Parents Need To Communicate More With Their Children – Dr. Nimi Ekere
Childhood Influence
IThere is nothing as motivating like a woman who is passionate about humanity, and has a strong affinity for change.
Dr. Nimi Stephanie Ekere is a Consultant Family Physician, a Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Family Physicians. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants and a Certified Management Consultant. Dr. Ekere is a Certified Management Specialist with distinction in Time Management from the London Graduate School. Dr. Nimi Ekere is also a child advocate, author, speaker, coach and humanitarian.
Dr. Ekere has practiced medicine in urban and rural areas for over 15 years and has endeared herself to her patients through her dedication to duties. She loves geriatric medicine and has had numerous training, workshops and certifications in geriatrics. Dr. Nimi Ekere also loves to guide children and teenagers into their full potential. She is a strong proponent of effective and intentional parenting. She convenes several sensitisation programmes and has featured in many panels and conferences both in Nigeria and abroad. She is passionate about combating child sexual abuse, working through her foundation, the Smileandshine Children’s foundation, to tackle the menace.
She is also an author of four books for children, pre- teens, teenagers and parents on the dangers of child sexual abuse with effective remedies. Three of these books are government- approved for use at schools in Lagos State. Just recently, all four of her books were approved and added to the curriculum of the Rivers State Ministry of Education to be used in primary and secondary schools in the state.
Nimi Ekere was recently featured by the York City Journal, as one of the most Inspiring Women to look out for in 2022.
grew up in an environment of empathy, kindness, and charity. These qualities literally formed my ideologies about life. I grew up seeing my mother give and care for people so genuinely. Interestingly, my mother also saw her mum give out the little she had to the needy. Helping people and being kind come naturally for me and this is because this was all I saw around me whilst growing up.
On another hand, the zeal to read also came from seeing my dad read a lot and this of course, influenced me a great deal. I read a lot of newspapers, journals, articles and even novels. This made me love to write and I started writing so early. I would write poems and short stories. I wrote a whole lot. Inspiration behind Smileandshine Children’s Foundation
I saw a profound need to save children as I had seen and related with a lot of them, who were hurting badly from the horrendous effects of sexual abuse. I had also encountered some adults who were still grappling with the effect of sexual abuse suffered in childhood. The scary part was that a lot of their parents were completely ignorant and even the few that knew their children were abused
preferred to keep it secret. Sexual Abuse was and still an unpopular area to delve into, as the culture of silence has eaten deep into our fabrics as a people. It is said that our people wear silence like a badge of honour. People still hold on to false dogmas about sexual abuse and are quick to judge and shame the victim rather than the perpetrator. Being that I love children so much, I knew I could do my part to ensure that children are protected and kept safe from abuse. This gave rise to Smileandshine Children’s Foundation, a non- profit organisation that is aimed at preventing child sexual abuse and proffering solutions to victims and those at risk, including members of their families.
We do a lot to create so much awareness about this menace by educating and enlightening children and even the general public on ways that child sexual abuse can be prevented. We also offer interventions in the sad event of abuse. Smile and Shine Children’s Foundation offers primary medical and psychological care and in collaboration with other NGOS, ensures that justice is served and rightly so.
Impact and lessons from practicing medicine in urban and rural areas for 15 years
I would say that I am very dedicated and proficient at my job and this is judging by the wonderful feed
back I get from my patients and even my employers. Beyond the fact that I love my profession, I see it as a calling and intentionally love to make an impact in the lives of my patients. And being a Family Physician has helped me so much in this regard because it actually goes beyond treating symptoms; it’s about the person holistically. Being a Family Physician entails that I provide continuing, comprehensive and coordinated health care to individuals and families across all ages, genders and diseases and this requires a great deal of compassion, good interpersonal skills, good work ethics, maturity, willingness to learn more and more, patience and of course expertise, and letting these become a part of my life has helped shape me to the amazing woman and professional that I am today.
Additionally, practicing in rural areas makes you more humane as you literally see what a lot of the poor populace goes through. Read the remaining part of this interview on
www. guardian. ng