Rai ya Ester Baraka

Katika kazi yangu ya kuelimisha jamii kupitia vipindi vya redio, niliwahi kukutana na kisa kilichoniumiza sana moyo. Mwanaume mmoja alimwacha mke wake baada ya kupata mtoto mwenye ugonjwa wa selimundu (Sickle Cell Disease). Kisa hiki kilinifanya nitafakari jambo moja muhimu: wakati mwingine, changamoto si ugonjwa pekee, bali pia ukosefu wa elimu na uelewa unaoweza kusababisha lawama, unyanyapaa na kuvunjika kwa familia.

Ni muhimu kufahamu kuwa ugonjwa wa selimundu ni wa kurithi. Mtoto hupata ugonjwa huu anaporithi vinasaba vinavyosababisha selimundu kutoka kwa wazazi wote wawili. Hivyo, wazazi wanaweza kuwa na afya njema na wasiwe na dalili zozote, lakini bado wakapata mtoto mwenye ugonjwa huu. Ndiyo maana ni muhimu kwa wanandoa na wanaotarajia kupata watoto kupata ushauri wa kitaalamu na kupima hali ya vinasaba vya selimundu ili kuelewa uwezekano wa kuupitisha ugonjwa huu kwa watoto wao na kufanya maamuzi sahihi.

Zaidi ya yote, naamini kuwa upendo wa kweli huonekana katika nyakati za changamoto. Huambatana na huruma, uvumilivu, uwajibikaji na kusaidiana. Mtoto mwenye selimundu si kosa la mama wala la baba. Changamoto za kiafya hazipaswi kuwa sababu ya kulaumiana au kuvunja familia, bali ziwe sababu ya kuongeza uelewa, kushikamana na kutafuta suluhisho pamoja. Elimu huondoa lawama, uelewa hujenga huruma, na upendo huimarisha familia.

— Ester Baraka, Mwandishi wa Habari na Mtangazaji wa Afya Radio

In my work educating communities through radio programmes, I once encountered a heartbreaking case. A man abandoned his wife after they had a child with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). This experience made me reflect on an important truth: sometimes, the challenge is not the disease alone, but also the lack of knowledge and understanding that can lead to blame, stigma, and broken families.

It is important to understand that Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited condition. A child develops the disease when they inherit the relevant sickle cell gene variants from both parents. Therefore, parents may appear healthy and have no symptoms, yet still have a child living with SCD. This is why couples and those planning to have children are encouraged to seek professional genetic counselling and undergo sickle cell screening to understand the likelihood of passing the condition on to their children and make informed decisions.

Above all, I believe that true love is revealed during challenging times. It is demonstrated through compassion, patience, responsibility, and mutual support. A child living with Sickle Cell Disease is neither the mother’s fault nor the father’s. Health challenges should not become a reason to blame one another or break a family apart; instead, they should be an opportunity to deepen understanding, stand together, and seek solutions as a family. Education reduces blame, understanding builds compassion, and love strengthens families.