LOCAL GOVT INSTITUTE DONATES TO SHEKINAH CLINIC (PAGE 22, JAN 4)

THE Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) in Tamale has donated used clothing and assorted drinks to patients at the Shekinah Clinic at Gurugu, a suburb of the metropolis.
The gesture formed part of the social responsibility programme of the ILGS and it was in response to the needs of patients at the clinic, who include mentally ill persons, destitutes, AIDS patients and persons who have been abandoned by their relatives because of their predicament.
The Director of the ILGS, Dr Callistus Mahama, said, “We are touched first by the plight of the patients and then the good work being done by the management of the clinic.”
He intimated that the ILGS would continue to support the activities of the clinic, knowing very well that it would be supporting the poor and needy in society.
According to him, the items were provided through contributions from staff of the ILGS who were equally touched by the activities of the clinic.
Receiving the items, the nurse in charge of the clinic, Mr Emmanuel Majeed, thanked the ILGS for the items and urged other benevolent organisations to emulate the gesture.
The Resident Medical Doctor of the clinic, Dr David Abdulai, thanked the ILGS for the gesture, saying, “I am running two clinics aimed primarily at the poor and destitute; we depend unconditionally on divine providence.”
Established in March 1991 by Dr Abdulai, the Shekinah Clinic has, over the years, served as a home to many poor residents of Tamale, including those who have been abandoned by their families for various reasons.
The clinic also serves as a home and place of healing to some patients and those allegedly abandoned by their relatives from neighbouring countries like Togo and Benin.
Currently, there are 35 destitutes who have found a resting place at the clinic.
On the average, it performs 21 hernia operations in a week and records 120 outpatients attendance in a week.
The management of the clinic has initiated a food programme by which 150 people, including the mentally challenged roaming the streets of Tamale, are fed.