Good day @ladiesofhive, I hope we are all doing great. I’m super excited because my birth month, October, is just around the corner! I also hope September was fruitful for us all. If it was, cheers to you. If it wasn’t, please don’t be hard on yourself. Just take things one step at a time with determination.
For me, September was a blast because it was World Sickle Cell Awareness Month, and I had the privilege of being featured on multiple radio programs, attending town hall meetings, and joining other gatherings to spread awareness about sickle cell disorder and genotype education.
For this week’s contest, I’ve chosen topic number three:
“If you were told you had won a scholarship to learn or study something new, what would you like to learn and why?”
Without hesitation, my answer would be genetic counselling. Let me tell you why.
I am a trained journalist, and I truly love my career. If I hadn’t chosen this path almost two decades ago, I believe I would have missed my purpose.
Journalism has always been close to my heart, and I still dream of becoming an award-winning journalist someday. But in recent years, my life has taken a new turn, one that has redefined my sense of purpose.
That new path is sickle cell advocacy. This chronic condition has taken so much from me, including my younger brother, and I hate to see others suffer due to ignorance.
You may wonder why it took me so long to choose this path, especially since I’ve lived with sickle cell all my life. The truth is, moving back home to Nigeria opened my eyes. Nigeria carries the highest burden of sickle cell disorder in the world, and the level of ignorance and misinformation I witnessed is alarming.
This disorder has reshaped my life in countless ways in the last five years; it has been a rollercoaster of the good, the bad, and the very painful. Yet, even in the pain of sickle cell, I found purpose.
And it is because of this purpose that a scholarship to study genetic counselling would mean the world to me.
Until recently, I never considered myself a “science person.” But after two years of actively engaging in advocacy, I realised that to make a real impact, I need more profound knowledge. I need to be able to guide people with accurate information and also explore ways to make the service sustainable, because unfortunately, free value is not always appreciated.
With professional training as a genetic counsellor, I would be able to educate and guide people on how to make informed choices and, most importantly, help prevent the birth of more children with sickle cell disease.
The reality is that some genotypes are not compatible. While it may sound easy to tell people “walk away,” love is a powerful force, and when people fall in love, it can be complicated to make such decisions.
But with the guidance of a genetic counsellor, couples can understand their options, weigh the costs, and explore alternatives to having children without the condition. Families of children with sickle cell disorder can learn effective management options.
Currently, genetic counselling is scarce in Nigeria, and the few experts offering private training charge exorbitant fees. That’s why, if I ever receive the good news of a scholarship, I would undoubtedly pursue training as a genetic counsellor.
Thank you so much for reading. Wishing us all a blissful new month in advance.