The Well Being Foundation Africa (WBFA), a humanitarian organization focused on maternal and infant health, has donated food items and cash totaling over N300,000 to an indigent mother of triplets in Ilorin, Kwara State, for the upkeep of her family.
Mrs. Balkis Mohammed, the mother of one-year-old triplet boys, shared that she already had three girls before the birth of the triplets. She added that her family was overwhelmed by the cost of feeding and caring for the children and had to seek help from various organizations and the government.
Mrs. Balkis, an unemployed former non-teaching staff member of a private nursery school, and her husband, Mallam Aliyu Mohammed Buhari, a teacher at United Community Secondary School, Taiwo Isale, Ilorin, expressed their gratitude for the assistance. They noted that WBFA was the only organization to respond to their plea for help among those they had contacted.
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The family also mentioned that due to financial difficulties, they had to stop the schooling of two of their daughters and transfer their eldest child from a private to a less-expensive public school.
Mallam Mohammed Buhari, the father of the triplets, revealed that his grandparents had pressured him to have a male child before the triplets were born. He also disclosed that he and his wife had considered aborting the triplets’ pregnancy, as he had planned not to have more children after their three daughters.
Mrs. Komolafe Oyinlola, a midwife with the WBFA, explained that the donation was part of the foundation’s efforts to reduce maternal mortality. She said, “We learned about her predicament through the WhatsApp platform we created for pregnant women and mothers under our Mama Care program, and we acted immediately.”
“Our Mama Care program supports pregnant women and children, ensuring their well-being. We visit over 14 health facilities in the state daily to conduct antenatal classes for pregnant women and provide support to mothers facing difficulties after delivery,” she added.
Mrs. Komolafe advised Mrs. Balkis to consider family planning methods suitable for her and her husband to ensure appropriate spacing between their children and emphasized the importance of complete immunization for the triplets.
She also encouraged Mrs. Balkis to spread awareness about maternal and infant health among expectant and nursing mothers in her community, urging them to use health facilities, especially public ones, for quality care.
WBFA program officer Kehinde Akinsola noted that a previous visit to the family’s residence in the Olorunsogo-Sawmill community, Ilorin, allowed the organization to assess the situation and determine the necessary intervention. He added that the organization had based their support on the information and pictures shared on the Mama Care platform.
