By ‘Yomi Oyelami
It is not for fun that I describe her as my Sickle Cell General. Born in the Sickle Cell Awareness Month – September, and thousands gathering to celebrate her life and legacy in the month of the World Sickle Cell Day – June, is not a coincidence. It is simply God passing His seal of confidence on the purpose that Toyin Ibidunni Adesola was ordained to serve on this terra firma.
Perhaps Toyin Adesola’s biggest legacy is the gift of SAMI – Sickle Cell Advocacy and Management Initiative. Even at great personal risk to herself, she floated the initiative in 2008, which has been running ever since. The organization turned 18 on Friday 23rd July 2026.
After turning 40, Toyin Adesola wrote her autobiography ‘Still Standing’ which marked a turning point in her trajectory of impact to humanity. She founded the Sickle Cell Advocacy and Management Initiative SAMI in 2008. The nonprofit has become a refuge for thousands of individuals and families in less than 20 years. Gradually, the health nonprofit, SAMI which supported only 1 sickle cell warrior at inception has grown in leaps and bounds not just in healthcare support and management but also in health education, awareness and advocacy.
Sickle Cell Healthcare Support and Management
The flagship Xtracare Free Medical Cliniic, targeted at sickle cell warriors who didn’t have the same opportunity as hers, has become a lifesaver for thousands of lives. From 2014, the clinic ran on a monthly basis non-stop for 10 years straight. Even during the COVID lockdown, SAMI still managed to get medications to her beneficiaries on a monthly basis. Due to the thinning of resources post-COVID, the Xtracare Free Medical Clinic is now running on a periodic basis, but still ensuring that everyone supported get enough medications that will last them to the next edition. This clinic attracts individuals from far and near into central Lagos, while many others located in several parts of the country also get medication support from the intervention.
In 2019, Toyin Adesola crafted the ‘Adopt-A-Warrior’ project to match high-risk sickle cell warriors to financial support that could place them on a comprehensive, private health insurance plan on an annual basis. This project has enabled over 100 warriors to access surgeries, blood transfusions, scans, C-Sections, and major emergencies at no cost to them.
Sickle Cell Education, Awareness & Advocacy
In sickle cell Advocacy, she started the idea of awareness walks. This brought together thousands of individuals, irrespective of their sickle cell status, in a camaraderie walk to spotlight the urgent need for healthcare policies. The awareness Walk codenamed the ‘Red Umbrella Walk’ coincides with the World Sickle Cell Day which is held on June 19 every year. The event has now been adopted by the Coalition of Sickle Cell NGOs since 2017.
Further, in 2018, Toyin began the first-ever weekly sickle cell radio show on Nigeria airwaves. The ‘Touch A Cell with Toyin and the Gang’ aired on Eko FM and Star FM for 4 years. The show has transformed into the first-ever weekly indigenous sickle cell radio show, ‘Touch A Cell Lori Afefe’ on Bond FM which brings the sickle cell message to the vast Yoruba population.
She pioneered other projects such as the Touch A Cell Danceathon which uses dance to spread the message of sickle cell; the Positive and Wellness Summit which held conversations on sickle cell, chronic health, and other health issues; the Better You Health Hub to educate schoolchildren, medical professionals, and other professional forums; Social Empowerment Projects which enabled sickle cell warriors to attain business and career success despite their health challenges; and several Touch A Cell community health outreaches.
But the journey isn’t just about the visible deliverables, KPIs, and numbers, it is also richly about the fundamentals, that is, the inherent values that are not easily perceived. There are values that ‘Aunty’, as we fondly called her, ingrained in the fabric of SAMI.
For the purpose of this piece, I would sum them into three:
Faith
Compassion
Audacity
Let me start with Audacity, Toyin Ibidunni Adesola pushed an ideology that centered on the fact that ‘everywhere humans can succeed is where you can succeed, and it doesn’t matter if you have sickle cell’. That’s the statement of intent that she emphasized, and it flowed from her down to the staff to the volunteers to our beneficiaries, everybody got the memo overtime as you interact with the nonprofit. From inception till date, SAMI has run a lean workforce, never exceeding 8 at any point and that is predominantly people living with sickle cell disorder. In fact when many people see the SAMI team they are often dazed ‘is this all of you’. That’s why we do those things that people would rather not do. That’s why we go for the Lagos City Marathon every year to raise funds and voice for sickle cell. We have done 7 so far, kindly join us next year if you can. Our Zero to Hero Conferences through our youth development squad, Club Still Standing, at a point became a national event in scope attracting major thought leaders.
About Compassion, Toyin Ibidunni Adesola instilled the discipline that we don’t just throw money at issues, we want to draw you in, we want you to become a member of this family, we want to know you, we want to see ways by which we can work with you to make our impact sustainable. Everybody, no matter the social status, who has had an interaction with Aunty Toyin and SAMI, will tell that there is warmth, camaraderie, and feeling of home at SAMI.
About Faith, Toyin Ibidunni Adesola will tell us SAMI is not a faith-based NGO but is an organization deeply rooted in faith. We attract people across faiths, as well as those who would rather not subscribe to any faith. When we enter a fix, very difficult seasons, our faith pulls us through. We are hanging on to Faith now at SAMI. Many worry if SAMI has reached its climax, but we can all reassure them that this period is just a bend on the journey.
As SAMI turns 18, we want the bowels of compassion that Toyin Ibidunni Adesola bore to be replicated in you. If you have supported us in the first 18 years, now is the time to make a recommitment to your values. If you are meeting us for the first time at 18, we welcome you and desire that you make a commitment to empowering lives through SAMI. You can do a standing order for SAMI on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly basis. You can find details about SAMI on www.sicklecelladvocacy.org. Make a commitment to sustain the legacy of the Sickle Cell General, Toyin Ibidunni Adesola today.
