First World Sickle Day Celebration in Warri.

If a city must rise from its ashes, then they must support each other. It was a beautiful and a joy to see non Warriors come out to support Warriors, by Warriors we mean, people living with sickle cell disorder.

In Africa, one thousand children are born with sickle cell anemia every day and in Nigeria, one hundred and fifty thousand children are born with SCD annually. Living with sickle cell disorder can be very frustrating, despite the health challenges, the struggle that people living with SCD, sometimes are pitiable.

Most sicklers are branded names like Ogbanje, Will soon die, Drug addict, Money spenders etc and some are denied opportunities to work or participate because of health issues that are not their making.

Sickle cell anemia disease is a grasping chronic sickness that doesn’t let go. a condition in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout your body.

Normally, your red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through your blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and sticky and are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These irregularly shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.

There's no cure for most people with sickle cell anemia, but treatments can relieve pain and help prevent problems associated with the disease.

On Saturday, The 16th of June, 2018. Audrey's Foundation, led by the amazing Audrey Mukoro did an awareness walk to create awareness on the challenge sicklers face. Over 40 residents turned up for the event, with music and handbills.

The event was peaceful and enlightening.
This is the first engagement for the foundation whose goal is to advocate, educate, awareness and support, they followed up with a sensitization on the 19th of June at Edjeba Basic School, Edjeba.

According to the director of the foundation, Plans are underway for Sickle Cell Month in September, They plan to do both awareness and education, genotype testing and support.

See pictures from the event.