Big Mac & Large Fries

From 10 -11 am every day the children get an Uji (porridge) break. This is recess time for the 76 children in the Emukaba class. Today during the break, we noticed a small boy who was having difficulty walking. Upon closer examination we could see that both his hands and feet were covered with large lumps. The boy was obviously ill, he could hardly walk and he struggled to keep his eyes open when he sat down. We sent for the boy’s aunt, who explained that Edwin was the orphaned son of her husband’s brother. She was raising her own four children, as well as Edwin, in a small dirt floored home near the literacy project at Emukaba. The family sleeps on the floor and can not afford shoes.

You see it at every project. Children who are malnourished, children with scabies, ringworm and open sores. You see it at every project. But, you know what? It doesn’t always register because you can not allow it to. ACCES is here to provide literacy training for kids 8-15 years. With limited resources, the last thing you can do is help everyone with everything. So you overlook a lot of the problems that would shout out to you at home. You concentrate on the good, on the joy of the children, on their eagerness to learn, their large smiles and carefree nature. You see the happiness, the hope, and the future. But Edwin. How could you overlook Edwin?

We got Edwin to the health clinic by early afternoon. Diagnosis? Jiggers. Ever hear of jiggers? They’re worms that bore their way into your flesh. They live in dirt and without shoes, they have easy entry. They itch like a son-of-a-gun, growing larger and larger as they turn into a giant egg sack. Unless removed, the jigger will give birth to hundreds of baby jiggers that will leave the nest and find a new location a few inches away. I had a jigger before Christmas which left an 1/8 inch hole on the bottom of one of my toes when I removed it….it was not a pleasant experience

The nurse at the clinic removed nineteen jiggers from Edwin’s hands and feet. That’s nineteen holes that were torn from his flesh as each one was removed with a safety pin. No wonder the little guy could hardly walk. Nineteen! During the lengthy process of removing these worms, not once did Edwin cry, not once did he do more than wince at the pain.

The nurse explained to Edwin’s aunt the importance of covering the dirt floors in her home with cow dung, which works as a sealant to keep dirt and jiggers out. We purchased some Dettol liquid soap and explained the importance of having Edwin and all of her children wash every day. After removing the jiggers, the nurse gave Edwin a vitamin B and antibiotic shot and he and his aunt were given some transportation money home. We bought Edwin a pair of thongs and an orange soda, which he was too sick too drink…..(now that is not feeling well!). The bill for helping Edwin? About six dollars Canadian.It is hard not to be filled with anger after a day like today. I am angry that it cost as little as a Big Mac and large fries to help Edwin and that nothing was done until today. I am saddened by the thought of all the illnesses we see every day that could be cured for the cost of a snack at home. From the cost of some basic medicines to the 40 cents Canadian for a pair of pata pata (thongs) to put on the kid’s feet….it all comes down to money.

I understand the disparity of wealth throughout the world. I make no apologies for where I come from and for what we have in the North, but once in a while you can’t help but give your head a shake. I am filled with a strange joy when I think that Edwin would choose to trek to school every day in the condition he was in. It amazes me that I had to warn him against returning to the literacy classes before his wounds had healed.

These children are amazing.