STATEMENT BY MRS JENNIFER RENNER-THOMAS, PROGRAMME DIRECTOR MEPS TRUST WELL WOMAN CLINIC AT THE WORLD CANCER DAY COMMEMORATION, MONDAY 4TH FEBRUARY 2019
SPONSORED BY THE FIRST LADY, MME FATIMA MAADA BIO
Your Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio, the Vice President, Honourable Dr Juldeh Jalloh, FirstLady, Mme Fatima Jabbie Bio, the Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr Alpha Wurie, Members of the diplomatic core, all protocol observed, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the Trustees, Management and Staff of the MEPS Trust Well Woman Clinic and on my own behalf, it gives me great pleasure in presenting the following donations:
A box of ORAL MORPHINE drugs to the Connaught Hospital at a cost of ukl 2,000.
BREAST PROSTHESIS to Survivors of breast cancer who have gone through radical mastectomy (removal of breasts); and
A drum of BREAST CANCER WELL-BEING KITS, also to breast cancer Survivors.
The Well Woman Clinic made the bold step in 2006 (13 years ago) of opening up a Clinic to raise awareness, advocate, screen and care for breast cancer patients at a time when cancer was a taboo word in the country. It was called the big C, or Mopia for cancer of the breast. The family had just lost a mother, sister, friend, an activitist for women’s rights in Sierra Leone and a Judge of the High Court of Sierra Leone, the late Justice, Mrs. Valerie Nicol, my younger sister.
These donations represent the restoration of the diginity of the woman or man for that matter during their cancer journey and after:
THE BREAST PROSTHESIS and the KIT, to boost the body image of the woman giving her HOPE and CONFIDENCE to shout out, “I am a survivor and so what - Look at me, I am who I am and I will take up the cause and raise awareness of CANCER.”
THE ORAL MORPHINE, as a symbol of the support process assuring that NO-ONE should undergo the indignity of pain caused by CANCER. We hope this will be given free of charge to the patients in post operative and palliative care.
We thank the North Middlesex University Hospital, Breast Unit, London (organized by Tina Davies (OBE); The African American Women’s Association, USA and the Haematology and Cancer Untold Organisation (HACU), Pennsylvania, USA for their support with these donations.
Finally, Madam First Lady, we thank you for your indefatigable support for highlighting such a national health problem. It has been a pleasure working with you over the last two weeks and we look forward to further collaboration as we fight the battle against CANCER. The Sierra Leone Cancer Society is committed to supporting the fight against Cancer and TOGETHER WE ALL CAN.
We now have pleasure in donating the ORAL MORPHINE to a Representative from the cancer unit at Connaught Hospital;
The BREAST PROSTHESIS could be fitted and donated to the survivors at the Clinic where they will also collect their kits.