By Sam Eferaro
ALMOST a year after the loss of her two children, the young woman is still too traumatized to tell her story. But neighbours remember her ordeal. Her baby had suddenly taken ill that fateful morning, under a pouring rain.
With no help around and the child’s health deteriorating by the minute, the distraught husband and wife were left with no choice but to defy the heavy rain and rush their child to a hospital a few kilometres from their Ifo community. But the Avah River posed a big obstacle to this journey.
Ordinarily, it should take less than 20 minutes on foot to get to the nearby Goodwill Medical Centre (GMC) at Umuchigbo. However, for the people of Ifo, Ugbo-Ezeji and Ugbo-Paul communities in the Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, it is a longer and costlier journey for hours on the alternative route. Some residents have to travel for over 8-km on tricycles on a merry-go-round trip to the nearest hospital or even neighbouring villages. Many simply waded dangerously through the river.
For the couple with the ailing child, the long trek through the alternative route was not the best option. With their child, now febrile and weaker, they headed for the Avah River. With the child precariously balanced on his shoulder and one hand to support his equally weak wife, the young man led his family through the river. Thoroughly drenched, they managed to get to the hospital. But the child had stayed too long in the cold without treatment. He died. The young couple lost two children within two weeks in similar, avoidable but tragic circumstances.
Other deaths were said to have occurred as residents tried to wade through the Avah river.
This family’s story typifies the lot of the poor, under-served communities and they leave Prof. Mrs Uche Amazigo, the CEO and the brain behind the establishment of the GMC, fully funded by the TY Danjuma Foundation, crestfallen and heartbroken.
Yet, the former Director of the World Health Organization African Programme for River Blindness Control, renowned for her big heart for the poor, is not one to just complain about a problem without finding a solution.
For her, the decision to site the specialized health care facility in the downtrodden community was intentional – such communities should not be abandoned with their plights. They need critical support to transform their lives, since nobody chooses to be poor.
Moved by the communities’ pathetic stories, Prof. Amazigo, and like-minded colleagues at the GMC resolved to construct a pedestrian and tricycle-accessible iron bridge across the Avah river.
Although the project appeared daunting, considering the amount of money and expertise required, Prof. Amazigo, her friends and the GMC raised the more than N38 million needed to complete the bridge and put a smile on the faces of residents from the affected communities.
It was a scene of joy and jubilation when Avah River Bridge was commissioned on Tuesday, 8 April 2025.
A visibly delighted Amazigo described the bridge as “a symbol of hope, progress, and unity.”
The Chairman, Enugu East Council Area, Mr. Beloved-Dan Anike, agreed with her as he cut the tape to formerly inaugurate the bridge, saying the project would ensure inclusion of all neighbouring communities now provided access to GMC’s impactful and other essential services.
The inspired Local government Chairman announced the construction of a mini-bridge and roads for vehicles and residents in the area. He also pledged more partnership projects to transform lives in the Local Government Area.
A Trustee of the GMC, Prof. Anne Ndu in a keynote address recalled the difficulties experienced by the people in accessing healthcare from a facility which was less than a kilometre’s walk from their communities.
“Imagine being ill and nearby is a well-equipped health facility with devoted doctors and nurses, which you cannot access quickly enough to save your life or have a baby! You must travel for over 40 minutes to access such a health facility, a proverbial Ono nso eru-aka!
“Constructing a bridge across the Avah River became challenging for the GMC and our benefactor. As usual, she painstakingly struggled to raise funds by emptying the family savings and contributions from a few public-spirited individuals to construct the bridge.”
“Sometimes I wonder where she gets the strength from and how she dares to dream the big dreams. I must confess that I draw great inspiration from her to work harder.
“By the special grace of God, who is always on her side, a bridge over the Avah River is today a reality. The host community and surrounding communities can now easily access healthcare and other essential services,” she affirmed.
Prof. Amazigo, in her remarks, described the Avah bridge as an achievement that reflected the collective commitment to progress and community well-being.
“Our mission is (to) partner with communities, the poor, the vulnerable, to support government initiatives and we are happy working with the different agencies of the government of Enugu State,” she added.
The GMC and Avah bridge will go down as a model game changer in community development, especially at a time when governments, faced with scarce financial resources, are struggling to meet the competing citizens’ needs.
Sam Eferaro, is a Journalist and Health Communications Specialist
