Episode 7: Conversation with Nyemade Boiwu on her Childhood experience and her Advocacy for Mental Health Awareness

In 2020, I came across Nyemade Boiwu through a podcast called Stigma and I was impressed by her openness in discussing mental health and the stigma associated with taking medication. The podcast title was called “It’s okay if you need Meds to be okay.” I love the positive energy and the positivity she carried out throughout the interview. I immediately started following her on Instagram and I send her a message on the interview and my wish to engage further in an open forum in the future. Nyemade Boiwu, aka That African Butterfly, is an award-winning writer, speaker and digital content strategist. She has made a career in corporate America working for a top-leading bank. In her free time, she lends her expertise to the non-profit sector to support others. She also strives to use her talent for communication to raise awareness about mental health and other various social issues. She aims to encourage individuals to see things from the perspective of others. Nyemade Boiwu also a community presenter for NAMI Delaware, the Executive Director for Every Man Counts, and the Program Director for Empower & Educate. Boiwu migrated from Liberia to the United States with her mother at the age of 5. The family relocated due to the civil war in Liberia that took place between 1989 to 1996. During our conversation, Boiwu talked about growing up in upstate New York in a predominantly white community, her challenges, and her adaptation to the community. She later relocated to Florida to attend college. She is presently a resident of Delaware. In this interview, we discussed Boiwu’s childhood experience and her growing up in an Africa immigrant home. We talked about balancing between the two heritages, Africa and America, as well as black identity. We talked about navigating through academic life and social life in college and how her cultural upbringing benefits or hinder fitting into the dominant culture in the spaces she finds herself in. Most of the discussion focused on mental health and mental illness within African immigrant community, relating to stigma, lack of awareness, and barriers to appropriate care. Boiwu talked about her own struggle with depression and suicidal attempts at an early age. She spoke about her family as an effective support system throughout her journey, and most especially, her mother is there for her when she needs someone to listen to her or when she needs advice. That African Butterfly Nyemade Boiwu is a powerful voice speaking up and normalizing open conversation on mental illness and mental health within the community. She an excellent example of someone diagnosed with mental illness, and she is thriving, blooming, prospering. When we publicly discuss complex issues within our community, we are shredding away the stigma associated with these uncomfortable dialogues. Boiwu provided a wealth of knowledge to the audience regarding these vital subjects on mental health wellness and mental health awareness in this conversation. To contact Nyemade Boiwu, email her @ [email protected], follow her on Instagram @ thatafricanbutterfly and her website @ https://linkte.ee/thatafricanbutterfly.