THE CULTURE THAT EATS ITS PEOPLE.
It is in a chill morning in the village of ole-Nyaruma, Isibania- Kajiado on the Kenya-Tanzania boarder. The village is quiet except the joyous celebrations heard from the nearby manyatta .As I go to fetch water, I by pass Sahara Ole Ntimama. Am astonished by her lack of response to my greetings which is not her usual nature. Could somebody have angered her? From the look of things she is seriously distressed and in deep thoughts. Sahara is a 12 year old, studies in Isbania community school. She is bright, gifted and aspiring to be lawyer to advocate for the rights of the women and the whole village knows that thanks to her out spoken nature .Next to Sahara is a tied goat an indication of a ceremony where everybody is happy except Sahara.
Am Maryann Sapit. A volunteer nurses at Isibania dispensary. I arrive at work and quickly administer pending medication.
As I leave for my lunch break commotion is overheard caused by a group of women. The spokesperson appear to be more worried and deeply troubled .She is dressed in traditional clothes. Her hands are dirty and shaking. she has a piece of cloth on her shoulder of which in one extreme its tied to a crude blunt like knife .It appears dirty ,hardly washed with dried blood and rust. We quickly rash to the incidence. To my astonishment I found the poor Sahara lying unconscious in the manayatta her hands and legs tied together. She had bruises all over the body indicating injury from a struggle. She has active bleeding in her genital with blood oozing through a combination of herbs and ash. The right hip is swollen. At the dispensary we do first aid, give her oxygen and did an x-ray of the hip which indicated a fracture of the right-femur –Sahara will not be able to walk for the next one month.
On recovery she explained how she was held by people meant to protect her mutilated, sutured, ash and herbs applied to prevent bleeding. Sahara contacted HIV, tetanus, anemia, severe infection of uterus hence referred for uterus removal rendering her barren for the rest of her life.
As Sahara goes for referral with physical pain caused by a culture that eats its people one can only hope the psychological pain will heal with time. Yes only hope!