BN Community Centre: Boy with Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease

In March 2013, the BellaNaija team asked for your feedback on how to handle the issue of the emails we receive with regards soliciting for financial aid {Click here to read}. We were grateful for your feedback. Over the years, BellaNaija has published various feature stories on Nigerians in difficult situations and we are thankful that our BN Fam has supported in full force. From the man who was wrongly imprisoned for over a decade to and the struggling father suddenly saddled with major financial obligations due to the birth of his triplets.

During this time, we worked to get as much information as we could about different situations that was sent to us. In many cases, the people sending the emails don’t come back to us when we ask for more information. Sometimes they do and we are sceptical about the information given to us and as such we are unable to publish these stories. We will continue to publish these stories, however, we realize this is not enough.

While we are very concerned about the integrity of our brand and are conscious of the fact that there are too many fraudsters out there, we are definitely aware of the major challenges people go through every day.

If you’ve ever had a health-related issue in Nigeria, then you will probably understand that it is extremely difficult to fund your treatment and navigate the healthcare system. Even at the government hospitals (where health care service supposedly subsidized) you find yourself having to pay N50,000 here for something, another N18,000 for something else. Before you know it, you’ve spent hundreds of thousands of Naira. We all know how difficult it is to raise money, even amongst the most ‘comfortable’ people. While many save for a rainy day or have health insurance, most cannot afford to set aside a contingency sum for sudden major illnesses.

In view of this, BellaNaija is launching the BN Community Centre. This online platform will feature “calls for help” as submitted to us. This includes information, photos and account numbers. We are, however, stating categorically that we are doing only basic fact checking, therefore, we will not be held liable in ANY circumstance.

We encourage you to give if you can, however, please ensure you perform independent verification prior to donating any funds.

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Dear Editor,

I hope you are well and pardon me for the direct approach.

I have never done this before and thought to put my brave on and go for it. I am fundraising for my friend’s brother Ernest. He is 19 years old and full of life. Ernest suffers from sickle cell anaemia, was diagnosed with stage 5 chronic kidney disease, and needs a kidney transplant.

It is not news that the healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria is not the most reliable. Following confirmation from LUTH that this sort transplant has not be performed on a sickle cell patient, the decision was made by his family to send him out of the country for treatment. This requires a substantial amount of money and the family has spent a lot money for his continuous care. Ernest has been in India since January 2014 as he had complications that meant his surgery had to be put on hold. His doctors have now given him the all clear and there is a need for additional funding for his surgery and aftercare.

I have created a gofundme campaign for this cause and would appreciate your support http://www.gofundme.com/ernesttransplant. You can read his story on the page and also feel free to ask me any question.

I will be most grateful if you could kindly share the link on your website, with your network or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. I am also happy to answer any questions you may have. In the meantime, if you require any further information, please do let me know.

As a regular and faithful Bella Naija reader, I believe your support will go a long way in giving Ernest a new lease of life.