"Marvy,I would love you to be a part of something big.
We are hosting World Cancer Day again on 4th Feb this year and I want you to be a part of the planning committee.
We need your great ideas too", Saviour said when he approached me after lectures that day.
I'll think about it was my reply as I smiled meekly.
Saviour told me there was no problem as he would get back to me later.
Not again!,I thought to myself.This new level,I told myself I wanted to be serious.
It was third year in pharmacy school not year one or two that I was active in almost everything and every commitee thus earning me the Hall of Fame award.
I remember telling Saviour when he came back to me a bold No as I felt the planning process and meetings were going to distract me.
Saviour smiled replying "You are actually a great inspiration to me Marvy,I'm doing this thing because I realised Marvy has been able to combine everything by God's grace even when pharmacy school is this stressful.I told myself if people like Marvy can,then I can.So it's more like because you can,I can". I was still negative about it
The theme for 2018's World Cancer day was # I CAN,YOU CAN,WE CAN.
As I went back to think about everything, the passion for cancer patients overwhelmed me.The thoughts of my uncles that died of prostate cancer, the positivity of the cancer survivors and the fact that the awareness campaigns we would host would go a long way to save people.I joined immediately. I Was present at the next meeting of The Health Research and Awareness Hub,tHERAHUB(the backbone of the cancer awareness commitee).
We had a lot of planning and fundraising to do.
As we sought for partnership with Naomi Obot Foundation and The Students Union Government(we were students and needed approval from the school body so we had to partner with school), we decided to produce cancer ribbons and disttibute to people who will be joining in the cancer walk on Monday,5th Feb 2018.We planned that the students would support our ministry with whatever they had.
The World Cancer Day (4th Feb) was going to be on a Sunday so we planned on visiting churches to preach the gospel of cancer.
We selected the churches and started drafting out letters.
The members of the commitee were given ribbons to give out.
I was to supervise and make sure that every pharmacy student had a ribbon.
With my marketing strategy and great oratory skills as well as a little bit of sweetmouthing,with time almost all the ribbons were sold.
My counterparts in Faculties of Clinical sciences and Basic medicals did a great job too although we all had challenges.
An idea came,we decided to use kids to go to the churches to tell people about cancer.
We wrote to 10 vibrant churches and well only three were positive.The rest had line up of activities for thier 4th Feb(First Sunday of the month) already.Some were against having to bring us to come and make money or raise funds in the church in the process of educating the people.
Some others were comimg up with the "No sickness can kill a believer.There is nothing God cannot do" card.
All of these saddened me,like how would the church be thinking like this.
Really,overreligiousity is the problem we have in Nigeria.
Due to the refusal of the churches,the children I trained to perform at the churches had to be refused an opportunity to tell the world about cancer.
To the three that agreed, we the commitee members decided to go ourselves.
For the awareness campaign,we planned to use LED lighted baloons with helium gas to honour the cancer patients and survivors as well as sky lanterns.
Plans were made and prices were known, we needed money to order those things.
The Naomi Obot foundation supported us with flakes and what they could.
We realised a reasonable sum from the ribbons and the
SUG director of health who was from our faculty supported us immensely.
He was a part of tHERAHUB too.The rest of the money came from the committee. I realised again then that it was not possible to carry out a project if you aren't willing to spend from your pocket.