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Part III: Sharing Hope

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Javier Cruz
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Editor's note: This is three of a three-part series about the obstacles U.S. Air Force Maj. Lukiah Mulumba and her family has faced with sickle-cell disease and how the Air Force helped her persevere.

After beating incredible odds, the Mulumba family, with renewed hope and desire to help others like themselves, decided they would find a way to support other Ugandans suffering from Sickle-cell disease.

Lukiah reached out to the state of Texas for guidance on establishing a fund, and with guidance from the federal government, the Uganda-American Sickle-Cell Fund was established.

Lukiah would launch a massive fund raising campaign to begin her battle against SCD.

“After Carol was cured, I remembered how I felt and how I was mistreated in the community before,” she said. “It made me want to change the way people think about this disease.”

The fund collected enough money to provide for emergency transportation to hospitals, sickle-cell screening kits and eventually, with the help of the Ugandan government, a clinic. The Ugandan Vice President Edward Ssekandi attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the clinic in Kampala, the largest city and the capital of Uganda.

Lukiah would eventually become known as “Lucky,” and her cause would rally the support of the highest Ugandan public offices.

Prompting action from the Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business Ruhakana Rugunda and former Minister of Health Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, a massive sickle-cell screening effort for all Ugandans and the promise of change in education curriculums led to increased awareness of the disease in Uganda.

“I didn’t want the children in my homeland to die. People did not believe Carol was able to recover from sickle-cell, but it was giving people hope,” she said. “I didn’t think this was a big deal. I was just being me. I didn’t know how this was going to catch fire. It’s much bigger than me.”

The impact of the Mulumba’s story has touched the daily lives of Ugandans suffering from Sickle-cell in East Africa.

“The voice of Uganda has changed,” Lukiah said. “Sickle-cell was not talked about, but now there is change. The government is involved with sickle-cell education, and there are efforts to make a sickle-cell treatment hospital.”

Lukiah recently returned from a sickle-cell conference in Uganda and is preparing for another in Boston.

“In the military, we have a demanding job,” Lukiah said. “We have to represent the Air Force, but it doesn’t mean you won’t have bad things like this happen to you. Reach out for support. You can’t hide the pain. You have to find something to believe in and you have to take action. The ball is in your court, you have to take it.”