(Content warning: This blog contains description of sexual abuse.) This is something I thought I will never be able to talk about but since I became a blogger with The Well Project and a Global Ambassador, getting to read other women and young girl share their experiences, I received boldness and courage to also share my experience. Twenty six years ago, a young girl child who happens to be my pride and dignity was stolen away from me by an adult man. It all started when my dad gave me up to live with another family in Festac Town in Lagos state, Nigeria. I left my family of seven which...
boseolotu's blog
My planned activities in my role as Global Ambassador for 2016 is to bring HIV/AIDS education and information to young girls in school and out of school.
This was a text message I received from a participant in a training which I facilitated in 2005. It was a telecommunication peer educator training for staff. It reads: Always, once in each generation of the human race, we normally have the Alexanders, Platos and many other names that have turned the course of human race. I must tell you that “You” are one of such, I listened to you today with Unreserved respect and Undivided attention. I must say that I really commend your effort and passion for what you are doing. It’s not because of the virus you are doing what you are doing, but because of...
HIV and Me… All in the name of finding a cure what I did. I diagnosed myself in 2000, but at that time there was no public information about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). My whole world broke into a million pieces and at that time I had no idea whatsoever about the virus. I only did the test because I was the one assigned to conduct the test for pregnant mothers who came for antenatal clinic. I was an employee to a private lab and the lab work in conjunction with the private hospital. Within a short period I had 28 pregnant women test positive for HIV and the hospital just referred...
I was invited as one of the special guest speakers to the women's forum of the International Church of Christ Abuja in Waru community, Abuja. Theme: Your Wealth, Your Health Abosede (Bose) Oladayo, The Well Project's Global Ambassador, presenting her session at the women forum It was an event that was so inspiring and motivating, the hall was filled up with women. They had session for medical checkup for high blood pressure and random blood sugar for anyone who chose to know their BP and sugar level. Participants at the women forum We had two doctors and me as speakers for the event. One...
Sometime ago a young man was sent to see me in my office. I meet with him, he was looking so depressed and frustrated I asked how I may help him. He then told me that he suspects that he is infected with HIV virus, then I tried to find out from him how he came about his presumption. He informed me that he is a married man with three kids and he was transferred to the northern part of Nigeria from the south to work for a period. Sometime in the month of February 2015 he had unprotected sexual intercourse with a lady in the north and again with the same lady in the month of March 2015. They both...
No woman should lose her life on account of giving birth to a child. This I have been hearing lately. A colleague lost a sister to childbirth. I lost one of my community volunteers to the same issues. I was told that the young mother died after the birth of her child; she bled to death. She was a great volunteer in a community in Lagos who worked with us in different communities to identify orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). She oversaw the OVC activities and supervised some of the kids clubs…she made a great impact in the life of OVC. It breaks my heart as a woman and a mother to hear...
Maybe for a person like me I was too afraid to take a giant step. Today my whole being is suffering for this lack of qualification or degree. Lots of people believe you should not be given a job if you do not have a degree, even if you have a little educational background with a whole lot of experience about the job. That all your years of training do not amount to anything if you do not have a degree. I am so ashamed of myself most times in the midst of the degree holders. I have worked in a private medical laboratory where my job originally was to register patients for lab tests, take sample...
I am sorry for the long silence from my end here. I also want to apologise to my fellow bloggers.
As a person who shares in this epidemic, it is becoming more worrisome and frightening for many people living with the HIV virus in Nigeria. I remember some years back in the early 2000s, we were buying ARVs and paying for medical investigations. Most people could not afford it because the majority of PLWHA were out of jobs even up until this day. Many still cannot get employment with companies or industries because of pre-employer screening which includes the big HIV testing after which most were denied employment. Hope was given to most of us who could not buy or access treatment when the...