More Congratulations...

A busy month for graduation for Yodaai children... 

Please join Mr and Mrs Lawal below in congratulating their daughter, Oluwakemi, and rejoicing with her for a job well done, graduating from Emory University, Georgia.. Ire a kari o. More of these kinds of things please!

 Funke Abolade, M.D.


 Social/publicity Secretary

An invitation and new graduation photos

We have an invitation from our Vice President, Mrs Sola Popoola and her family, see below. It is in celebration of a life well lived - that of her beloved mother. Please plan ahead to support the family at this event.

And in other news....

Bata mi a dun ko ko ka (2ce)

Ti'n m'ba ka 'we mi,

Bata mi a dun ko ko ka!

What a wonderful ko ko ka sound it was, at the graduation party for Engineer Morenike Babatunde thrown by her parents!

The graduate and her parents.

O ga o, in fact, O le ku, ija ore ni. What a beautiful occasion to be part of. 

The father, Mr Ayo Babatunde gave a heartfelt speech regarding the fulness of his joy in his beloved daughter for this significant achievement of her first degree. Then he gave a speech honoring the mother of the graduate, ori mi si wu...

The brothers of the graduate.

Her friends spoke highly of her and passionately too...

Yodaai members with the graduate and her family.

We are all very happy for you and your family and this was evident in the turnout of our members at the event from the tri-city area. E se e ku idide o.

Ire a k'a ri o

Funke Abolade, M.D.

 Social/publicity Secretary

The "Red Fila / Blue Fila Project" for our fathers, husbands and brothers...

With father's day approaching during our meeting month of June, I thought what better way to celebrate than to dedicate that meeting to our warrior men of Yodaai? Much in the same way we dedicated the last one to our mothers, we will highlight some of the health issues that may plague our men in our middle age, where most of our men are. So allow me to introduce:

 "The Red hat/ Blue hat project"

For the meeting, please wear your native filas, abeti aja or any style in red or blue, damask or aso oke or lace or any fabric, it doesn't matter, to the next meeting in Auburn, Alabama, hosted by the Akingbemis.

         

For the project, we will be showing our red heart (hat) by collecting canned food and money to donate to the food banks in the tri-city area as discussed in the last Yodaai meeting about charitable donations to the community. Bring your canned food donations to the meeting and we will collect it in a pool for the cities of Auburn, Birmingham and Montgomery and designate someone locally to take it to their local food bank and donate it in the name of Yodaai. 

And in terms of symbolism for all things male, blue is the universally designated color. So, over the next few weeks, look for guest articles on all things male, like on general well being, heart health, strokes and hypertension the latter two being the focus nationally for the month of May anyway.

I am looking forward to another great meeting in Auburn and I can't wait.... How about you?

Funke Abolade, M.D.


Social/publicity Secretary

To the best moms in the world...

You make our world go round...

And thank you!

 Funke Abolade, M.D.

 Social/publicity Secretary

Kini oruko mi ni Yoruba?

Guess my name correctly and you are in the running to win some fresh nigerian produce!

African apple tree, fruits and flowers (Eugenia  jambos)

I am a humble fruit. Vilified since the days of Adam an Eve! I come in many flavors and colors. You can use me to bake delicious pies! You can eat me raw. The yorubas have a name for me.

 Kini oruko mi ni yoruba?

Please leave your answers below in the comment section. Winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries. Winner gets some fresh ogede dodo, courtesy of Mrs Babatunde of the Tropical food store in Montgomery, Alabama. 

Thank you ma'm!

Funke Abolade, M.D.

Social/publicity Secretary

Wedding Congratulations, More Congratulations and the winner...

Of the proverb of the month of May is Dr Sesi Ogunbi, proverb #10 - "Di e, di e, ni ijapa n'rin de ibugbe re - i.e slow and steady, the tortoise reaches its destination! See it published on the left on top of the flag? There! Your prize will be given out at the June meeting at the Akingbemis in Auburn.

And in other news...

I have the great pleasure of presenting our first Yodaai newly wedded couple, Mr and Mrs Oyewole Amusan! The wedding took place in Niamey, Niger on the 10th of December of 2011. The bride, Ami, was radiant and the groom was beaming with joy...Enjoy the photos below. Thank you to the Mr and Mrs for sharing these pics with us!

And Congratulations to all the parents of graduating students this month and next month, for there are several. We wish you all a safe journey to the various colleges of higher learning all over the United States where your children will be receiving their diplomas. More grease to their elbows and may they go on to greater things!

Morenike Olamide Babatunde, University of Alabama graduate in Chemical Engineering.

 Funke Abolade, M.D.

 Social/publicity Secretary

April is...

National Mental Health Month.

Sigmund Freud, Father of psychoanalysis

This is not an attempt to psychoanalyse you.

