Tanki Nyeusi Primary school, near the town of Debatas, is PA-MOJA’s poorest sister school. Most of the children survive on one meal a day. Eleven year old Maria Napirai immediately stood out from the large crowd of children when we arrived in the Summer of 2014. Her left foot was twisted and she walked on her toes because she could not place her heel on the ground.
We discovered that she and an old woman in the village had been abandoned by their families when bandits attacked her village in Isiolo County during tribal clashes between Samburu and Somali boranas. Maria was lucky because her Aunt Emily heard about the clashes and decided to rescue her.
We decided to take Maria to Cottage Hospital to see what could be done to help her. A village elder, as well as Maria’s Aunt Emily, accompanied us.
Dr. Butt started by prescribing Potassium mermanginate crystals for the jiggers (burrowing fleas) that covered Maria’s feet. When he observed her walking he thought she might have had polio as a child, but later discovered she had cerebral palsy. Her condition would make surgeries and recovery much more complex.
With the support of PA-MOJA volunteers, Lorna Richards and Ashley Boggild, we decided to enrol her at the Mount Kenya Baptist School where students showered her with attention and helped her up and down the stairs. Her entrance tests revealed that she would have to start in Standard 1 because she had no written skills.
However, a few months later, because she would require numerous surgeries, we placed her in Naromoru Disabled Children’s Home where she is today. She attends St. Lwanga Academy and is working her way through primary school.
Maria has had three surgeries. The first surgery, in 2015, involved her left ankle. They stretched the tendons so she was able to place her heel on the ground when she walked. This worked for a couple of weeks; however, Maria’s brain had taught her to walk on her toes, so gradually, this is what she went back to. Physiotherapy was challenging for Maria and she fought the nurses who tried to help her.
The second surgery involved straightening the right knee. It had to be cancelled because Maria bled too much during the procedure. The surgery was redone in January 2017 and was considered a success. Maria in now back at school and undergoing intensive physiotherapy.
Maria’s Aunt Emily visits her niece every few months and Maria goes home to her Samburu village during school breaks.
Aunt Emily was only 26 years old when we met her in 2014; she was married at 12 years old to her husband who is now in his 80’s. Because Maria’s mother now has 8 children, she has given Maria to Aunt Emily permanently.
Emily has 3 children of her own, a son, now 15, a daughter, 13, and another son, 8. She sent her 13 year old daughter away when she was 11 years old so she would avoid early marriage.
Emily has little education but hopes one day to become independent and start her own business.
I so enjoyed meeting Maria this year when I went to Ol Pejeta. We got lost looking for her home when we drove her home but she knew where to go and kept pointing in that direction. Maria’s family was so glad to have her home particularly her younger brother. They were all very welcoming to us. Maria, I hope you continue to do well health wise and in school and I look forward to meeting you when I visit again.
Vicki Swan