The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos Province 37, known as Peace Sanctuary, has offered free medical checkup to residents of Akintoye Street, Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos State.
Aside from giving the residents free eye test, the church also ensured that opportunities were given for them to know their health status.
The residents were tested for genotype and sugar level in the blood.
They were also tested for blood pressure, weight and height, among others.
Pastor Oluwayemi Olajide who is in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility, lamented the inability of Nigerians to observe regular medical checks.
Olajide said the gesture was to safeguard people’s health.
His words: “What we are doing is the vision laid down by the General Overseer of the church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye Adejare, to ensure that our host community, where we minister, benefits from the welfare package of the church.
“We want to contribute our quota to making life better for our host community by ensuring reduction to illness in the community.”
Olajide further explained that the exercise will help the residents to know their state of health and if there was a complex situation the church could not handle, refer the person to a bigger facility and foot the medical bills.
A beneficiary said: “I thank the church for the good gesture extended to us.
“Some of us don’t have money to go to hospitals for medical checkup.
“But we were treated free of charge by the church.
“We want other churches in the neighbourhood to emulate the RCCG.”
Tokunbo Ogunmakin, another beneficiary, said: “What the church is doing would go a long way in alleviating the suffering of majority of the residents suffering from one illness or another and who don’t have money to take care of themselves.”
The presiding pastor, Urhrebrume Kennedy, said: “We have it at the back of our minds that anywhere our parishes are located, we should touch the lives of the people.
“When I was posted to the church, I looked around the vicinity and met with some of the elders in the community.
“I told them that we were going to construct drainage for them, but they refused.
“We however later came up with a free medical checkup for the members of the community.”