Woman, 65, regains mental health, after 35 years of madness in Anambra

IT was a thing of joy and glory to God for Anene family, of Umudioka Village Awka, in Awka South local government area of Anambra State, as they were reintegrated with their mother, grandmother, and wife, Mrs Rose Anene, after missing and separated from the family for thirty-five years, following her treatment by the wife of the state Governor, Chief Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, through her Non- governmental organization, the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative, CAFE, at the Home for the Mentally Challenged Nteje, in Oyi council area.

Mrs Anene was among the twelve fully recovered inmates of the Home for the Mentally Challenged Nteje that were handed over to their families during an event to mark this year’s International Women’s Day which had its theme as ” Press for Progress.”

The event which was held at the State Ministry of Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs’ rehabilitation home for the mentally ill, Nteje, attracted women from around the council area as well as government officials, put smiles on the faces of the families.

The 65-year-old Mrs Rose Anene was said to have been missing since 1983 after she had a mental problem when her children were still little.

Addressing the people at the event, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, who expressed happiness on the total recovery of the woman, said her Non-governmental Organization, the Caring Family Initiative would continue to give hope to the hopeless.

She disclosed that Mrs Anene was among the first people that the Home for the Mentally Challenged Nteje started with, and thanked God that today she has recovered and has identified with her family she left for years.

The Governor’s Wife assured that the inmates will be trained in various vocations of their choice and empowered afterwards by her initiative, and prayed God for more successes under the scheme.

Earlier in a speech, the state Commissioner for Social Welfare, Women and Children Affairs, Dr Victoria Chikwelu, commended the NGO, which she said has saved many lives, calling on Ndi Anambra to accord the Obiano government more support as it has much to offer.

The Commissioner disclosed that Mrs Anene was formerly identified as a Yoruba woman at the Home for the Mentally Challenged as she speaks only Yoruba language, until the day she regained her memory and started speaking Igbo language and as well remembered her husband’s town in Awka which led to the discovering of her family.

The first son of the woman, Mr Chukwudi Anene, who told Tribune Online that he was six years old when the mother left them and is now forty-three, thanked God he is alive with the siblings to see their mother, and regretted that their father is no more to witness the miracle.

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Also speaking, Mrs Anene’s first daughter, Mrs Ifeyinwa Uzozie, went down memory lane on their ugly experiences without their mother and promised that they will take good care of her to make sure she enjoys her remaining years on earth.