Man, it’s been a busy summer! My days are a combination of mundane diaper changing and joy-filled fun times with my kids. Life with kids is ‘life abundant’!!! I really love it. But I do find I crash into bed every night exhausted and often have to pray for God to help me gracefully through the last several hours of the day.There have been a few bouts of sickness these past months because it’s so dry here. The dust billows up and is full of all sorts of yummy stuff for everyone to pass around. Sneezing is nearly as contagious as yawning right now….. no kidding! But we’re all healthy right now and enjoying that!
Just last week I had a challenging experience I want to share with you. We were walking home with the kids from an evening play time at the club where we’re members (there are no public parks… only membership clubs or pay-as-you-go play areas). We came upon our three neighbor boys whom we frequently see fetching water and playing on the road. We’ve known that they have a mother and father who both work but it is obvious they are not going to school and are very ill-kept. My friend and I have discussed many times if there’s anything to be done and have felt it is best to stay uninvolved.
But this time it was obvious that I needed to get involved. The middle boy (age 7) was hobbling a bit trying to carry his jerry can of water. Our road is far from merciful so I thought maybe he had just stepped on a rock. When I greeted him I saw his right foot was severely injured. It was a burn on the top of his foot the size of the palm of my hand and it had obviously not been tended to. It was black, cracked, bleeding, seeping fluids, and (sorry, this is terrible) was starting to smell of rot. I immediately asked some Ugandans I knew nearby if his parents would be angry if we took him to the hospital. I have never known exactly where they live and know that they are usually not home. The neighbors assured me that any help would be appreciated and that I should take him. (It is strange but people here take a very ‘it takes a whole village’ approach to childcare so I didn’t bat an eyelash and carried him home with the permission of only the neighbors. I was very careful not to come into contact with his wound or blood from it). It turns out he had stepped into a pile of burning garbage while playing soccer with his brother a week previously and had had no medical attention.
To make a long story short, my friend and I spent till midnight at the hospital that night and many hours since trying to make sure he gets good care (definitely not to be assumed… for example…. We admitted him to the hospital that night only to find him the next morning sitting on a bench outside the children’s ward with his mother… that is where they had spent the night). All care of patients (besides medical) must be provided by the family so we have been bringing food and things like a flask for tea and blanket … this family is very poor.
The story of his mother is one I was curious about because to tell you the truth, most of me just wanted to slap her when she came to the hospital. How can your son be that miserable with a life threatening injury and you just let him suffer when there is medical care readily available here? I’ve seen these children (3 boys ages 8,7, and 1 year) spend their days on the street and carry water cans up the road every day instead of being in school and being cared for. And I know both parents have jobs so why in creation are the kids not seeing the money? It just seemed like this was one more aspect of neglect… at a whole different level. This injury could very easily have killed the boy and it is simply a miracle that he didn’t have infection or tetanus after a week of filth and dirt in a serious wound. And, may I add…. Simple medical attention is not expensive here. Anyway… I feel sad for her… she is 22 (do the math)…. Has a shiftless husband who works but brings nothing home… apparently he has a few ladies on the side….and her only family is a father living several hours away who is dying of cancer at the moment. They are obviously Muslim which is evident by the names of their children. Her whole posture is defeated, depressed, and almost completely disconnected. It’s as if she gave up a long time ago and she is simply existing. Please pray for her and their whole family. Her name is Judith. ( I wish I had pictures but I may try to get some for next month with an update.)
As it is now the boy needs skin grafts and a week in the hospital minimum. We and our neighbors are paying for it and have no idea how it’s going to turn out at this point. But I am just praying that God leads us in the weeks to come in how to stay involved.. at what level. We can’t fix the shiftless father, we can’t bring the kids into our home and take on their full care, we can’t convince the mother to ditch the deadbeat and get help (although I might try that). Please pray with us about it. I’ll give you an update next month. I need to sign off so there’s room for some pictures. The kids will write next month. We love you all! Sarah
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