and height measurements and taking pictures.

The climax of the outreach came with the handing over of bags of rice to each family. A couple (who wishes to remain anonymous) and their friends had donated these bags of rice in the spirit of Christmas. The faces of the IDPs were a joy to behold. They lined up again in order to collect the bags of rice being handed over family by family. Every family received at least a bag of rice.

As we were departing, Mr. Mustafa and a group of the men who make up the community followed us to our bus and thanked us wholeheartedly. They prayed and asked for God’s blessings on us all. Dr. Erere thanked them on behalf of ***DHI and for trusting us enough to allow us into their community. She encouraged them to look for sustainable ways of generating income especially for the women and mothers.

Helping women know more about themselves and ways to stay healthy, experiencing the friendly atmosphere in which they coexist, but most of all not forgetting the happiness that showed and their words of appreciation as a result of our efforts. I feel that a whole lot was gained from this outreach

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Written by Chisom Ofoma and Nkechi Asogwa

*Internally Displaced Persons

**A beach in Lagos State, Nigeria.

***Doctors Health Initiative

-DHI Approved

December 30, 2016December 31, 2016 by dhi