I finally get to work with Killion today. He is the oldest and arguably best translator in Shirati. Mel and I worked with him extensively last summer and he is the one I call on Skype every few months or so to see how Babu and the girls soccer team are doing. My agenda today is to interview families that take care of someone with a disability – both mental and physical. I also mention that I would like to see another new subvillage so we head to one called Michire.
The first family interviewed lives near the Kawiras and SHED hostel where I stay. I heard about a mentally challenged boy that stole money from the SHED hostel and from the Kawiras. The rumor is that he stole on 2 separate occasions and was caught and beaten. Killion suggested we start there and I agree. The boy is named Harun and his mother died a long time ago and his father is a local pastor that is currently studying something seminary related in Kenya. Harun and his stepmother apparently clash and Killion said rumors were flying that she either encouraged him to possibly steal or drove him to steal because of potential mistreatment. At the house, we end up interviewing the stepmother and the boy’s older brother. We find out that Harun suffers from epilepsy and has about 2 seizures a day. When I asked what the family believed as the cause, they said they knew it was a disease and that some people may feel differently in the village believing it could be a bewitchment but they do not listen. Harun was going to primary school but stopped after one year because he was feeling lonely and discouraged after always being made fun of after each seizure. His family said that he displayed aggressive and angry behavior after each seizure as well. They talk about how a good solution for 13 year old Harun, who is currently castaway in another village, would be to send him to a special needs school in Dar-es-Salaam. His father wants to do this but is conflicted between paying for his troubled son or paying for school (his dad is not present during the interview and was currently studying in Kenya). I asked about Harun’s personality and his brother described him as a nice boy that likes to sing, draw and swim. He was always humble and loving before attending school and after being taunted in school, he became withdrawn. I ask about the stealing that Harun recently committed. They say that after each incident, Harun feels like he does not know what he did and willingly cooperates with authorities by giving every detail about the theft and admits everything. The older brother offers to pick up Harun and bring him next Wednesday for us to meet and talk to him. Afterwards, Killion and I discuss the interview and the situation of the boy. I am glad to have such a sympathetic friend and translator. Killion says the boy does have issues and it could stem from problems with the stepmother but that he feels that Harun is inherently good.
We walk in the hot sun for miles and eventually reach the lake. Killion knew of a few families in this area with disabilities. We interview a 36 year old man named Okeyo. Okeyo is paralyzed from the waist down after battling with polio when he was 5 months old. Okeyo’s parents sent him to not only primary and secondary school but also to the University of Udoma. When asked about how we would get to classes and move around, he said that someone would usually put him on their bike and give him rides. He came back to Shirati and learned how to make fishing nets by hand from a friend. He became successful at this and is able to sell fishing nets despite not being able to use his legs. Okeyo is married and has a daughter. We later interview his daughter since she is interested in being considered to be sponsored for primary school. Killion emphasized the good fact that Okeyo’s parents educated him and gave him a chance at a good future. I know that Killion values education by the many stories he tells me and the fact that he works so hard to get all 4 of his kids as much education as they can handle.
We interview two more people and one of the people is a man who used to suffer from epilepsy. Just like Harun, this man said after each seizure he would wake up feeling aggressive. Then at some point in his life, an American intervened and provided him with an anti-seizure drug that he takes once a day and has not had a seizure since. He does not remember the name of the drug but seems very thankful to have found it.
The last house we see at the end of the day was of Freddy Obote. As we sit and are welcomed by the family, we see 13 year old Freddy who is paralyzed from the waist down. Freddy’s mother died a few years ago and his dad lives and works many hours away. He is cared for primarily by his grandmother and some extended family. He spends just about every day of his life sitting outside the family’s brick home using his arms to lift his body back and forth and sometimes sweeping the corner he stays in. When asked if he went to school, Freddy’s family said that he has never gone to school, not even the free primary school which is located across the street from their house. Killion was visibly disturbed by this and inquired why nobody bothered to enroll Freddy and the family shrugged and didn’t really know the answer. We then asked Freddy if he wanted to go to school and he said yes. We asked if the family would consider Freddy attending primary school and everyone agreed that it would be fine. One uncle suggested that he would probably need a wheelchair so that his fellow students could push him to and from class. School starts back up again on July 11th. I am shocked that a boy that is 13 years old was discouraged from going to free primary school because of his disability and that nobody was opposed to him going to school but nobody was going to take the initiative to enroll him either. I compare the life that Freddy now lives to the life of Okeyo who seems to be better off just by circumstance of having parents that believed in education. I have a feeling that if we don’t help enroll Freddy into primary school, he will spend more years of his life hobbling around his property and unable to utilize his normally functioning brain.
I feel like some of the things that I see and the sad stories I relay do not serve the purpose of disheartening anyone nor feeling that the world is overwhelmingly filled with problems. The reason I tell these stories is that they should be heard. Regardless of whether or not people read about the things that go on everyday or see it in person, the truth is that they are real and occur every single day. I always feel that inaction may be the worst of all reactions. It’s natural to feel empathy towards sad situations, but most are far from desperate or hopeless and the challenge lies in how to address the issue.
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