Imagine you are watching TV one day, your eyes suddenly get blurry until everything goes dark. Your initial thought is they’ve taken the light, only to realise that you’ve actually just gone blind.
That is the story of Opeyemi Adewale Kikelomo who suddenly lost her sight at 14 years old. “I went to school that day, I got back with my friends. So we saw a cartoon programme; The Fantastic Four. Then all of a sudden, the sight just went blurry, and it went down”, she shared. One day everything was fine, the next she was blind but she had her entire life ahead of her.
She immediately told her mother what was happening and was taken to the hospital. They were told she may be able to see again and was referred to the blind centre. She went through the motions and mourned the loss of her sight but she eventually got back up. She was determined to make it despite what she had lost. She took her NECO exams, passed her JAMB and was offered admission into the University of Lagos (UNILAG). But she needed some help handling her finances.
Thankfully, she heard about MTN Foundation’s Scholarship Scheme For Blind Students (MTNF SSBS). She applied and went through the rigorous screening and she was announced as one of the awardees. “I was fortunate to be an MTN beneficiary. Life was much easier. I could get what I wanted. In fact, that’s the proper definition of support”, Opeyemi said.
Finally, something was working right for her. After putting in four years of hard work in the Department of Mass Communication, she finally landed a graduate intern job at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Today, she is a Management Consultant with the firm. She helps her mother out with a monthly allowance and her mother still can’t believe it. She raved in Yoruba, “I thought it was a joke. She works and earns a monthly salary and she supports me. We are living comfortably because Ope is okay!”
Opeyemi Adewale Kikelomo has not had an easy life but with MTN’s support, she has risen above her disabilities. She is now a source of joy to her mother and an inspiration to everyone around her.
