EduCom’s second scholarship recipient is Christabel Osei from Kumasi. She is a first-year student of medicine and surgery at the University of Ghana.
Christabel plans to specialize in pediatric oncology. “Cancer subjects do not just wrestle with the sickness, they battle mentally as well. They think about death almost every moment. This impairs not just their mental health but their social and emotional lives too.”
She wants to be a part of the reason cancer patients thrive, specifically children.
“I focus on children, principally in cancer and autism, because children are by nature playful.
As they face these challenging sicknesses, they lose their interest in play and become socially inactive. Most times, this creates an inferiority complex in them. That sense of inadequacy inhibits their growth.”
People’s neglect and ill-treatment of autistic children in her Neighbourhood roused Christabel to support them lead normal lives like other children.
“Our community regards autistic patients as bad luck and alienates them as outcasts. This increases the rate of depression and suicide in these autistic patients, especially children. I would love to make these children feel at home by starting a charity organization where they are accepted and provide avenues for them to have a good education and better their skills.”
Christabel is a member of the Girl Child Society, which trains girls to stay focused and prevent early pregnancy; and empowers them to overcome discrimination and poverty. She is also active at church and enjoys helping people who seek her for counselling.
When she is not reviewing her notes or babysitting her nieces, she listens to music and watches spoken word videos. She participates in the spoken word poetry club in university. During the lockdown, she learned to make wigs and will attempt to sew dresses next.
Christabel knows she has a great deal of preparation to do to be of professional help to the young ones, and education is just her first step in that direction.
Interview conducted by: Hajra Mirza
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