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This is a good opportunity to give my thoughts
and feedback about working in this region. I
am proud to say that 2007/8 has been a very
exciting year: more and more of you are
seeking information about the condition as
well as enquiring about services out there that
would benefit you. This has come about as a
result of the volume of phone calls I have
received, people from the black community
are feeling comfortable to talk about sickle
cell; and as more people particularly
those living with the condition as well as
families/parents with family members/children
who have the disease are becoming
increasingly educated and less stigmatised,
they are able to talk freely about the condition.
This is a great achievement on the part of
Regional Care Advisors’ outreach work through
its health promotion and educational talks,
raising awareness, and word is now filtering
through to the public and the community. I
have to say that all the RCA’s are so committed
in the work they do and it’s great to see that
our hard work is now paying off.
I was very delighted when I received a
beautiful letter from Lesley, aged 10 from
Hackney. It was very kind and thoughtful of him
to do this; I read his letter over and over again;
my colleagues at work enjoyed reading it too.
Honestly, what is fantastic about this letter is the
amount of time he put in just to let me know
about his experiences, his sister and how much
he loved his mum for being there for him.
Please, read his letter on the Users Page. I hope
parents/carers would encourage their
children/young people to write on any topic
that interests them.
Good News! Barking & Dagenham, Havering
and Redbridge has a permanent Senior
Haemoglobinapathy Specialist Nurse now in
post; her name is Christine Williams, and she is
based at Cedar Centre at King George
Hospital. A warm welcome and congratulations
to you Christine! We wish her all the best for a
well deserved promotion. I am sure we will all
benefit from her exceptional clinical
knowledge and skills which have been
invaluable having worked with people living
with sickle cell disease for a long time.
October which is Black History month was
packed jammed with invitations from
schools/colleges, organisations and associations
for RCAs to attend various events to give talks or
display a stall on sickle cell. One such event
was at Petchey Academy (Hackney) where I
attended with Mrs C Dickson (Community
Development Officer -Hackney Sickle Cell and
Thalassaemia Centre). Some pupils have
relatives or know of friends living with sickle cell;
with others it was their first time hearing about
the disease as the class was mixed (black and
white pupils)
I was at the Black Police Association Event at
the Royal Festival Hall, Waterloo with a member
of the Sickle Cell Society and her daughter; we
displayed leaflets, posters and other literature
materials on sickle cell and the screening
programme. This is a very popular event within
the black community and it was well attended.
Some people were kind to make a donation
and many acknowledged the good work the
Society is doing in the community “Keep up the
Good Work” they said.
I was also involved in Jeans 4Genes Day,
October 5th. What a busy day that was! I
gave a talk at a Primary School in
Westminster, one mum came along and
talked about her experiences with twin
daughters who have the condition. Later that
same day we rushed to Waterloo with
my colleague to shake the bucket – What
a fun day; though I was a bit disappointed
that people were not very generous with
their donations.
I also attended the Black History Month at
Queens Theatre -Havering, with Cecilia
Shoetan (Coordinator – Barking & Dagenham
and Havering Sickle Cell Support Group); we
had a stall, giving out information and talking to
people who attended the event.
A BIG THANK YOU to Rotary Club of Tottenham
& Wood Green members who gave their time
to fundraise for the Society. On a bitterly cold
evening in December, we knocked from door
–to-door and people donated generously.
Sitting inside the beautifully decorated carriage
with all its glittering Christmas lights was Father
Christmas. We also had Christmas carols
blaring as we drove along the streets. It was
such a spectacular sight! My colleague,
Iyamide and I were privileged to be invited as
guests with other voluntary organisations to
attend the Rotary Club Dinner held in February
where we were presented with a cheque of the
money raised.
Comfort Ndive
Mobile: 07841 558 612
Email: comfort.ndive@sicklecellsociety.org
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