“After I had taken the passenger to his destination and taken my money, just about 100 kilometers from the passenger, a stick from nowhere smashed me in my face and I fell off my motorbike and collapsed. The person took my bike and all the money I had on me.”
That is the dreadful story of 28-year-old Owusu Jacob who works as a dispatch rider during the day and switches to work as an ‘Okada’ rider at night because of financial difficulties after he embarked on a trip that only earned him Five Ghana Cedis.
In an interview with crimecheckghana, Jacob said he seldom gets dispatch offers and because he owns the motorbike he used, he decided to add ‘okada’ business to augment his dispatch job. He said during one of his late night trips, somebody he suspects was the passenger, hit his face with a stick which made him unconscious on the spot. The young man said, the suspect further battered his head severally with the stick but he was fortunate to survive. He said the attack was aimed at snatching his motorbike.
“When I regained consciousness I couldn’t open my eyes for two weeks and it was then I realized that my head was wounded. It meant that the guy continued to batter my head with the intention to end my life. It was through the effort of one of my friends who lived in the area where the incident occurred, who mobilized others to come to my rescue after the attack. They rushed me to the 37 Military Hospital that late night if not I could have lost my life.” He recounted.
The father of two said the attack which has impaired his sight and left his head in scars has rendered him redundant as he is unable to work making him to struggle to cater for his family and pay his medical bill which is in arrears of over Five Thousand Ghana Cedis.
Crime Check Foundation, CCF through one of its US based family and Germany based birthday donors, Faith, Coretta and Mary Karikari and Jennifer Oppong Coffie gave Jacob Two Thousand and Forty Ghana Cedis for his upkeep and as business capital.
Receiving the money, Jacob expressed gratitude to CCF and its donors for the support. “May God bless you and cause his countenance to be upon you. May God bless your businesses to grow and make you reap in double-fold what you have donated for me.” He prayed.
CCF is appealing to generous individuals to support Jacob to enable him complete the payment of his medical bills.
The Foundation’s Health Check Series is used to solicit support for poor individuals who struggle to access medical care because of financial difficulties.
