The EMOIMEE Free Medical Workshop in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has recorded a significant milestone, with 128 surgeries successfully performed as of the evening of Thursday, October 9, 2025.
The Chief Medical Consultant of the Global Hands Medical Foundation, Dr. Titus Antai, disclosed this while giving out statistics of the workshop’s medical achievements.
According to Dr. Antai, a total of 93 general surgeries and 35 eye surgeries have been conducted since the workshop began.
He said the general surgeries include Herniorrhaphy, lumber hernia repair, appendectomy, tonsillectomy, among others, while the eye surgeries include cataracts, pterygium, chalazion, glaucoma, perforated cornea, cornia ulcer, and penetrating eye injury.
Also speaking, the Coordinating Medical Director for the project, Dr Katherine Ntekim, emphasized that the goal of the outreach is to reach out to underprivileged persons and restore their health, enabling them to contribute their quota to the growth of society.
In a heartwarming account, Dr. Donatus Ukpong, Consultant Pharmacologist and Chairman of the State Eye Health Committee in Akwa Ibom State, recounted a remarkable case of a middle-aged man who had bilateral cataracts and was operated on at the workshop.
Describing the emotional moment when the patient’s eyes were opened, Dr. Ukpong also commended EMOIMEE for sponsoring the medical outreach, stating that the act of touching lives is enough satisfaction, and expressed hope that the exercise would touch more lives as the exercise continues.
Dr Ukpong who interacted with WatchmanPost at close pen Friday morning said, “There was this man that had a bilateral cataract that also affected his ear. We did the surgery Wednesday and this really touched me.
“Normally, I don’t operate on two eyes at the same time. But I was forced to do the two eyes for him. After I did them, and we opened it this morning, you could see the joy in him. I’m sure the middle aged man has not seen sunlight for years.
“I felt touched and I became happy that we were able to restore sight. These are the kind of people that will just go and commit suicide for no reason, thinking that life is over for them.
“Probably, they would have accused him of so many things, especially in the African superstitious context. He was being held by a middle aged mother, who was so joyous. I’m so sure they had a big relief, economically, psychologically and so on.
“I’m not sure they could have afforded that in a conventional hospital. You can see that we are really touching life. The very act of doing this is enough satisfaction for me. And I commend EMOIMEE for sponsoring this medical outreach. We look forward to touching more lives as the exercise continues.”
Similarly, Dr Leo Umana narrated a case of a young man who was born with congenital malformation and was not able to raise money for his surgery.
He said, “We had a case of a congenital malformation in a 20 year-old man. He said he was born with it. According to him, he went to Iquita Hospital and he was asked to pay #700,000. But his family could only afford N300,000 which wasn’t acceptable to the hospital management.
“To the glory of God, we did that surgery successfully yesterday, courtesy of EMOIMEE and Global Hands Medical Foundation. At least, critical lives have been touched during this workshop and we’re very excited about it.”
The EMOIMEE initiative has brought hope and healing to many in the community, and the organizers are committed to continuing the good work.
As the workshop continues, many more lives are expected to receive a positive impact, even as three babies have been born to different parents within the time being.
