By Suoyo Ekubo
The Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC under administration of Mr Samuel Ogbuku sponsored the heart surgery of 11 years old boy identified as Miracle Nwagbara who’s parents could not afford the bills to take him to India for surgery.
This initiative is in line with the commission’s responsible in sustaining development and well-being of the Niger Delta region.
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Born with a hole in the heart, Miracle Nwagbara became a child with special needs. Undergoing blood transfusion and recycling every two weeks, the little boy lived nothing close to everyday life. He needed Valvuloplasty surgery to repair the hole in his heart. Sadly, Miracle’s parents could not afford these enormous medical expenses and almost gave up. But with the intervention of NDDC, Miracle can now live a normal life and play like his peers.
Speaking at the courtesy visit by the family and their cleric to the Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Maj-Gen Charles Airhiavbere.
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Miracle’s father, Mr. Saturday Nwagbara, recounts his ordeal before the intervention, while expressing his gratitude to the Commission.
He said, “The case was beyond my power. The Redeemed Church helped us. I thank God for the senior pastor Dominion Sanctuary Parish and Zonal Headquarters of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Rivers Province 2, Pastor George Ero, who rescued us and wrote an appeal to NDDC on our behalf. Miracle was born with a heart issue. We went to BMH, and they recommended we go to India for surgery. We could barely feed; how could we afford such a bill? Today the case has been settled through NDDC. God bless and prosper NDDC”.
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Following this, Dr. George Uzonwanne, Director of Health and Social Services, NDDC, stated that NDDC has long been intervening in the lives of Niger Deltans in healthcare. And Miracle is one of the beneficiaries of this initiative. Adding to this, he said that the boy Miracle indeed lives up to his name, as his case got the attention of the EDFA.
“The EDFA took the case like Miracle was his son. We had to treat the child. He had some heart issues and other health complications. Today, the family came to say thank you to NDDC and the Managing Director, ably represented by the EDFA”.
The church cleric, Pastor George Ero, also expressed his gratitude to the Commission for intervening in the case of Miracle.
He stated, “I was told Miracle had a hole in the heart when I noticed he was always sitting in the children’s church. I want to thank God for NDDC. I wrote to NDDC and wasn’t sure of a response, but I was surprised when Dr. George called me and said the EDFA had picked interest in the case. We had given up hope; we spent our monies taking him to the hospital for temporary treatments, where his blood was recycled every two weeks so that he could survive. But here he is today, hale and hearty. We came to thank NDDC, especially the EDFA, whom God has used tremendously to save the life of Miracle. Words are not sufficient enough to express the depth of our gratitude”.
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In his response, the Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Maj-Gen Charles Airhiavbere, expressed joy over the success of the surgery. He stated that the Board of the Commission developed many reforms to achieve the interventionist policy of the NDDC in the region. He said these reforms will ensure that every child, youth, man, and woman in the region will feel the impact of the agency.
“Our prayer is that we should touch the life of every child in the Niger Delta in different ways. There are plans to kick start medical outreaches, as we couldn’t do this before now because the Commission had no budget. But now we have a budget and will start the community health drive in all the nine States of the region”.
