Acting in common participation with one of the corperate social responsibility of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC Osun State took to the people of Ikire Local Government Area a share of the Health Initiative For Rural Dwellers Scheme of the NYSC.

The event which took place on Thursday in the Palace of the Akire of Ikire had the presence of the King of Ikire, Oba Olatunde Falabi Olabeloye III, the Akire of Ikire.

Oba Olatunde in his goodwill address expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Osun State NYSC for the kind gesture towards the people of Ikire and offered prayers for Peace and Blessings.

He also called for more collaborations between the NYSC and the Palace, stating that he enjoys the cordial relationship between the Scheme and his Palace and hopes that it continues to foster the growth of Ikire, her people and Corps members posted to the Local Government.

Ọba Olatunde eulogised the NYSC Management for deploying trained Corps members to different sectors of the society, which according to him, has benefited the land greatly. He assured the Corps members of the hospitality of his people and cooperation throughout their stay in Ikire.

Meanwhile, the NYSC Osun State Coordinator, Mrs Winifred Shokpeka stated that the objective of the Health Initiative is to ensure that people living in rural areas in Nigeria get a level of access to good health care as it is an excellent way to impact positively in the lives of rural dwellers.

Shokpeka, who was represented at the flag off by the Assistant Director, Corps Welfare and Health, Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi also mentioned that the NYSC Osun State came with Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacist and other Medical Personnel to carry out medical checkup and administer drugs when necessary to attendees at the event.

She assured the Akire of Ikire and the indigenes of the Scheme's resolve to improve the quality of lives of the people through her programmes and initiatives such as the National Environmental Sanitation which held recently nationwide and the Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers, which makes free healthcare services available to rural Dwellers across the 36 States of the Federation and FCT.

She stated that millions of people have benefited from the health initiative programme since inception in 2015. According to her, the Scheme through her Corps medical personnel has been able to enrich the quality of lives of the beneficiaries of the Initiative. She stated that the timely intervention of the programme has saved the lives of many in the rural areas.

She concluded by appreciating Ọba Falode and the people of Ikire for coming out in their numbers to participate in the programme. This, she said shows that the Royal Father is a welfarist who looks out for the wellbeing of his people.

Earlier, the Assistant Director, Community Development Service, NYSC Osun State, Mr. Felix Ayibiowu, had explained to the Oba and Attendees that the Health outreach is a national programme and indigenes of Ikire serving in other parts of Nigeria are also participating in the programme. He called on the people to adhere by the health tips given by the medical Corps personnel and to also ensure they follow the instructions of the medical team.

Over 200 people had their vitals checked. Other Investigation were conducted, corps doctors attended to them. Drugs were prescribed and a few referrals were among the activities carried out during the programme.