In the children’s ward of the Salaga Government Hospital, three-year-old Yussif is recovering from a medical battle that has tested both his fragile body and his family’s faith.

About a year ago, Yussif was diagnosed with hernia, issued medication and discharged. But the pain didn’t stop. Over the next 12 months, the family travelled from one facility to another, searching for relief they could not afford. The constant search for medical help drained their limited income and weakened Yussif.

Attending school became difficult for the kindergarten pupil. On the days he attempted, he often returned home weak and unable to keep food in his body after eating.

As a small-scale farmer, Yussif’s father, Abdulai Mohammed, said his son’s health situation has crippled his ability to work and forced him to leave his farm unattended for months. His older sons have stopped attending school as the family’s financial strain deepened.

When the Telecel Ghana Foundation stepped in to settle the full cost of Yussif’s surgery as part of its annual Homecoming initiative, Abdulai struggled to find the words.

“I am speechless. What Telecel Foundation has done has brought my family joy I cannot explain. With the surgery done and the bills paid, I can return to my farm and find money to support my family.”

In November each year, the Telecel Ghana Foundation organises its health relief programme, Homecoming, an intervention that clears the medical bills of patients who have recovered but cannot be discharged because they are unable to pay.

In the northern belt alone, Telecel is funding the medical bills of about 100 patients across three facilities: Tamale West District Hospital, Salaga Government Hospital, and Janga Hospital. Across the country, the Telecel Foundation is hoping to discharge a total of about 300 people in 10 hospitals in the northern, middle and southern belts.

Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of Foundation, Sustainability and External Communications at Telecel Ghana said “Every year, we roll out Homecoming because we understand the difficulties people face in paying their medical bills, even with NHIS. Our mission is to help ease their burden, free up hospital beds for other patients and get them to return home and reunite with their families.

At the Salaga hospital, paediatric nurse Hawa Iddi said the support for Yussif could not have come at a better moment. “This is a deprived community. Most of our patients are unable to pay their bills. Many are peasant farmers and even getting three meals a day is a challenge. Telecel Foundation’s assistance goes a long way in helping our clients.”

The hospital administrator added that Telecel Foundation remains one of the few organisations that has consistently prioritised healthcare in the community through sustained Corporate Social Responsibility interventions, expressing deep gratitude for the support.

With Yussif’s operation successful and the financial weight lifted, he can now recover with renewed hope, return to school and simply live his childhood to the fullest.