Optimism is in her blood

14
NatioN
Tuesday, 25 May 2010 NEXT
The good doctor
Segun Aranmolate-a 65-year-old
retired Chief
Consultant plastic
and reconstructive
surgeon is Ms Eboka’s
benefactor
By Oluwaseyi OgunBameru
How he first met her
She was nine months old
when I met her. So she was
too small for any kind of
impression because she looked
like a monster. Her jaw was
glued to her chest, not the neck,
and the right hand was glued
also. Her mouth was wide
open, such that whatever she
ate, she would be salivating and
it would come out. She looked
horrible at that time.
His involvement in the case
I was giving a lecture to
some nurses and they asked
me why didn’t I get involved
in that girl in the papers and
I told them I don’t read the
papers. Then, I just got back
from the United Kingdom and
I found there were too many
lies in the papers. But when I
saw the papers, I got in touch
with the doctor taking care of
her in Agbor and asked him to
send her to us for assessment
at Igbobi Hospital. We wanted
to see if we can operate on her,
in which case we would admit
her. But if we can’t, we would
take her to Germany. When we
saw her, we assessed her and
found out we could do it. We
then registered her and she had
close to eight surgeries at that
tender age and ever since then
it has been series of surgeries
to fix one thing or the other.
T he faTher died
when she was one
and half years old
and The moTher
was noT here in
l agos, buT in
a gbor, and she was
connecTed To me
since everybody
Then addresses
“b aba o rie”
(o rie’s faTher ) and
wherever i Took her
To, i was ‘b aba o rie’.
me as
How much the operations cost
It did not cost me anything
personally, apart from my
efforts and my energy. Money
wise, it was Igbobi that paid
for it and people donated
money for the surgery and also,
with the help of the federal
government that covered all
the cost. But after she grew up,
I took up her responsibility.
The father died when she was
one and half years old and
the mother was not here in
Lagos, but in Agbor, and she
was connected to me since
everybody then addresses me
as “Baba Orie” (Orie’s father)
Segun Aranmolate, MD, Legus Hospital, Lagos
and wherever I took her to, I
was ‘Baba Orie’. At that stage,
we were using government
money to take care of her.
But when the money got
exhausted, I took her up as my
responsibility.
Its impact on his family
It didn’t affect my family
in any way. My children were
small at that time and it was a
thing of pride for my wife that
her family was mentioned in
the newspapers, television and
radio, for this good thing about
Orie. My children were known
as her siblings and they all
attended the same school - St
Anthony Nursery and Primary
School in Ijebu- Ode. What
we have is a father-daughter
relationship.
His involvement in philanthropy
In this situation, you might
look at it as philanthropy.
Rather than that, it just
happened naturally. It is not
that I was doing so much to
help, but because I was the
only one who could help her
at that time. I later started
the Aranmolate foundation.
It is called the foundation for
deformed/indigent children.
Although it might be difficult to
PHoto by oLuwASeyI ogunbAMeru
draw a line on what is indigent
or not because most Nigerians
are indigent. We have done
over 30 surgeries already. To
an extent, the foundation was
Orie-oriented because I see
every child deformed from
Orie’s eyes--omeone who
could become somebody if you
help. The foundation started in
2007 and it’s for children under
15 of age. The foundation has
helped over 30 children and we
are still doing more.
Optimism is in her blood
SURVIVOR
Orie Eboka survives
fire and loss of
parents to become a
university graduate
By Oluwaseyi OgunBameru
T
wenty-six-year-old
Orie Eboka has surely
come a long way. The
graduate of Economics from
the University of Lagos has
overcome a body-deforming
fire, loss of parents and
o f t e n - t im e s cru e l s oci a l
rejection, on the way to
her first degree. Now, she
is waiting to participate in
the National Youth Service
Corps scheme, to give a little
back to the society.
Ms Eboka’s life took a
dramatic turn in 1983 when
a sudden fire engulfed her
parents’ bamboo-based
thatched hut when she was
yet to turn one.
“Just nine months into the
world, I started the battle for
my life,” she says. “I was told
we lived in a bamboo house
then. I was on the bed and my
aged grandmother was sitting
outside. My older siblings
and my parents were not at
home. It was just me on the
bed. It was about to rain and
they were cooking outside
with wood, then the wind
blew the fire to the bamboo
and that was how it started.”
Ms Eboka was stuck in the
burning hut and was already
b a d l y- b u r n t b e f o r e s h e
was rescued. The fire also
affected other villagers - as
it quickly spread through the
dry bamboo huts. Close to
a thousand people suffered
bu rn s f rom th e trag edy.
After their rescue, they were
taken to a native doctor for
treatment since there were
no hospitals around then. The
state government intervened
and some were transferred
to Igbobi Hospital in Lagos.
Many perished along the
way.
M s E b o k a sa i d s h e i s
the only survivor from the
incident.
On getting to Lagos, she
began a series of surgeries
to fix her face that was glued
to her neck and her hand.
This was on the account of
the government of Delta
i don’T only wanT To
be useful To myself
buT also To people
around me
State, who saw her through
primary to secondary school.
Then the funds stopped and
Ms Eboka, who lost her
father when she was one
and a half years old and was
separated from her mother,
who lived in Agbor until her
death, became adopted by
Segun Aranmolate, who was
the surgeon who handled
her case. Mr Aranmolate
took care of her and then
sponsored her to university,
w h e re s h e g r a d u a t e d i n
Economics.
“I have grown in the midst
of so many families, so many
Nigerians,” she said. “I have
had friends and supporters
and, even growing up, I was
always a cheerful child. I
have been able to relate with
so many Nigerians who have
been very helpful.”
Determined to help
Going to school was
difficult for her, she says.
“I felt it was something that
has been destined, so I had
to endure,” she said. “There
were times I had to leave
school for surgeries. Even at
the university, I got tagged
the begging girl.
But I would rather beg than
steal. The emotional trauma,
discrimination and all was
tough. But the incident made
me the only educated person
of my family and, that, I
should thank God for.”
She said she craved the love
of her immediate family. She
had gone back to Agbor and
was even asked by her family
members to come live at their
village, where she would join
them in farming. But she said
she believes God brought
her out of the village for a
purpose.
“Going through this, I have
decided to help people in
my situation and bring my
family together because I
orie eboka is a determined survivor
know family love is better
than every other thing in the
world,” she said. “I don’t only
want to be useful to myself
but also to people around me,
when I make it financially.”
So, is she thinking of hooking
PHoto by oLuwASeyI ogunbAMeru
up with any man soon? Ms
Eboka said she does not have
a boyfriend now. “I don’t have
one and am not looking for
one now because, most of the
time, they are deceiving you,”
she said.