PROJECT_INSPIRE speaks with CHIOMA PRECIOUS EJIMOFOR

Ever heard of a private sickle-cell disorder(SCD) clinic in Nigeria? We haven't about any. But we are delighted to introduce to you Chioma Precious Ejimofor, Founder of JIDEM Foundation, who runs two private SCD clinics in Nigeria. In this interview with PROJECT_INSPIRE, Chioma speaks about what it is like to be sickle-cell disorder patients in Nigeria and what she is doing to alleviate their sufferings.



PROJECT_INSPIRE: Can we meet you? Chioma: My name is Chioma Precious Ejimofor. I am 26 years old, from Enugu State.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Tell us briefly about your childhood.
Chioma: I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but the spoon got broken (giggles), which made my childhood rough. I was born into a family of six. Unfortunately, we are now five because we lost one along the way.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What is your educational background like?
  Chioma: I had my primary and secondary education at Creative Minds Foundation and Federal Government Girls College respectively in Onitsha, Anambra State. Further, I attended Kogi State University and subsequently, Nigerian Law School, Yola Campus.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What have been your contributions towards making Nigeria a better place?
Chioma: I do not see myself as contributing to Nigeria only, but to the world at large. My non-profit organization, JIDEM Foundation, among other things, is involved in SCA advocacy and management. Even though Nigeria bears the highest burden of sickle-cell disorder globally, my heart goes out to every child in the world who has the illness. When we started out in 2016, our activities revolved around SCD advocacy through seminars and enlightenment campaigns. As we continued to engage our target audience, we realized that people living with the condition had a lot they were dealing with, especially within. There was so much misinformation surrounding SCD and little or no medical care was available, resulting in many preventable deaths. To solve these problems, we thought of a rare idea—setting up a 'special clinic' for SCD patients. We wrote letters of partnership to some private hospitals with requisite capacities to partner with us and give us the opportunity to hold sickle-cell disorder clinics monthly in their health facilities. Despite several rejections, we are in partnership with two hospitals within Anambra state: Crown Hospital, Umuoji and CHRIST the King Hospital, Fegge. Though people tell us that ours is the first sickle-cell disorder clinic they have seen, I still want to do more. For the time I spent in Adamawa State, I saw first-hand how the disease ravages homes, and I am willing to do more to improve the current situation. I want to take the clinic to many places in Nigeria so that people can get both the right information and the right medical help.


