BLUEPRINTS IN ADVOCACY (MOD 4)

Like  almost every other person in my day, it was an exciting moment when I made it to university. It was even more so for me because of the hurdles I had to face to get to this stage.

My family has always been my biggest cheerleaders and I believe this has a lot to do with the person I am today. Despite living with both an invisible and visible disability, their primary focus in a period where many felt children like me were better off dead, was on my abilities and potential to scale above the odds and so, despite navigating hospital corridors, rooms and classrooms, they cheered me on and I sailed through school to this stage.

Their love and support notwithstanding, it wasn’t exactly a smooth ride. I managed to succeed during my ordinary level exams in spite of writing through a series of painful sickle cell crisis episodes. My grades were not exactly how I wanted them to be but I was glad I didn’t have to repeat the class. Not so much with writing the Advanced Level exams. I failed it at my first attempt and it left me discouraged. I put so much effort into this exam and was confident I would make it but when the results were out, I failed and I cried!

I already saw myself finally in university and the thought of having to repeat the Advanced level exams didn’t sit well with me. Still, there was nothing I could do. There was no way I could get into university without an Advanced level certificate.

I went in a second time and made it and excitedly, I said University, here I come!

I had tall dreams. I believe everyone does. I saw myself getting closer to entering the corporate world. After all, the end result of schooling for many is to be able to get a job or something.

University wasn’t that much of an easy ride either still, I stayed with the support and cheers of my family and graduated. The  next long struggle began after graduation. Finding a job was hard. Attempts to apply for an MSc proved futile. I went in to try the competitive entrance exams by the state into professional schools and failed,and this was something I was so confident I could ace ... It was a period of frustrations.

After a few years of trying to get a job and admissions into an MSc program abroad, I went back to school and did a program in Human Resources Management and Development and just when I thought I would finally get something going after this program, a major health problem held me back yet again. And so, while my course mates found jobs or travelled the world, I was busy fighting a silent battle in the hospital. An accident I had while in high school became my bane of contention.

It was a very frustrating period, putting my life on hold again and navigating hospital corridors instead of the job market. It was during this period that I rekindled my love for writing. Journaling my thoughts and frustrations was like a soothing balm to my  frustrated soul. And it was during this period that I got into blogging and one thing leading to another, my advocacy journey began.The challenges of securing a job even with the best efforts put into searching for one is a challenge many people with sickle cell and other disabilities face.

These lived experiences became blueprints in my advocacy journey. My encounter with many persons living with sickle cell has shown again and again how challenging and difficult it is to find and keep a job living with sickle cell, especially if those they work with are not empathetic to their health challenges and realities, fixing their focus on that instead of on their skills and potentials.

The frustrations I hear when I talk with most of them mirrored mine in many ways. It isn’t about being ungrateful with the support we get from family. Unless one is just naturally lazy or entitled, there is this deep seated desire to be productive and try to reach our full potentials when we get to a certain age. Sometimes, most are out rightly turned down not because they are not qualified but because of having sickle cell or a form of disability and the company isn’t willing to give them a chance because of perceived misconceptions of sickle cell and disabilities.

Armed with this, I started looking for ways to go beyond the expected conventional idea many have about NGOs. I decided to move from the saviour mentality to be solution-oriented, giving them fish to eat while at the same time, teaching them how to fish for themselves. In other words, while we tried to take care of their immediate essential needs like providing routine medications and helping to pay for medical expenses when possible, we also decided to incorporate skills acquisitions workshops into our outreach programs targeting specifically persons living with sickle cell.

The challenges of having something to do to fend for themselves in spite of the deep desire to do  so and my own experiences in the job field is what inspired my current initiative: The Warrior Empowerment Program (WEP). Our desire with this program is to help these precious groups get life skills that would help them navigate the challenges of life while putting them in a better position to explore and reach their full potentials, be valuable members of society, and help them to be more independent and proactive in their own lives and health care by providing seed incomes after training to those who are genuinely serious in improving their lives.

It is a lofty goal but it is doable and necessary, if we are to go by the reactions we received when we had the maiden workshop in August in which we learnt to make liquid soap, beads and basic graphic designs. A few tell me they will put the skills into practice while one is already making excellent use of the skills, making and selling liquid soap. My desire is to have this program repeated in different parts of the country and if possible for a longer period with certificates given to participants at the end. The major challenge is still finances. 

My failures and frustrations notwithstanding,  I didn’t allow that to leave me in the lurch. Rather, I let it mould and shape me to provide blueprints in my advocacy journey.

We will welcome those who are interested to partner with us or donate. I am an email away at arreyechi@yahoo.com . Thank you.