Rather, it is a way to introduce a delicate and taboo subject in our culture - good mental health, or the lack thereof. I thought to raise some awareness among our association members as "charity begins at home".  Did you know that 1 in 3 people in every nation, regardless of ethnicity, have family members that have one form of mental illness or the other? 

It's true. Whether or not they are diagnosed is a different question.

And the immigrant population, (i.e you and I,) everywhere is particularly vulnerable for many reasons, one of which is the limited availability of support of family and close friends that you can tell these kinds of things to. The other is cultural norms. After all, we are talking about a subject that is largely taboo in our culture.

So how about we play a game of "Ask the psychiatrist" and ask some questions you've always wanted answered but were afraid to ask?

Dear Dr A,

Na wah o. My neighbours dey try to kill me o.  Na true I dey talk o. Yes I know you go begin dey think say  I be crazy but make I tell you, na the same way my step mama dey try to do me, poison my food back home. Dem neighbours? They are sending the poison through the walls. I hear them talking about me on the phone & on the TV. They come buy some ham, bring am over the other day, dem say na for easter. Hmm hmm. The ham dey inside the trash now sha. I don call police several times, they no go arrest them. Na because I be black? Make I tell you too o. Be careful yourself, Dr A, they go try 'n get you too if they can. You fit give me some medicine say make I go sleep for the night? Body don tire from staying up watching them fools. Shhh! Dont think so loudly, I can hear your thoughts!

Anonymous, Montgomery, Al.

Dear Anonymous my sister,

I just know say you be my sister. Make you na no worry about dem people. Don't call the police either. Your problem don surpass them.  Instead run to your nearest family doctor and ask them to send you to the psychiatrist. If you can hear me think and your neighbors are sending you poison through the walls, you may have a true case of schizophrenia. Tu fi a kwa! I hear you say. We don sabi new medicine now sha for that kind illness. You take your pills right, you won't care about your neighbors anymore. You will need to keep on taking these pills sha so all that palava don't come back to haunt you. Learn to minimize stress in your life. A good Diet and exercise program are a must.

Dear Dr A,

What is happening to me? I have been feeling very tired lately with little or no motivation. I just want to sleep if I could all day.  I dread getting up in the morning and don't even want to go to my job. I don't want to do anything with the family. I have no appetite for anything. And worst of all, I feel like crying for no reason I can see. Everything is going well in my life right now so what is going on? P.S. I can't focus too well either.

Sincerely. Bewildered, Huntsville, Al.

Dear Bewildered,
There is nothing going on with you that can't be solved by a little more investigation and maybe some medicine and life style changes. See your family doctor first for simple lab tests to make sure you are not anemic or have a thyroid deficiency which can make you tired. They will most likely check your sugar too. If all is well with your labs, then I'm afraid, you need the services of someone like me.  It sounds like a simple case of Major Depression and for many people, ordinary therapy is enough. For more severe forms, you will need antidepressants like Wellbutrin, Prozac or Lexapro to name a few.. They take about 3 weeks or so to kick in and you will need to stay on them till the Doctor determines you dont need them anymore. Wellbutrin helps in particular with motivation, energy and concentration. Ask the doctor about side effects. Diet and exercise are a must.





Dear Dr A,

I think I'm having a heart attack! And I cant stop worrying about everything. I've been to the emergency room a couple of times but they tell me there's nothing wrong with my heart. It feels like chest pain, like an elephant sitting on my chest and I can't breath. I shake all over and I'm sweating profusely. I can be doing nothing and boom! Its there. Nothing specific brings the feeling on and lately, I'm worrying about that feeling coming on especially when I'm driving. Help.
Worried, Dothan, Al.


Dear Worried,
Worried na your true name! You are suffering most likely from panic disorder. And you may have a case of generalized anxiety too. We have good medicines for that and in combination with therapy, you may never have another panic attack ever again. The doctor may put you on something like Xanax or Klonopin or ativan to help with the anxiety and panic. Those kinds of pills are like bandaid though. For longer lasting treatment, you need something like prozac, paxil, zoloft or lexapro which treat the underlying problem in about2 - 3 weeks or so.

If any of this sounds familiar, call me or email me directly, confidentially of course. Your Family doctor is also a good first step to refer you on to someone who can help.


Aisan ti o gb'oogun, Olorun o ni je k'a ri!



Funke Abolade, M.D.

Social/publicity Secretary

Another fine Yodaai meeting ...

Did you have as much fun as I did at the last Yodaai meeting in Hoover? I had a fantastic time and by all accounts the "Women in Pink" event was a great success, with our ladies showing us all how its done - in fine pink style! See below. The camaraderie was great and we raised general awareness of health care issues concerning women while we were at it. Enjoy below the photos and look forward to a similar event for our men!

