A Charitable Cause – Lepers Colony

Update

On December 16, 2021, the Founder of Adebimpe Daniel-Ishola Foundation and her team visited the Leper’s Colony along Ogbomosho/Ilorin Road, in Oyo State, Nigeria. It was an exciting but emotional moment. Read more about it at this link: https://iamawomanofsubstance.org/lepers-colony-update/

Friends and family, kindly join me to actualize a cause that is the focus of my diamond jubilee celebration. . . I am raising funds for the welfare of inmates at Leper Colony situated at Ilorin- Ogbomosho Road, Ogbomosho. Oyo State, Nigeria. West Africa. Your cash donations will be managed by the Board of Trustees of Adebimpe Daniel-Ishola Foundation. You can use Zelle, CashApp ($BimpeIshola) or credit my ACCESS  Bank Account in Nigeria, my home country:

ADEBIMPE Ishola
Access Bank Plc
0027598643

BAPTIST HEALTH SERVICE, BOWEN UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL, OGBOMOSO

Background:

Leprosy was a debilitating and disfiguring disease that plagued many people in the early 20th century. In those early years there were no effective drugs to treat the condition. Around 1930 the native administration provided some funds to set up a leprosy treatment centre. Dr Basil Lee Lockett, a missionary doctor secured a piece of land about five miles from Ogbomoso town from the Bale of Ogbomoso (Soun of Ogbomoso) and established Ago Ireti (Camp of Hope). Mrs. Mary Ruth McCormick had earlier established a shelter for patients with leprosy in Iwo. In those early years scientific conclusion was that it was useless attempting to treat any but the very early cases. Initially there was a divergence of opinion between the two pioneers (Dr Lockett and Mrs. McCormick) of care for patients with leprosy as to whether to admit all cases as proposed by Mrs. McCormick or not, based on her experience treating patients with advanced lesions in Iwo. Ultimately, admission was limited to only those with the early disease based on what was considered the best practice at that time. However, in 1947 Dr Goldie was appointed as the Superintendent of the Health Department and he gave special attention to the work with lepers. In order to eliminate the strong stigma associated with the disease, the Leper Colony was renamed Baptist Health Service (BHS). For many years Miss Moon, another missionary, was the main pillar for providing excellent nursing care for the patients. The BHS has been closely related to the main hospital since its inception. The excellent care that the patients received over the years resulted in the healthy ones beginning to farm on the large parcel of land that was acquired, despite their deformities. The disease is no longer as devastating as in the last century as there are effective drugs such that it is far more difficult to contract the disease from those who are adequately treated. Doctors and nurses from BUTH have received additional training with support from Damien Foundation. Reconstructive surgery is still being offered to those with disability so that they can become more productive.

Current Status:

There are 65 adult inmates and 27 children under 18 years of age. Their offspring older than 18 years have left the camp as a matter of policy. The main occupation of the inmates is farming. Despite their deformity they continue to work hard on tilling the ground. Unfortunately. they suffer from the loss of their crops as a result of stealing presumably by able bodied men in the nearby communities. At other times herdsmen have grazed their cattle on their crops which means another loss for them. The principal reason for this is that the expansive land has not been fenced and so intruders can go in and out of the land at will. To fence the land requires a huge amount of money estimated at about ten million Naira (₦10 million) in 2019. Our plan is to begin the fencing starting with the areas that are most prone to invasion/incursion as the Lord provides. The table below shows the current needs of the inmates.

Pictures of Colonists

[The pictures following are graphic and may not be suitable for all readers. Discretion is advised]