A story about strength, faith & resilience
The Strength
Within
Sometimes God introduces us to people who quietly redefine what strength looks like.
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Sometimes God introduces us to people who quietly redefine what strength looks like.
Scroll to begin ↓Twenty-three years ago, I was a bright, wide-eyed young girl with dreams bigger than my circumstances. After being “JAMBed by JAMB” and watching my plans to study outside Nigeria fall through, I reluctantly accepted the idea of attending Babcock University after spending three years at home.
Looking back now, I realize God was orchestrating something far greater than I could have imagined. Again and again, He would bring people into my life who would forever change how I viewed strength, resilience, and faith.
A community who are often misunderstood. A community the world has repeatedly told, “This is as far as you can go.” Yet, over the years, I have watched them defy every limitation placed before them.
Tunrayo
She was energetic, full of life, endlessly cheerful, and someone I immediately became close to. Then I began to notice that every now and then she would become critically ill, enduring pain so severe that words of comfort were powerless. The only relief came through pain medication she had learned to administer herself, a skill she had mastered through years of living with sickle cell anaemia.
Until then, I honestly thought the only genotypes were AA and AS. Through Tunrayo and my own curiosity, I began to understand the realities of sickle cell disease and the different genotypes, including AC, SS, and SC.
More importantly, I began to witness extraordinary courage.
Over the years, God has given me a front-row seat to the lives of several sickle cell warriors.
Not because they do not feel pain.
Not because life is easy.
But because they refuse to surrender to the limitations others place upon them. They endure unimaginable pain, recover from one crisis only to face another, and somehow find the strength to keep living, working, dreaming, and hoping.
I still remember hiding Tunrayo's books because she insisted on studying even during painful crises.
Sadly, we lost her in her final year at university,
but not before I had witnessed a life that demonstrated remarkable courage and quiet resilience.
Buki Cecilia Whitney
Years later, life introduced me to another remarkable woman living with sickle cell. This time, it was someone I had known for years, my secondary school classmate, Buki Cecilia Whitney (née Sogbuyi). We quickly rekindled our friendship, and interestingly, when we first started talking again, I had no idea she, too, was living with sickle cell anaemia.
Buki developed avascular necrosis (AVN) and underwent Total hip replacement surgery. Through the generosity of classmates, family, and friends, funds were raised to make that surgery and her recovery possible.
Since then, I have watched her face one health challenge after another with incredible grace. Not because healing has always come quickly, but because her strength within has never diminished.
For nearly eight years, she has battled chronic leg ulcers that have refused to heal despite multiple surgeries and countless treatments. As her condition worsened, she became unable to maintain steady employment.
A few months ago, some physicians believed amputation may likely become necessary because the wounds had refused to heal despite years of treatment.
But if you know Buki, you know she is a fighter. She has chosen to believe there is still hope.
Rather than accepting amputation as the only option, her team of vascular surgeons, haematologists and wound care specialists chose a different path: an aggressive limb salvage approach aimed at preserving both legs.
Since June, Buki has undergone multiple surgeries involving extensive debridement and advanced regenerative tissue grafts, including Stravix® umbilical cord allograft and Oasis® wound matrix. Her recovery will require further procedures, specialised wound care, medication and months of rehabilitation.
Her recovery will require additional procedures, specialized wound care, medications, and months of rehabilitation. The cost of surgeries, specialized wound care, medications, and ongoing treatment is expected to exceed $31,000.
By God's grace, our QC Alumni family and Buki's close friends and family have raised over $11,000 so far. We are deeply grateful — but we still need approximately $20,000 to give Buki the opportunity to continue this fight and give these treatments every chance to succeed.
If my story has touched you, I ask that you consider supporting Buki. Every contribution, no matter the amount, brings her one step closer to healing. If you are unable to give, sharing this appeal with someone who can is equally meaningful.
As I write this, I am reminded of a health crisis I experienced in 2023 that forever changed my understanding of the strength of the inner man. It reminded me how fragile our physical bodies can be, yet how powerfully God can sustain us from within.
Perhaps that is why I have always been in awe of every sickle cell warrior I have known. Their strength has never simply been physical. It has always come from somewhere much deeper.
“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,”
Thank you for reading, for praying, for giving, and for standing with Buki.
If you've walked this journey with me, then you already understand why I'm asking.
Not out of pity.
But because hope deserves every chance.
Scan to give directly from your phone.