This blind woman will move you to tears

When Opeyemi Adewale Kikelemo lost her sight at 14, it felt like her life had crumbled. She came home from school one day and was watching TV with her friends when the TV became blurry. In a few minutes, Kikelomo’s world went blank.

Her scared mother took her to different hospitals and health centres. One day, the doctor told Mama Opeyemi what everyone was already dreading – her daughter was blind. Pending the time that she would gain her sight, the doctor gave Kikelomo a walking cane to help her acclimatise to her new reality, “That day, I cried my life out. I felt there was no reason for existence!”

Opeyemi Adewale Kikelemo, making a presentation at PWC

Years later, that scared little girl has become a 24-year-old confident woman bossing it up at one of the big four!

Mrs. Adewale sharing Opeyemi’s story

Opeyemi is a graduate-intern with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a multinational professional services firm. Her mother is so proud, words fail her. She has been through a lot and to see her daughter defying her blindness, has given her struggles all the justification.

Blind undergraduates applying for MTN’s scholarship scheme

Recipients of the scholarship during the award ceremony

What happened between then and now?
Mrs. Adeyemi explained that after Opeyemi was diagnosed, she focused on her studies and soon gained admission to the prestigious University of Lagos.
Funds were tight but the Adeyemis forged on and found ways to pay her tuition till Opeyemi was awarded a scholarship by MTN Foundation’s Scholarship Scheme For Blind Students (MTNF SSBS).
The scholarship allowed her life to change gears.

Opeyemi laughing with colleagues at work

Opeyemi graduated and applied for a job at PWC. Soon, she received the good news, she had been accepted as a graduate-intern! Her mother still can’t believe it when she hands her an allowance from her monthly salary.
“We are living comfortably because Ope is okay!”, Mrs Adewale beamed as she spoke.