When Naomi S. DeBerry learned her father, Jarvis DeBerry, needed a kidney transplant, she was only 6 years old. At that young age, she found it difficult to understand everything going on with her dad’s medical diagnosis. So after a coordinator at the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency suggested Naomi’s experience might make a great topic for a children’s book, Naomi decided to pursue the idea with the help of her parents.
By writing My Daddy Needs a Gift, her 2024 semi-autobiographical story of a little Black girl spreading the word about organ transplantation, Naomi says she wanted to help make sure other kids whose loved ones are in the midst of similar health journeys don’t feel the same fear and confusion she once did. “She was involved from front to back,” Naomi’s mom, Kelly Harris-DeBerry, says of Naomi’s work on the book. “She wanted [book Naomi] to look like she did when it was happening. She picked the color scheme. She would work with the illustrator…She was really there for the whole process.”
Now, six years later, 12-year-old Naomi, whose father received his “gift of life” when a cousin donated a kidney, is busy sharing her family’s story and continuing to advocate for organ donation at a variety of speaking engagements, including educational conferences, bookstore signings, and an appearance on The Tamron Hall Show. Her life goal is to one day become a transplant surgeon.
“If there’s something you feel is important and want to bring awareness to, don’t be afraid to talk about it,” she says. “Because you can end up really helping someone and finding a community that can help you in the same way.”