Three years old and still going strong. On 10 February 2024, Matured Like Minds marked its third anniversary not with a party, but with a purpose: a visit to Karshi General Hospital on the outskirts of Abuja to donate wheelchairs and other vital medical supplies.
The choice of Karshi General Hospital was deliberate and considered. Located in one of Abuja’s more outlying districts, the facility serves a large population but often operates with limited resources. For patients who need mobility aids, the difference a wheelchair makes cannot be overstated — it can mean the difference between independence and being completely housebound after discharge.
Mobility as a gift
Wheelchairs may seem like a straightforward donation, but for the patients and staff of Karshi General Hospital, they represent something profound: the ability to move, to participate, to leave the ward with dignity. MLM members pooled their resources over the preceding weeks to procure a consignment of sturdy, hospital-grade wheelchairs alongside other medical supplies including consumables and equipment that the hospital’s clinical teams had identified as priority needs.
The handover ceremony was attended by hospital management and clinical staff, who expressed genuine gratitude to the MLM delegation. Members wore their distinctive white polo shirts and black caps, representing the community they had built together over three years of friendship and shared purpose.
A tradition of giving
What makes this donation particularly meaningful is that it forms part of a deliberate pattern. MLM has made it a tradition to mark every anniversary with an act of giving back to the wider community. The first birthday, in February 2022, was spent with the children of Destined Children’s Orphanage Home in Kado Estate, Abuja, sharing food and gifts. The second, in February 2023, saw MLM visit Treasure Home Orphanage in Karu to donate food, clothing and toiletries.
At the third, the focus shifted to healthcare — a recognition that giving back takes many forms, and that different communities have different needs. Karshi General Hospital needed mobility aids. MLM listened, and MLM delivered.
More than a donation
The visit was not simply a drop-off. MLM members spent time at the hospital, speaking with patients and staff, listening to stories, and sharing the kind of warmth and human connection that no medical supply can replicate. For patients who are often far from home, having a group of friendly faces show up — not out of obligation, but out of genuine care — carries its own kind of medicine.
One senior nurse at the facility put it simply: “It is not just the chairs. It is that someone thought of us.”
“Foster a sense of belonging and reduce social isolation.”
From the MLM Aims
Three years, one direction
Since that first gathering on 8 February 2021, when a small group of friends created “Like Minds” out of a desire to build genuine connections, MLM has grown steadily in membership, in resources, and in the scale of its impact on the communities around it. The name changed to Matured Like Minds in May 2021, signalling a recommitment to the long game: friendships that last, and giving that matters.
By the third anniversary, the pattern was clear: every year, a celebration of friendship, and every year, a gift to someone beyond the group. It is a tradition that has only deepened with time. Less than a year later, in December 2024, MLM would host the children of the Durumi IDP Camp to a Christmas party. And in 2026, 100 school desks would find their way to Betharbel All Inclusive Academy.
Thank you
Our sincere thanks go to every MLM member whose contributions made this donation possible, and to the management, doctors, nurses and staff of Karshi General Hospital for receiving us so graciously. And to the patients: you are not forgotten.
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