Travelex Donates N1m to Save Child

Anayo Okolie
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Innocent will remain thankful to Travelex, foreign exchange company for donating the sum of N1 million for treatment of their son, who was born with severe birth defects. The affected child with the serious birth defects, Master Great Innocent, was delivered with severe birth defects.

The delivery came with three unexpected baggage. Not only was the baby delivered through a Caesarean Section (CS) but also came with additional health challenges. Master Innocent came with a hole in the heart and a blocked anus, such that he cannot pass waste normally. This baby has been living with this pitiable condition for the first nine months of his life. The parents could not help but run to the Travelex, who took up the challenge in line with the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility philosophy, to save the life of the newborn.

The baby’s father, Mr. Innocent, a driver with an insurance company in Lagos and his wife, Hope, a student of Abia State University, had in August this year solicited for help from Travelex among other Nigerian companies and individuals but within three weeks, Travelex Nigeria responded positively to their plea with the donation of one million naira in aid of the boy’s medical treatment.

The General Manager, Travelex Nigeria, Mr. Anthony Enwereji, who presented the cheque to ensure that the baby is brought back to normal, said the assistance was in line with the company’s philosophy of giving back to the society, particularly the more vulnerable.

According to him, “as soon as management got the couple’s request on August 29, 2016, it was forwarded to the directors, who after a careful look at all the medical papers associated with the child’s case, confirmed the authenticity and quickly decided to make the donation.”

According the parents of the baby Mr. and Mrs. Innocent, Travelex gesture is God sent at a time all hope was almost lost. “We say a big thank you to Travelex. Actually, we did not expect this much from them when we put up the request. We are grateful and urge them to keep up the good work.”The couple called on well-meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations to follow Travelex example to save the life of Master Innocent. Recounting their ordeal, the couple from Obingwa Local Government Area in Abia State stated that it all begun with the birth of Master Innocent on December 22, 2015 at R Jolad Hospital in Gbagada, Lagos through a Caesarean Section operation.

After 24 hours of birth, the baby stopped taking breast milk and he was taken to the pediatrics department for observation. It was there and then that a medical test revealed that Master Innocent’s anus was blocked. “The hospital promptly referred us to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) where a further medical examination did not only confirm the blocked anus, but a cardio-logical test also revealed that the baby has a hole in the heart.

”The medical advice to them was that two surgeries would have to be performed on the baby at the same time. The simultaneous operation to correct the two anomalies could not be performed in Nigeria, hence a referral to an Indian hospital. An Indian hospital was contacted and it was established that the two cases could be treated simultaneously at the cost of N6 million comprising medical cost, airfare, accommodation and ancillary costs.