By Jimmy Siyasa
“A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one” is a famous quote attributed to Chinese philosopher Confucius.
This notion couldn’t be any truer for Shablinah Nazziwa, a fresh Bachelor of Business Administration graduate of Uganda Christian University (UCU). At 26 years, she continues to long for just one thing — a little bit of relief from the pangs of sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic condition that makes the red blood cells to become stiff, sticky and jagged, capable of blocking blood vessels.
Despite the pain, Nazziwa pressed toward her academic goal with a laser focus, often spending nights awake to catch up with coursework and other missed assignments.
The health struggles notwithstanding, Nazziwa graduated summa cum laude, with a 4.76 Grade Point Average out of 5.0, topping all students at the 26th UCU graduation ceremony held in Mukono on October 24, 2025.
Nazziwa’s academic journey has been one of morphine drips during deadlines and revising for finals from a hospital bed. Where others saw impossibility, she saw a possibility to prove the great feats a determined heart and mind could achieve. But, most importantly, she wanted to make her father proud.
So, how did she manage to achieve this feat?
“If you feel like you’re not okay, then rest. You can rest for even a whole week. But when you’re well, give it your all,” says Nazziwa, who now holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in accounting.
She also admits that balancing books and hospital was not easy, but credits her lecturers, administrators and medics at the UCU health centre, Alan Galpin, for their support, patience and understanding toward her condition.
Nearly eight million people worldwide suffer from the sickle cell disease, with over 100,000 of these living in the U.S. according to a 2024 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By the end of 2024, Uganda still registered the “fifth highest sickle cell burden in Africa” per National Library of Medicine, with some hospitals, such as Jinja Regional Referral Hospital in eastern Uganda, registering up to “six sickle cell deaths monthly due to blood shortage.”
While the sickle cell is a lifelong disease, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says with proper care and treatment, sicklers can live a “fulfilling life and participate in most activities.” However, due to the demanding and expensive nature of the treatment, only a few individuals in developing economies like Uganda are able to afford that.
In the face of such statistics, to live everyday seems in itself an act of personal courage and heroism.
Nazziwa did not languish in self-pity even when academic failure on her part would be understandable. She now embodies the very advice she gives students living with the sickle cell disease elsewhere in the world: “You should not give up. Be confident, believe in yourself and trust in God.”.
For people with her condition, steadfastness, faith and optimism are critical due to the “default” exposure to pain, medical “bad news” and ominous predictions such as high chances of early death and failure to have one’s own children, among others.
Living with the disease has taught Nazziwa to value each passing day. She has learned to live one day at a time and make the most of each.
She aspires for self-employment. This way, she can conveniently manage both her work and health with minimal stress triggers.
“I want to be an accountant. I am open to work, but by God’s grace, I want to be self-employed,” she says.
Education and family background
Nazziwa is the daughter of John Kyambadde and Fiona Nabirye of Mukono district in central Uganda. A family of meagre means, Nazziwa’s sustenance and healthcare hangs on the thin income from her father’s small scale farming work and her mother’s grocery shop.
Before enrolling at UCU, she obtained a Diploma in Business Studies at Uganda College of Commerce in Tororo district, (Scoring 4.50, equivalent of First Class). She studied A’level at Kasawo Islamic School in Mukono and primary at Maggwa Church of Uganda Primary School.
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