“We need to visit Angèle,” urged Judith. “Her children are ill.”
Angèle is one of Judith’s many cousins. She lives quite close to us with her sister, Nellie. They had another sister who sadly died. Angèle took her sister’s two children, adding to her own five. Nellie has five children. It’s quite a houseful!
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| Judith and Francis Hannaway |
All the children are small for their age. It’s always surprising to see an apparent four year old talking about quite complicated things, only to be told that the child in question is, in fact, eight.
It’s a couple of years ago that I gave Angèle and Nellie a stern talking to about feeding their children. “Children should be first in everything,” I told them. “They should be first to eat. Stop wasting your money on boyfriends and frivolous things.” I jokingly referred to their children as pygmies and the expression stuck! Both Angèle and Nellie accepted my advice, but we all admitted that it wasn’t easy – twelve children between two single mothers.
Angèle is a primary school teacher, but her wages are tiny, around £90 a month. Nellie is a volunteer at our malnutrition centre. As a volunteer, she receives monthly expenses of £17 a month. To supplement their income, they both grow vegetables next to their house.
Angèle impressed us recently by retrieving one of her primary school pupils (although he was 21 years old) from a so-called prayer-group. Held hostage by a so-called pastor, (prophet even!), we gave her the £10 needed for his release. She seemed very much against such charlatans, who seem to be able to deprive people of their liberty with impunity, once they’ve entered the group.
We set off towards Angèle and Nellie’s house.
They rent a small bungalow made from cold-pressed bricks, and with a palm-thatched roof. We entered their small sitting-room as it was getting dark. We found them with several children, two of whom were lying on a raffia mat on the floor. These were the two children who were ill. Angèle had boiled some dried fish in a pan. Both children refused it. I emphasised the importance of getting them to eat, and Judith agreed with me that they should both be admitted to the nearby Catholic hospital the following morning – and we would pay. Angèle seemed pleased with our intervention, but I started to worry that she’d change her mind and pull out some ancient and ineffective remedy from the ancestors.
The crickets started to chirp, with the occasional croak from frogs hidden in the long grass. The moonless sky was clear and the vivid constellations twinkled. We were full of hope for the two sick children and would follow it up in the morning.
Early the next morning, we heard that Angèle had taken her little girl to another medical centre about a mile away. We didn’t know why she’d decided to turn down our offer, but we had to respect her choice.
The day after that, we heard that little Marie had died. It was typhoid. The wake and funeral followed swiftly the next day. The day after that, their neighbours across the path suffered the deaths of two two-year-olds, also from typhoid. Typhoid is a bacterial infection, The bacteria is spread through contaminated food or water. It causes membranes inside the body to decline and split, causing bodily fluids to enter the abdomen. It’s fatal when left untreated.
We let a little time pass. Judith attended the wake, but I stayed away. It wasn’t long before each of the remaining children, including Nellie’s, took on a feverish malaise. I sent the message that they shouldn’t worry about costs, we would pay for everything. Bring the children to the hospital to be diagnosed. They agreed.
The following day, they still hadn’t arrived. Nellie and Angèle had fallen out. It was to do with the food they were sharing for the children. The children’s declining health and their lack of means led them to share some very frugal rations. When it came to the last child, there was nothing but a watery soup left in the pan. There was nothing else. Nellie took her children and moved back in with her dad. The house is also very close to us. She thought she’d get her old room back, but it had already been taken. She was given a small spce to sleep in the dusty sitting room.
The day after that, they still hadn’t arrived at the hospital. They disappeared! We sent our messengers to find where they’d gone. Unbelievably, they’d gone to the very same prayer-group and the charlatan of a pastor! They’d both come to the conclusion that evil spirits were at play, probably sent by their enemies! No matter how many times they’d laughed at others who believed such things, and how many times they’d agreed with me that typhoid is an infection caused by bacteria, when it arrived on their doorstep, they reverted to what they’d been taught as children. The house was possessed! The children were possessed! The evil spirits needed casting out!
It told Nellie’s dad that they must come back and be treated at the hospital. He agreed with me and said he’d persuade her to come back. Judith used her influence as well and, after another three days, they were all added to our account at the hospital and given beds.
Their recovery took another two weeks. It cost us £300, but it was £300 well spent.
The original house is now abandoned, as Angèle also moved to a new house. Perhaps it really was cursed … but if it was it was because their water source had been contaminated by being too close to a neighbour’s toilet. Typhoid bacteria can stay in the ground for a long time and it doesn’t take much for it to spread.
Angèle should be able to manage with her teacher’s wages. She needs to manage things a bit better. We’ve given Nellie a place to live and we’re supplementing her food and income. Without our help she, and her children, might not survive.