PROJECT_INSPIRE: What motivated you to do what you are doing?
Chioma: My brother's death motivated me to venture into sickle-cell disorder advocacy. His loss helped me to face up to any statistics or theory that exists about the condition. What keeps me going in times when I feel discouraged is seeing the numerous people living with SCD become better because of their participation in our clinics. I use 'people' advisedly because adults are beneciaries of our clinics too. Even though the NGO is children-based, our arms are open to everyone living with the illness.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What have been your achievements?
  Chioma: God has been good to us at JIDEM Foundation. Our monthly clinics record tremendous success in the lives of participants. Each clinic day, we give drugs and offer consultancy at no cost. The clinics also serve as a support group for them. It gladdens my heart to see all that happens in our clinics. Even though I expend a lot of personal funds owing to little or no external support, I am thankful to God that I can do the much I am doing. Seeing our participants happy and enjoy a crisis-free life gives me so much fulfilment than the money spent can guarantee. We have been able to support about 60 participants in the two clinics. We have had few persons fall back into crises because of addiction to wrong information. Those used to taking a particular drug, even when offered a better alternative, are not always willing to accept the change. We patiently walk them in their paths with the hope of aligning their minds with the right information. We have done more than just giving drugs and arranging consultation. We also support our patients to improve their lives. Scholarships have been offered to indigent patients to ensure that they get education, and others have been offered skill acquisition programmes. Our clinics accept both children and adults. From our interaction with children who attend, I discovered that not everyone in the school community understands SCD management. I was told by one of the children that because he couldn't pay a school levy, he was asked by his teacher to go barefooted. When I heard this, the first thing I asked him was whether he sustained any injury on his foot, which he answered in the negative. He told me that he knew that he should not have an injury, as having one would be risky for him as a sickle-cell disorder patient. He knew this because he had been part of our clinic, but the teacher didn't know and probably didn't care if the child was put on harm's way. This made us begin to take our advocacy campaigns to secondary schools. During these campaigns, we make accurate information available on this medical condition so that both students and teachers will know how to handle a patient with such condition. Moreover, many teachers have commended these campaigns.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Tell us more about what you are doing and how it helps our nation to realize its full potential.
Chioma: SCD advocacy is just one of our programmes. Additionally, we are involved in training children to discover and develop their full potential beyond the classroom. ‘Jidem’ in Igbo means ‘hold me’. It is our understanding that the children around us want us to hold them, mentor them, and not leave them alone. We run a number of children-related programmes. In fact, as a lawyer, I meet and talk to a lot of adolescents who are behind bars. Most of them got into trouble because there was no-one to guide and mentor them when they needed someone. At JIDEM Foundation, we are bridging that gap. Our programme focuses on child mentorship and value reorientation. Once we have children who are on the right track, then we have insured our future as a nation.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What has been your major challenge since you began the nonprofit?
Chioma: Change doesn't come easily. I would like to think that getting people to change existing beliefs and narratives about anything is our biggest challenge. Funding is also a challenge, but we try to get by on that. God’s grace has been sufficient.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Many young people have great ideas, but lack of funds is always a stumbling block. What will be your advice in this regard?
Chioma: My advice to every young person is, 'Discover your purpose and what you are passionate about’. Once you are passionate about something, money becomes hardly a challenge. Your passion will inspire you to find out ways to do things more cost effectively.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: How have you been able to raise money to implement your ideas?
  Chioma: I do things smartly. I choose my projects carefully and measure the impact before undertaking them. With regard to seeking funds, I don't dump the entire budget for any project on prospective donors to finance. I make sure that I have some of the funds I need and seek donations (not necessarily monetary) for the rest. I also apply for grants, and I am hopeful we will get a breakthrough someday.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What is people’s reaction when they see you do what you do?
Chioma: I am not very big; I am slim. People are surprised when they try to juxtapose the strides JIDEM Foundation makes with my physique as founder. A lot of young people even ask me to mentor them, and as much as I can, I make myself available. Over the years, I have seen those I mentored live out their dreams. This gives me great fulfilment.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Could you share with us one or two experience(s) you have had in the course of working with sickle-cell anaemia patients that has/have really impacted on you?
Chioma : Wow...There are so many of them. My experience working with them cuts across many perspectives. Some encourage you while some make you cry. However, their zeal to be successful is remarkable. A certain boy who is a participant in our clinic now teaches his fellow students, as well as whoever desires to know about SCD, the truth about the condition. This is a boy who, prior to his attending our clinic, was timid and clueless about his health. Now he can be called an Ambassador for Sickle-Cell Disorder. There are so many of these relevant experiences; I can't fully exhaust them because of time.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What are your prospects in the next 5 or 10 years?
Chioma :By the grace of God, JIDEM Foundation will have successfully executed its objectives by having a wider scope of operation within and outside Nigeria. Every child truly deserves to be held unto greatness!


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: What do you think is the major cause of unemployment among the youth today and how can we get over this?
  Chioma :Many young people feel too entitled. When we stop feeling entitled to things, we will start using our brains to think. When we think, we innovate, and that is how people better their lives. I couldn't have done so much if I had been dependent on everyone else but myself.


  PROJECT_INSPIRE: Your final word to the Nigerian youth.
  Chioma : Wake up .... You are Possible!


  Many thanks to our editor: Pookers Literary & Editing World . www.pookersconsult.com.ng +234 703 009 4966 .


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