By Ganiyat Mumuni
The New Covenant Church’s humanitarian arm ‘Liberty International Outreach’ has extended its 26-year global empowerment and medical intervention programme to Imota, Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The week-long outreach which was first launched in Ibadan in 1999, attracted thousands of beneficiaries including elderly residents, children,women, youth and persons with medical conditions.
The event featured free surgeries,free primary healthcare, empowerment programe,pastoral care, spiritual healings and support services to residents.
Speaking during the programme, The National Overseer of the New Covenant Church Nigeria, Pastor Abimbola Oladipo said the initiative known as Liberty began with a mission to support and empower women spiritually, socially and economically before expanding to serve the wider community.
“We started 26 years ago in Ibadan with the aim of liberating women into the light of God concerning their soul, vocation and their place in society,” he said.
“Today, it has evolved into liberating everybody. We have over 600 churches worldwide and Liberty International now operates across Nigeria, the US and the UK.”
Liberty Ambassador, Mrs. Toyin Marinho recalled recalled the early days of the initiative led by the wife of the church’s founder with support from the wife of the former Governor of Oyo State Mrs Sarat Adeshina.
According to her the program helped women discover their vocations and ministries, and provided support for their empowerment.
“The Liberty Initiative has grown to include mobile medical services, including cataract surgeries, and has provided empowerment programs for hairdressing, tailoring, and other skills training.
“We gathered women and set them free into their various callings. We had empowerment training and medical surgeries supported by doctors from the UK and Nigeria,” she said.
“Young people were sponsored to universities and polytechnics. Today, we even have a mobile operating theatre and carry out cataract surgeries wherever we go,” Marinho added.
International Director of Liberty UK, Kayode Adewumi outlined the programme’s five-pronged intervention approach which were;free education, business empowerment, pastoral support, agricultural assistance and medical care.
He said the organisation currently sponsors over 500 children across nursery, primary and secondary schools in Oyo State, has sunk 16 boreholes in rural communities and trains youth in digital skills, tiling, fashion designing and website development through the Liberty Academy.
“ The outreach started on 28 of October , and the second day we had 1,122 adults, 249 at the eye clinic, 18 cataract surgeries, 168 eye glasses were given out, 130 trained in trades like make-up and gele artistry, 382 general medical cases and 62 cervical screenings,” he said.
Adewumi urged government authorities to give NGOs greater access to public facilities, noting that the initiative was operating on government property in Ikorodu.
“NGOs supplement government efforts. We only need access to reach more people,” he said.
Beneficiaries expressed gratitude for the free medical and welfare services.
A beneficiary,Mrs. Maria Ajibade, who regained her sight after losing vision in 2017 travelled from Ire, Osun State to Lagos for the free surgery.
“I became blind after losing my child. The first surgery was painful but the second was smooth. I am grateful to God and Liberty,” she said emotionally.
Another beneficiary, Mrs. Funmilayo Adewale, said the free drugs and check-ups were lifesaving as she could not afford healthcare following her relocation to Imota after her husband’s death.
“If not for this programme, there is no way I could pay for treatment,” she said.
Mrs. Moriamo Liasu, who attended with her child, described the outreach as “a blessing to the community.”
“They treated everyone without discrimination. God will bless them,” she prayed.
