Lee and Philippa Decuir visit 2009

We are on our last leg of our trip and our stop in Houston was a long awaited visited with my classmate, Lee Decuir, whom we haven’t seen for fifteen years. Lee called me while we were at the battlefield in Gettysburg, PA to remind us to stop by Houston on our way back to California.

We arrived in Houston and settled into our RV Park which was about 20 minutes from Lee’s home. I called and gave him directions to meet us for dinner. It was Donna’s birthday and our dinner was to be at Todai’s Sushi Restaurant.

He and Philippa got in their car and headed our way. I love the quote that he shared with us when he arrived. Apparently he was driving rather fast when his wife admonished him, “Lee, you are driving so fast, you are going to kill us before we get there!”; Lee responded “I’m not driving fast, Allen and I go back to the first grade, I’m anxious to get there”

Lee, Philippa and Allen

Philippa and Donna at one of our outings

grandkids; Lia and Jalon, they come to the house everyday after school for a snack

Jalon is a natural, he loves to dance and play soccer

Philippa Kibugu Decuir. The last time I saw Philippa was 23 years ago, since then, much has happen to her in her personal life. She lost her sister to breast cancer in 1986. Eight years later, she was diagnosed with the same illness, but Philippa lived to tell her tale. Today, through activism she dedicates herself to giving the same chance to thousands of breast cancer victims in East Africa. It takes people who are movers and shakers to make a difference, she is one of them. I encourage you to go to the BCIECA web page to view their evolutionary progress in educating women of East Africa in breast cancer and prevention. She is but the tip of the iceberg. She does not have the concentration of wealth, exposure to national media or political clout to make this happen easily, it is a grassroots effort. At times, she must seemingly feel like the lone voice in wilderness hoping others will hear her message and help her.

http://www.breastcancerafrica.org/bca-aboutus-philipa-newvision-20081020.php

Routine mammograms for women in their 40s have been all over the news lately, in East Africa the women are not even aware of mammograms, and Philippa’s goal is to educate them through her BCIEA Foundation. Her dream is a mobile BCIEA unit that travels from village to village to educate and collect data; the cost for a fully equipped unit is upwards of $200,000 US dollars.

She is the founder and president of Breast Cancer Initiative East Africa (BCIEA) a non-profit organization dedicated to take the lead in the advancement of breast cancer surveillance and improved survival rates targeted to the most neglected population in the low income communities of East Africa.

Philippa before and after her cancer.

“For the past 15 years, my survival has become a tool to teach and touch women in my life as a breast health advocate, through life-changing information like early detection, self-awareness and regular clinical screening,”

The Decuir home in the suburbs of Houston, Texas

Lee and Philippa's home is filled with art and a wonderful collection of African creations

This is one of Lee’s favorite pieces; it was created by a 18 year old student at the Art Institute in Jamaica. It has followed him from Jamaica, Africa and now Houston.

The carving is a piece Lee purchased years ago in Nigeria

Lee is standing in his front room among his collection of African artifacts

Lee is holding a hippo tooth in his left hand and a wart hog tooth in his right

Two Masai warriors from Kenya, the Masai are a very famous warrior tribe in Kenya whose lives center around herding cattle

Lee is holding a hand woven basket, they received a set of 3 for their wedding which took 1 year to make

This garment is made of bark from the omutuba tree in Uganda

The painting is named “Never Letting Go”, a tribute to Black History

“ I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Martin Luther King Jr. (“I have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963)

Taken in Athens, Greece at the Parthenon, Lee in his capacity as District Manager, for TWA Airlines in Kampala, Uganda has traveled all over the world. One of his highlights is breakfast in London, dinner in New York (same day) and back to work in Uganda the next day. He describes Uganda as a garden paradise, greenery galore with flowers and trees in bloom.

Lee's basketball playing days at Pepperdine University

Our favorite guys Paul, Jim, Tony, Hoop, Lee and Terry

Allen, Jim Kim, Rich, Lee and Rick (taken 23 years ago)

Anytime you get together with a classmate, you relive the past. Well, we were no different, therefore enjoy the next few photos. Hope they trigger some good memories for you as they did for us…

If you want to enlarge the picture, click on it, to return to the blog, click on the return button on top left hand of the page.

Our time with Lee and Philippa was quality time spent in conversations and over food. As we travel the path of life, we tend to revolve around our own little world busy doing what we are doing. However, we admire those who give a little extra of themselves to help others. Our admiration and good wishes go to Philippa for her vision and dedication and hope her work will bring fruition to her dreams of aiding and educating the women of East Africa in Breast Cancer Awareness.