In a remarkable act of community service, the Rafeeqee Foundation has provided free medical outreach to elderly residents in Odogbolu, Ijebu, Ogun State.

The event, held at the Odogbolu Central Mosque, on Saturday, was in honour of the late Alhaja Barikisu Ayinke Ashabe and supported by her children and grandchildren. According to Mrs. Monsurat, a representative of the foundation, the program was designed to target elderly people, especially those without children or resources to care for their health needs.

“We are doing health outreach in Odogbolu central mosque for the community and health outreach is sponsored by one of Alhaja on behalf of an grandmother also a native of this odogbolu. We focus more on elderly people because most of them don’t have children to take care of them and money to buy drugs is for them to get it. So we focus more on elderly people.” We did select people from the mosque, then the committee of the mosque was the one that selected the beneficiaries. This particular outreach is for Muslims.”

Targeting individuals aged 60 and above, the outreach featured blood tests, free consultations, medications, health talks, and counselling.

Dr. Abdulwaasi Obisesan

While delivering his speech, a health professional from the Olabisi Onabanjo University Hospital, Dr. Abdulwaasi Obisesan advised the elderly to adopt clean living, adequate rest, and regular three-month checkups. On her part, a Community health extension worker and health educator. Mrs. Karimot Hassan-Ojuroye, also encouraged follow-up visits to health centres for those given prescriptions to ensure proper recovery.

Today’s program is not just about giving medication, it includes health talks on how to manage life as elderly person”. Then they were advised on how to monitor their health,manage food intake, and adopt healthy practices. “Many of those we attended to are retirees, some without steady income or knowledge of how to care for themselves. This counseling and medical support will go a long way”. She explained.

She further noted the importance of community bonding for the elderly. “We saw our babas and mamas come together, laughing and sharing moments. Often, families are too busy to check on them, but this program gave them attention and a sense of belonging. It shows that they are not just in the community, but part of a structure that values them,” she said.

Asked how the people were selected, General Secretary of the Odogbolu Muslim Community, Alhaji Abubakare, said five elderly persons were selected from each of the 20 mosques in the town, totalling 100 beneficiaries.

“We were instructed to select five aged people from each of the 20 mosques in the township, making 100 beneficiaries in total. The Chief Imam and central working committee approved this process. We pray for more of such programs.”

The Chief Imam, Alhaji Abdul Amid Abdulmojeed Adebayo, lauded the foundation for its years of community support, describing the initiative as timely and deeply appreciated by the community., “They have supported us during Ramadan with palliatives, but this health outreach is especially important. They brought doctors, consultants, nurses, and pharmacists, and everything was well organized. We pray for their continued strength,” he said.

“Specially I have to appreciate this organization the members that in diaspora and particularly their south west Nigeria representatives mallam Yakob who has been going here and there doing all necessary thawing to make sure these programs comes to reality and we thank almighty Allah for the achievements and pray almighty continue to strengthen them and every men of the organization and even mallam Yakob himself has been spending all that he has that every program handle by Rafeeqee foundation is end to success and really salute his courage and pray almighty continue to bless him and also pray and appreciate Eagle 102.5 FM for covering the program”

Vice President Rafeeqee Foundation, Mallam Akeem Yakoub, noted that the programme was made possible through voluntary donations from members and supporters, not political sponsorship, adding that it is part of the Foundation’s ongoing mission to support the needy and guide lives through Islamic and social values.

He said “The foundation is an NGO which is registered under Nigeria and has been registered as a non-profit in the United States of America (USA) and the Goal of Rafeeqee foundation incorporation is to mentor people from childhood still they met their lord eventually and this this mentoring involves supporting the needy ones and less privileged and as well as moral and Islamic guidance that is going to sustain them in this world and then after”

He also reaffirmed their commitment to projects such as school outreach, prison visits, feeding programmes, and elderly care, adding that while the organization is a faith-based, it has carried out numerous outreach to people of other faith.

“We have a lot of programme we have done in the foundation, we have a monthly based

When asked about the organization’s funding to Mallam Yakob said “Getting funds is actually tough as we have seen it but the little way we have gone is through donations that we have gotten from people because of Allah. So what we have been getting so far is not as much but we give thanks to Allah so we still hope that some other people will support this kind of course because this is just one of it we are not political organizations; so no politician is financing us, it is only we, the members and our loved ones and family that have been supporting us as far as this project is concerned .

Meanwhile, Beneficiaries in their numbers also appreciated the foundation for the initiative, while also urging both government and individuals to emulate similar move and spread it across all age groups.

An aged mother from Federal Government College Odogbolu (FEGO) said: “People at the age of 50 or 60 upward should watch the food they eat and make sure there is not too much carbohydrate in the food. They should also eat fruits and vegetables, drink water, control oil intake, and avoid cholesterol-heavy foods. I really appreciate Rafeeqee Foundation for this program, and if it can be like thrice in a year it will be good. I also urge the government to come and help, because the drugs that Rafeeqee gave for free are things some people cannot buy. I pray for the organizers of the outreach.”

Mr. Ayinla, Chairman of the Odogbolu Welfare Board, also showed gratitude: “We thank the Rafeeqee Foundation Incorporation for bringing the outreach to Odogbolu. They gave pep talks about health, how to manage life in peace, advice on good food intake, and exercise. They also gave drugs for ailments. We thank them for what they have done.”

Rafeeqee Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to inclusivity, stressing that its programs cut across religious lines.

The foundation has called for more public support to sustain and expand its charitable initiatives, while beneficiaries and religious leaders alike prayed for its continued growth and impact.