Camp Jumoke Supports Children with SCD

Camp Jumoke Supports Children with SCD
By Gerald Paul

Camp Jumoke came to Nathan Phillips Square and raised close to $10,000, part of an on-going drive to make it possible for a child to attend camp.

Yes! Everyone loves a child: “Every effort helps us continue our mission. Donations raised through friends and family or even through hosting a special event are all needed and greatly appreciated,” Judy Grandison, Vice President of Camp Jumoke told The Camera.

Grandison explained that, through education and recreation, the group seeks to create a path by which children living with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) can lead healthy, productive lives.

She said Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like the C-shaped tool called a “sickle.”

“When the disease is active, during what is known as a “crisis”, patients become ill and can be hospitalized for days, weeks and sometimes even months,” Grandison said.

As for Camp Jumoke, since 1994 it has been a special support group for children living with SCD. Grandison enthused: “We have sent well over 600 Canadian children to summer camp. Camp Jumoke covers the cost to send each child to camp for two weeks!”