TOWN ICON: MEET MRS TOYIN ADESHOLA, SICKLE CELL SURVIVOR AND ADVOCATE If youve ever come across a sickle cell anemia patient you would understand what Mrs Toyin Adeshola meant when she described life as having ups and downs but more downs than ups sometimes, especially having to grow up in a vulnerable hostile environment like Nigeria. Fondly called Toyin while growing up, this passionate young woman was unfortunate to have been plagued with the anemia, experiencing most of the complications associated with being a carrier of the SS genotype. Her bout of crisis materialized at the age of three and so she found herself spending more and more time in the hospital and on sick beds while she watched her family and friends move around freely and travel out on holidays. As a result of how frequent her hospital visits were, she had to quit her secondary school education to take better care for herself. Daunting as this may be, she sought to do something for herself and learned to bake cakes before starting her own catering business even opting to go back to school when she started to feel better. Days spent within the four walls of her university were trying ones but eventually, she bagged a degree in Economics and went on to become the Executive Director of Sickle Cell Advocacy and Management Initiative. The foundation was birthed after the various issues she confronted as an undergraduate, prominent among which were the issues of employment and accessibility. These issues which she explained where intertwined because one cannot be solved without addressing the other. At the moment, Mrs Adeshola collaborates with other NGOs and works with the Nigerian Institute of Architects and Center for Accessible Environment to redesign buildings that are handicapped friendly. SAMI is about counselling persons with sickle cell anaemia while also providing information for parents, family members and friends under the auspice of Project ‘Still Standing’. It is also about promoting advocacy and awareness of the anaemia through music, arts, sports, charity and other networking events. Forty eight years after her birth it comes as no surprise that Mrs Toyin Adeshola remains tall standing.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 10:33:01 +0000
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