It is not by coincidence that I describe her as my Sickle Cell General. Born in September, the month dedicated to sickle cell awareness, and celebrated by thousands in June, the month of World Sickle Cell Day, Toyin Ibidunni Adesola’s life and legacy appear to carry a divine seal of purpose.
Perhaps her greatest gift to humanity is the Sickle Cell Advocacy and Management Initiative (SAMI), an organisation she founded in 2008, even at great personal risk. On Thursday, July 23, 2026, SAMI marked 18 years of existence—a remarkable journey of service, resilience, compassion and impact.
After turning 40, Toyin Adesola documented her life story in her autobiography, Still Standing, a book that marked a significant turning point in her journey of impact. Through SAMI, the nonprofit has become a source of hope and refuge for thousands of individuals and families living with sickle cell disorder.
What began with support for just one sickle cell warrior has grown into a far-reaching intervention that provides healthcare support, management, education, awareness, advocacy and empowerment.
Transforming Sickle Cell Healthcare
One of SAMI’s flagship programmes is the Xtracare Free Medical Clinic, created to support sickle cell warriors who do not have access to the same healthcare opportunities available to others.
From 2014, the clinic operated monthly for 10 consecutive years. Even during the COVID-19 lockdown, SAMI continued to provide medications to beneficiaries. Although limited resources after the pandemic have affected the frequency of the clinic, the intervention continues periodically, ensuring that beneficiaries receive sufficient medication to last until the next edition.
The clinic attracts beneficiaries from different parts of the country to Lagos, while many others receive medication support remotely.
In 2019, Toyin Adesola introduced the Adopt-A-Warrior project, designed to connect high-risk sickle cell warriors with financial support for comprehensive private health insurance coverage.
Through the initiative, more than 100 warriors have accessed surgeries, blood transfusions, scans, Caesarean sections and other emergency medical interventions without bearing the financial burden.
Taking the Sickle Cell Message to the Streets, Schools and Airwaves
Toyin Adesola has also pioneered innovative approaches to sickle cell awareness and advocacy.
She introduced the Red Umbrella Walk, an awareness initiative that brings together thousands of people, regardless of their sickle cell status, to raise awareness and draw attention to the need for better healthcare policies and support systems.
Held around World Sickle Cell Day on June 19, the initiative has since been adopted by the Coalition of Sickle Cell NGOs.
In 2018, she pioneered Nigeria’s first weekly sickle cell radio programme, Touch A Cell with Toyin and the Gang, which aired on Eko FM and Star FM for four years.
The programme has since evolved into Touch A Cell Lori Afefe on Bond FM, the first weekly indigenous sickle cell radio programme, bringing vital information to the Yoruba-speaking population.
Other initiatives pioneered under her leadership include the Touch A Cell Danceathon, which uses dance to promote sickle cell awareness; the Positive and Wellness Summit, which addresses sickle cell, chronic health conditions and other health issues; the Better You Health Hub, which educates schoolchildren, healthcare professionals and other groups; social empowerment projects; and numerous community health outreaches.
But the SAMI story is about more than programmes, numbers, deliverables and key performance indicators. At its heart are values—values that Toyin Adesola, fondly called Aunty, embedded deeply in the organisation.
For the purpose of this piece, I would summarise those values in three words:
Faith. Compassion. Audacity.
Audacity: The Courage to Defy Limitations
Toyin Ibidunni Adesola instilled in SAMI the belief that wherever human beings can succeed, people living with sickle cell can also succeed.
That ideology has shaped the organisation from inception. SAMI has consistently operated with a lean workforce, never exceeding eight people at any point, with a significant number of team members living with sickle cell disorder themselves.
People are often surprised when they meet the SAMI team and ask, “Is this all of you?”
Yes, this is the team that has dared to do what many would rather not do.
It is the same audacity that has taken SAMI to the Lagos City Marathon seven times to raise funds and amplify the sickle cell message. We invite you to join us next year.
Through the Zero to Hero Conferences, organised by the youth development squad, Club Still Standing, SAMI also created a platform that at one point grew into a national event, attracting leading thought leaders and voices from across the country.
Compassion: Building a Family, Not Just Giving Aid
Toyin Adesola taught us that solving problems is not simply about throwing money at them.
At SAMI, the goal has always been deeper: to draw people into a family, understand their needs, work with them and build sustainable solutions together.
Anyone, regardless of social status, who has interacted with Aunty Toyin and SAMI will testify to the warmth, camaraderie and sense of belonging that define the organisation.
SAMI is not merely an intervention platform. For many, it is home.
Faith: The Strength to Keep Moving
Toyin Adesola often reminds us that SAMI is not a faith-based organisation, but it is deeply rooted in faith.
The organisation welcomes people of different faiths, as well as those who do not subscribe to any particular faith. Yet, in difficult seasons and moments of uncertainty, faith has repeatedly provided the strength to keep moving.
Today, SAMI is once again holding on to faith.
Some may wonder whether the organisation has reached the end of its journey. But we can reassure them: this is only a bend in the road, not the end of the journey.
Sustaining the Legacy of the Sickle Cell General
As SAMI marks 18 years, the call is simple: let the compassion that defined Toyin Ibidunni Adesola’s life be replicated in all of us.
To those who have supported SAMI during its first 18 years, this is the time to recommit to the values that have sustained the organisation.
To those encountering SAMI for the first time, we welcome you and invite you to become part of a movement dedicated to empowering lives and transforming the sickle cell community.
You can support SAMI through a standing order on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly basis.
The best way to honour the legacy of the Sickle Cell General is not merely to celebrate what she built, but to help sustain it.
Make a commitment today to keep the SAMI legacy alive.
SAMI: 18 years of standing, serving and transforming lives.