Savannah Educator Needs YOUR help

Dr. Anna Aikens has dedicated her life to helping others and now she needs OUR help.  

Isaiah 40:31 “…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Meet Dr. Anna Aiken, mother, grandmother, member of First Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church on the Boulevard, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., sister, aunt, educator extraordinaire and friend. Anna needs a kidney transplant due to long term diabetes and hypertension in addition to a genetic disposition (renal failure). A live donor has graciously offered her one of her kidneys (although we are not sure if she is a perfect match), so all that stands between Anna and LIFE is the transplant! This potential donor is a person who met Anna during doctor visits and loved her spirit…basically a complete stranger!

Her story:
Anna was diagnosed 6 years ago during one of the most difficult times in her life. Her youngest child and only daughter was fighting for her life with ovarian cancer. When diagnosed she was 38 years old and lived one year and 2 days. Anna was her major caregiver until her last breath. She is now the guardian and continues to care for her daughter’s adult special needs son.

To know Anna is to love her and it is also to know that she is one of the most tenacious people you will ever meet. She is definitely a fighter, and is now involved in the largest fight ever…the fight for her LIFE!

 A successful transplant will reverse most of her symptoms including very low energy levels, persistent nausea, leg cramps that prevent her from sleeping and at times walking, anemia, UTIs, kidney stones, and high blood pressure, just to name a few. Anna desperately wants to regain strength so that she can continue her lifelong passion of being a servant to others, especially her 5 grandchildren. She is now in constant pain including swelling that is almost unbearable and is basically not able to enjoy any of the things that she once enjoyed. Without a transplant at this phase of her disease, Anna’s life expectancy is quite limited. So this is not an option but a necessity.

As a retired educator Anna tirelessly worked to shape, mentor, and assist 1000s of impressionable young adults for over 35 years including in South Carolina, in Liberty County,(Hinesville, Georgia) in the Savannah, Georgia area at Savannah State as a community coordinator for the ESSA Program (to help people deal with racial tension at that time working directly with principals during integration), at Beech High School for 20 years and she volunteered to teach at the Alternative School at Crossroads Academy, a school for young adults who were not able to thrive in the traditional school population. For many years Anna tutored children AT NO COST, assisted many students with college preparation, mentored and also served as surrogate parent. Anna is blessed with health insurance but it does not cover all the expenses the transplant incurs. She officially retired in 2003 yet remained very active until her health began to decline recently.  The costs are exorbitant and she would greatly appreciate any assistance to defray the preliminary costs, deductibles, co-pays, travel for the surgery and recovery. This will fund her through pre-transplant, transplant, and some of the post-transplant anti-rejection medications.

She is a 1964 graduate of Alston High School (Summerville, SC), a 1968 graduate of Claflin University (Bachelor of Arts in English), completed her Master’s degree at Cambridge College (Boston, Massachusetts), and a Doctorate from Fielding Graduate University (Santa Barbara, California).


No donation is too small and all donations are greatly appreciated! Anna and her family are grateful for each and every one of you! Please help Anna renew her strength and continue to soar! Please donate now and share this page. Thank you.