SUCCESS, SIGNIFICANCE and YOMADE BALOGUN. Only yesterday evening, I was watching the 2014 B.E.T Awards Show. Two particular moments in the show stood out; The tribute to Lionel Richie, which preceded his acceptance of the B.E.T. Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 50th anniversary commemoration of the 1964 civil rights act, which preceded the presentation of the B.E.T Humanitarian award to rights activist, Myrlie Evers-William. Those two moments vividly portray SUCCESS and SIGNIFICANCE. Lionel Richie has sold over 100 million records! That is SUCCESS! Maya Angelou alongside many others, practically rewrote the fate of black America. Five (5) decades ago, several television stations would go “black” whenever a person of color would appear on the screen. Today, we can celebrate B.E.T, a “black” TV Station. Today, we celebrate Barack Obama; U.S.A’s first “black” president. That is SIGNIFICANCE! As I mused over the “SIGNIFICANCE AND SUCCESS” portrayed by both achievements, I wondered what life for a colored musician or social activist would have looked like in 1962 -64. I could not but admire the dedication and fighting spirit of that generation of Americans who stood, marched, sat, moved and refused to move in order to make their country better…..and then I remembered Yomade Balogun and I smiled! Perhaps you might have read about 26 year old Yomade and her battle with renal failure. Only 3 weeks ago, and seemingly at her wits end, Yomade, her sisters and her friends decided to launch a massive social media campaign to raise funds for a kidney transplant to save her life. The response from several Nigerians, mostly strangers, has been quite overwhelming – over 60% of the needed funds have been realized in 3 short weeks! – That is SUCCESS! Sitting together with her family yesterday evening, I saw how a family of 3 sisters and their mother have remained united in the battle to save the life of the eldest sibling against daring odds, a family that is holding-on to HOPE and the belief of a better tomorrow. Despite the loss of the family head and breadwinner some 22 years back, this family is standing, marching, moving and refusing to move in order to make Yomade healthy again, with a donor kidney from one of her sisters and the massive support of hundreds of People all over the world! – that is SIGNIFICANCE! My very special thanks to all the well meaning Nigerians and members of the media who have lent their voices, credibility and funds towards keeping the hope of this young girl alive. Sometimes, hope is all that we have, even in the face of daunting challenges! I invite you to read Yomade’s story and share in her journey to Victory. The account numbers to send your donations to are at the bottom of the page. There will also be a walk in Lagos State on the 6th of September 2014 for Yomade from Maryland to the Governor’s office, Alausa, Ikeja. The Levi Klan meeting point is at the Maryland round about at 8a.m. Your prayers, efforts and donations are much appreciated. Happy reading! YOMADE BALOGUN Yomade is a beautiful 26 year old lady, the first of 3 children born to the Balogun family. She and her two sisters have been raised by their mum since 1992 when their father passed on in a ghastly motor accident. Yomade graduated from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife in 2009. She served in Yobe State the following year under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. Upon completion, she enrolled for the CIPM course (Chartered Institute of Personnel Management). She later on started “Adornare Clothing and Accessories”, where she trains other tailors and owns the “Made Erratic (ME)” label. Yomade was initially diagnosed with high cholesterol levels after noticing a swelling on one foot in 2006. Since then, she has been in and out of hospital in the battle against renal failure. Yomade has been receiving treatment under the supervision of Dr. Busari at the Gbagada General Hospital until the commencement of the on-going strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). She is presently receiving dialysis treatment at Clinis Health Care twice a week at a whopping cost of N100,000/week in order to stay healthy. Yomade needs about 8.5million naira to complete a kidney transplant and is seeking your assistance to make her battle a winning one. Please direct all financial support to the accounts listed below: Account name: Balogun Yomade Yewande GTB: 0130520176 DIAMOND BANK: 0051136447 ZENITH: 2084974783.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 21:21:33 +0000
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