By Yunus S Saliu
An Endo warrior has disclosed that in every ten women there is one endometriosis warrior and it is a disease affecting the whole society.
Penda Njie K, country representative of Let’s Fight Endo Organization in an interview said endometriosis is not only affecting the women but indirectly affecting the whole society even “if you are not a woman, yourself risk having it in family as you might have a sister, wife, aunt, niece or someone that is Endo warrior. This is because one out of every ten women in society might actually have endometriosis without knowing it.”
Madam Penda Njie K, 35, one among women suffering endometriosis since age of 14 and got diagnosed in 2014 affirmed that dealing with endometriosis is very difficult because it is an auto immune disease that has no cure yet.
People having endometriosis are called “Endo Warriors because we don’t want to victimize ourselves, it is an ongoing fight,” she noted.
Let’s Fight Endo Organization, according to her, was set up to raise awareness to help girls that do not have people they can open up to “and maybe in future when we are stronger as organization, we can help more women to get diagnose and have surgery. This can only be done via diagnostic laparoscopic, which is very expensive. For now, The Gambia has very little expertise on this area.”
Relating her experiences as Endo warrior, she said endometriosis pains cannot be compared with the normal menstrual pain as it is way more severe and “does not really matter if you are having your period or not, because endometriosis is more painful regardless that, Endo warriors always have symptoms like chronic fatigue syndrome, ovulation pain before, during and after the period. Sometimes after your period you will have nausea, cramp, still not comparable with menstrual pain.”
Among other activities of Let’s Fight Endo Organization to sensitize and raise awareness of the people on this disease is a Walk to Raise Awareness about Endometriosis program scheduled for 20th March, 2021. The walk will kick-start from Traffic light Kairaba Avenue to Youth Monument – West Field where everyone will converge to discuss about endometriosis.
However, Endometriosis, she added “doesn’t limit itself to reproductive system of woman or women only, so it’s not possible to survive it without medical consultation because it can as well affect bowel, lung and other parts of the body.”
Endo warriors are always confront with series of difficulties which include stigmatization and this is “actually very serious you do not only get stigmatise by only family members that might understand your situation later, tolerate and become supportive but the society when you get older.”
More so, “when you get married and always sick they termed you to be a lazy person or someone that like complaining while your husband might be calling you a ‘hospital or expensive wife.’ While some in-laws, too, are not actually helpful especially in most cases that infertility emerge.”