Citi FM/Citi TV’s ‘Help A Christmas Child‘ outreach made a return to the Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after its last visit in 2019.
The station’s management felt there was unfinished business following the last two years disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Matthew Idun, the station’s administrator, said the “mission here last time wasn’t completed, so it is ongoing work.”
He stressed that the station was doing the Lord’s work and hoped that celebrating with the families in need at the centre would ease their pain.
“For somebody to have gone through burns and such excruciating pain, you cannot ignore them.”
While the pandemic meant staff couldn’t get as intimate with the children as in previous years, there was still dancing and jumping, with smiles evident even behind face masks.
The children were treated to candy, drinks and Christmas gifts as part of the outreach.
Staff also visited some wards and interacted with the children receiving treatment for burn wounds.
Mary Mensah, the Deputy Chief Nurse at the centre, welcomed the support from Citi FM/TV and expressed hope that the station’s visit would encourage similar support.
“Once a while people come, but because of the COVID-19 we haven’t got people coming to us,” she noted.
“We hope now that Citi has come, others will follow suit. Last year was a dry year for us, and we pray that this COVID-19 will go down, so people will come and support us.”
Citi Foundation pays medical bills of patients, donates medical equipment
The Citi Foundation also used the opportunity to present a cheque of GH¢40,000 for the payment of medical bills of some needy patients at the Burns Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
The Foundation also donated digital blood pressure monitors and pulse oximeters to the centre.
Mary Mensah, had spoken of the centre’s need for the basic equipment, prompting the additional support from the station in the form of the equipment.
She said they lacked basic equipment like patient monitors, vein finders, digital blood pressure apparatus, and cots for children.
“If you have one monitor, and you have about three patients needing the service of the monitor, you then have to think about which of them you put on the monitor,” she said, explaining some of their challenges.
“We are in a fix, but we have been trying to make the work go on as it should.”
Upon receiving the donation, she assured that the centre “will take very good care of [the items] and use them for the purpose for which there were assigned.”