Yodaai Women In Pink

The vice president and (R)Dr Sesi Ogunbi with the Links Award for her public health advocacy work with children

Secretary of fun and faaji with the vice president

Mr and Mrs president and the vice president of affairs...

Our girls in pink...

The good doctor putting on the appearance of pink on behalf of his wife...

Alo apa gbe with the professor and Bisola reading the folktale.

Our children listening to the alo- "iya, iya ta kun wa le o, alu jon njon ki jon..."

E ku agba o!

Our hostess on the left and the vice president

Our host...

Mrs "Lake" and awon mama o fe gba on the right!

The president and the general secretary, hard at work.

Thank you for the behind the scene work you did to help out for this meeting...

 Funke Abolade, M.D.


 Social/publicity Secretary

April is ...

National autism awareness month.


Or really this should be "national raise awareness month for all childhood developmental disorders" like Autism spectrum disorders, Down's syndrome, speech and learning delays, sensory integration disorders, cerebral palsy or other chromosomal type disorders in children etc. They don't have a bright color like pink for breast cancer awareness (though there is a drive now to "light it up blue" for autism) or a famous spokes person like Katie Couric for colon cancer. You know, these are God's children, with disorders for which there is no fix - me pill. 

Logo from the Autism Speaks Website www.Autismspeaks.org

If you are a parent or relative of kids with one of this disorders, you know how close to home this hits. They are our babies and we love them just the same...

This is not an essay on what the signs and symptoms are. Rather it's an effort to clarify some things. If you listened to the news these past few weeks, you would have heard that the incidence of autism is rising - now 1 in 88 kids will have it, and the numbers are worse for boys - 1 in 54 boys. It's only a little better in girls, 1 in 252. Most recently, it's been linked to obesity in the mother, the incidence of autism rising 70% in obese mothers.

Those numbers mean little to you if you are the parent. You just want to know what to do now:

Is there a cure? Is there medicine for this? What does the future hold for my child?

There is no cure. Not for autism. Not for downs syndrome or any of the other developmental ones. What there is though is treatment through early intervention - and the earlier the better. Meaning if you think there is something wrong with your baby, tell the pediatrician and keep on telling him until he hears you and takes it seriously.

Knowing what is out there available for these kids & sometimes free of charge from governmental organizations is important. It is the key to how functional our kids will be.

Things like speech and occupational therapy, and gait training if they have trouble walking.

Schooling in a special education setting where the student / teacher ratio is low for more individualized attention. The kids with these disorders are often very bright and some are even geniuses.

Exposure to Sensory integration can also be very helpful for kids who can't let their foods touch, or won't eat food of a certain texture or consistency or can't stand to have labels on clothing touch them.

What does the future hold for my child? With God's help and future planning, it won't be as bleak as it once may have been.

Some go on to Vocational training and community colleges after high school. Some even make it to college and a career. Either way, if finances allow, a living trust is not a bad idea. You set up a trust fund with the help of a lawyer for your dependent child for when you are gone or even while you are still alive and the fund disburses a certain amount to the child every month for living expenses.

A guardian, may be a family member, may need to be appointed to help these kids make decisions when the parents aren't there anymore.  Remember in your will to make provision for where the child will reside in the event of your demise. These kids cant fight for themselves and they shouldn't have to fight for a place to stay.

The help you need for these kids will not come to you - you have to find it and sometimes fight for it. After all is said and done, know this: It is not your fault. It is not anything you did or did not do correctly. It is not punishment for some long ago forgotten sin. It is not juju across the oceans from the relatives - they have their own problems to worry about. It is just the way it is.

Why me, you ask ? - I know I've asked. Why not me? We are just blessed like that with these kids. And that's all there is to it.

This still being national poetry month, here is a little verse about children...

Jesu fe mi, mo mo be

Bibeli lo so fun mi.

T'ire l'awon omode, 

Won ko l'agbara oun ni. 

Funke Abolade, M.D

Social/ publicity Secretary

An invitation...

...to make you smile and fill you with pride.

 Our first Yodaai  College Graduate! Read on below...

Success has many parents. We all, together with your parents, Mr and Mrs Babatunde, are very proud of you and this achievement. Many start college, few make it to the end. Your daddy says "All praise is to God". Ooto ni. Ki ise mimo o se enikan, a f'Olorun.

More grease to your elbow.

Morenike Olamide Babatunde, our first Yodaii college graduate!

Mr and Mrs Babatunde, the proud parents...

A special request from the mother of the graduate. She would appreciate it if all the Yodaai ladies tie  any purple gele you have to honor the graduate.

Celebration begins at 9 sharp. No African time.

Ire a kari o!

Funke Abolade, M.D.

Social/publicity Secretary