Officers
Dr George T. Roberts
Mrs. Tunu Louise Roberts
Mrs. Tunu Louise Roberts
Chairman
Dr George Tregson Roberts’ interest in Hematology was sparked by the apparent simplicity of the discipline: When things of the blood go wrong, it is easy to relate to the patient as a whole and, besides, progress of the disorder can be easily monitored by regular examination of the blood. Therefore, after qualifying in medicine, h
Chairman
Dr George Tregson Roberts’ interest in Hematology was sparked by the apparent simplicity of the discipline: When things of the blood go wrong, it is easy to relate to the patient as a whole and, besides, progress of the disorder can be easily monitored by regular examination of the blood. Therefore, after qualifying in medicine, he decided to specialize in the field in the hope that he would be able to make a difference to patients affected by blood disorders.
For someone of African descent, the most obvious area of specialised interest was hemoglobinopathies, a sub-specialism that includes sickle cell disease. He also has a more personal interest. His wife, Tunu, has sickle cell disease, and while not directly involved in her care, he is more able to empathise not just with her but, as well, with the other countless sufferers who have the disease.
He sees that, to make a difference to the lives of sickle cell patients in Sierra Leone, they need an organizational format on which to advocate on their behalf. This is how he and Tunu, and others, formed the advocacy group, the Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Disease Society in 1992, and which now, has led to the formation of the Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Disease Foundation.
Mrs. Tunu Louise Roberts
Mrs. Tunu Louise Roberts
Mrs. Tunu Louise Roberts
Vice Chair
It was a “mystery” disease that has dogged her life from childhood through to adulthood. As a child, growing up in Sierra Leone, she would wake up in the middle of the night, doubled up and screaming with pain, waking up the entire household. Nothing that her parents and siblings could do helped to ease the pain. Not the rubs o
Vice Chair
It was a “mystery” disease that has dogged her life from childhood through to adulthood. As a child, growing up in Sierra Leone, she would wake up in the middle of the night, doubled up and screaming with pain, waking up the entire household. Nothing that her parents and siblings could do helped to ease the pain. Not the rubs or pills or mixtures made any difference until the attack took its course. These episodes were more frequent during the rainy season, which led the doctors to diagnose her condition as “rainy season rheumatism.”
On reflection, the pains she endured and continue to endure, are more severe than the labour pains she experienced during the birth of two children.
In spite of these disruptive attacks, by dint of hard work and determination, she was able to pursue a university education and qualified BA DipEd, University of Durham, and subsequently trained at the BBC as a producer of radio programmes for schools.
It was around this time that the mystery of her pain was unravelled, when she was diagnosed at a hospital in the UK, with sickle cell disease, a genetic blood condition.
Professionally, she worked for the Ministry of Education in Sierra Leone, where she produced radio programs for schools.
Some years later, she worked at McMaster University Medical School in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where she was in the team that produced TV programmes in continuing medical education for healthcare professionals.
Her enduring passion, however, is the improvement of the life experience of others with sickle cell disease, especially those in Sierra Leone. In pursuit of this she, together with her husband, George, and several others, established a charity in 1992, the Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Society, whose main aim is to provide help in care for sickle cell patients in Sierra Leone. And now, many decades later, after living in Canada and other countries, she has, together with her husband and one of their sons, Eugene, set up this foundation, accredited by the government of Canada, to help promote and fund research into sickle cell disease in Sierra Leone.
Tunu Louise Roberts has also lived in the UK, the United States, and the Middle East.
In less stressful times when she is not in sickle cell crisis and related problems, she enjoys jazz as well as live theatre.
Mr. Eugene T. Roberts
Mrs. Tunu Louise Roberts
Mr. Eugene T. Roberts
Treasurer
Gene Roberts has been a sales professional in the field of Information Technology for 15+ years.
Educated in the UK and Canada, he earned a BA from the University of Toronto with a major in Economics and minor in Computer Science.
Well-travelled, he’s experienced life and the varied cultures in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and
Treasurer
Gene Roberts has been a sales professional in the field of Information Technology for 15+ years.
Educated in the UK and Canada, he earned a BA from the University of Toronto with a major in Economics and minor in Computer Science.
Well-travelled, he’s experienced life and the varied cultures in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.
This exposure has allowed him to meet and appreciate people from all types of backgrounds and to realize some common themes: desire for improvement, financial well-being and good health.
These goals are consistent with his own and have led him to study and work hard to achieve them.
He says, “Along the journey, I've always felt the need to give back to my community whether it be through monetary donations to local charities,
clothing to worthy causes, or my time in the form of condo board membership.
“So, my participation as a board member of the Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Disease Foundation, a Canadian-based organization that aims to create awareness, raise funds and, ultimately treat and care for those with this debilitating disease, is consistent with these beliefs”.