Youths begin operation cleaning-up of mad persons in Kaduna
NEWS DIGEST – A youth group, Ahmadu Na Huntuwa Foundation, has embarked on cleaning-up of mad and mentally retarded persons in the streets of Kaduna State with a view to ridding them of dirtiness and their disease-prone conditions.
Speaking with newsmen recently, the team leader of the foundation, Usman Suleman, popularly known as Damo, said since its inception years back, the foundation had been taking in mad persons from the streets to bath them on a monthly basis.
He said: “We have so far been taking care of catching, cleaning and changing the lives of many street lunatics in Kaduna. We remove the dirtiness that is disturbing them through regular monthly bathing and changing of their cloths.
Mr Damo recalled that the initiative was started by their late leader, Ahmadu Na-huntuwa who died some years ago.
“We have washed over 50 mentally challenges person that are sleeping in dirty places across Kaduna.
“Some of these lunatics have regained their memories and gone back home.
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“We don’t stigmatise against them. Instead, we show them love and care, that is why they are our friends,” Mr Damo said.
“What we do every month end is to bring them to the usual places and bath them, cut all their hairs and nails and then change their cloths.
“During that period, some of them usually remember were they come from. We would then gather money and put them in a car back to their towns.
“We are always happy with the kind of support we are getting from the public every month end,” Mr Damo stressed.
Also speaking, one of the volunteers in the group, Salihu Yuguda, said he always provided his support in the area of materials like andgloves, Dettol, razor blades, detergents, buckets, cups, sponge and other materials.
In her own contribution, Ramatu Tijjani, who is the chairperson of a foundation for the protection of women and children in Nigeria, called on wealthy individuals and corporate organizations to support the initiative with all the necessary materials.
Mrs Tijjani, who is a specialist on interfaith matters in Nigeria, said time has come for everyone to support the move to take lunatics away from the streets.
