Football Star Adebayor Goes To The Rescue Of The Alligator Kids

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Category: Youth News

Created on Tuesday, 14 January 2014 00:00

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Football Star Adebayor Goes To The Rescue Of The Alligator Kids

An Accra-based Togolese International football star, Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor, has gone to the rescue of three Ghanaian children who have been attacked by a strange skin disease, which doctors at Jirapa, in the Upper West region, have failed to treat.

The football star has agreed to sponsor the medical bills of the three (3) children, who are from Kuunchen in the Jirapa district. The medical bill runs into several thousands of dollars.

Mr. Adebayor, The Chronicle gathered, has already mandated his agent, Fred Nuamah, the Executive Director of Ghana Movies Award Foundation, to liaise with all persons and organizations trying to assist in treating the children.

In a telephone conversation from his base in the United Kingdom, Adebayor said he got to know about the plight of the children through a lady, Faustina Dakora, late last year. He subsequently asked Fred to contact the children through the lady, for further discussion.

According to him, Fred went to Kuunchen with a medical team to assess the condition of the children, but proper attention delayed because his agent was busily working on the Ghana Movie awards programme.

The kids, Absalon Dakora Gyie, 16, Joseph Muininbong Gyie, 13, and Fidilia Amawatanya Gyie, 10, were first sent to the Jirapa hospital for treatment, but the medical authorities reportedly diagnosed their condition to be genetic, hence there was little they could do to assist them.

Madam Faustina Dakora, a philanthropist, on hearing about the plight of the children, went public and contacted a number of persons, including the international football star, Sheyi Adebayor, who was touched by the story and as a result showed concern by ensuring that a medical team, led by Dr. Nsiah Obeng of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, went to assess their conditions for further action.

Madam Dakora said along the line, one Michelle Mcgowan, an American lady, who got to know of the children’s plight on the internet, flew to Ghana to have first-hand information.

Fred’s involvement in the Ghana movie awards led to his communication gap with Dr. Obeng and Faustina.

The philanthropist said Michelle, a nurse by profession, took a sample of the affected children’s skin tissue to a laboratory in the United States, got in touch with a pharmaceutical company, also in the States, which was ready to supply medication for their use for life.

Since then, Madam Dakora said the American lady has been avoiding her group, and started talking to organizations in Ghana on her own, and this has eventually created a problem, since her group is also soliciting for funds for the upkeep of the ailing children.

According to Dakora, her group, in conjunction with the medical team from Korle Bu, led by Dr. Obeng, had secured accommodation at a place close to Korle Bu, to evacuate the children from Kuunchen, in order to access medical attention.

Dr. Nsiah Obeng, when contacted, said the condition of the children would need multiple medical attentions by different doctors, hence the need to move them close to the nation’s elite hospital.

He was optimistic that the international football star, Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor, will assist as soon as Fred had time off his busy schedule to attend to the three children.

When Michelle Mcgowan was reached, she stated that on seeing the pictures of the children on facebook, she was touched and decided to help.

According to her, after sending the tissue samples to the States for diagnostic laboratory analysis, she wanted to begin medical treatment for them and so returned to Ghana, but could not make further progress in her bid.

She, therefore, contacted MTN, who agreed to sponsor part of the package, after she presented a budget in three phases to them. Michelle would, however, not indicate the full content of her budget, but mentioned a figure around 50,000 dollars.

Fred on his part said he is presently in the UK to meet the football star to discuss the issue of the afflicted children, but hinted that Michelle’s budget is becoming unreasonable, as she wanted $30,000 for evacuation to the States, GH¢11,000 for accommodation in Accra, for the children and herself.

She was reported elsewhere to have kicked against doctors at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital attending to the children, an allegation she denied to this reporter.

Fred Nuamah, however, said the package from Adebayor will be handled by Emmanuel Adebayor’s SEA Foundation, the mother body of his Ghana Movie Foundation, and appealed to all seeking the interest of the deprived children to contact Madam Faustina Dakora.

Source: The Chronicle