Stray Ends

Today, while sitting on a bus, a strand of my hair fell onto my lap. I tried to brush it off to the side a bit, which attracted the attention of my neighbor and her young daughter. The mother picked up my hair and pulled it taught in front of her eyes. She and her daughter began to inspect it. They pulled it and twisted it and examined it a few inches from their noses. “This is yours?!” she asked me. They were absolutely fascinated. They began talking in their local dialect with each other and took turns holding it, passing it back and forth. Ultimately, they tied it around their umbrella handle for safekeeping. It was still there when we got off the bus and parted ways.

Epilepsy Expansion

This past week I went to Wum, in the North West region, for epilepsy work. It was our first time in the town, and we weren’t sure how things would turn out. There are currently three PCVs living in Wum who did all of the announcements and sensitizations, but they were still a bit worried about how many people would attend. A representative from CODEF also came to handle the consultations and to distribute medicine. Together, we all showed up at the hospital and met with the head doctors to introduce ourselves. The doctors then led us to a separate building where we would be holding our event. We walked through the doors and couldn’t believe it. There was a giant lecture hall packed with people! We had to bring in more benches and chairs, and still there were people who had to sit outside. It was entirely overwhelming. By the end of it, we had met 96 new patients. We began by giving lessons on epilepsy and talking about how to take care of someone when they have a seizure. We then began taking statistics and surveys, and one by one the patients went in to meet the CODEF representative for their consultation. Half way through the day we realized we would not be able to see every patient before dark. We ended up extending our consultations to the next day. We worked from 8:00am until after 6:00pm on the first day, and from 8:00am until 2:00pm the next day. By the second day we had seen everyone. It was exhausting! It was incredible that so many people were affected by epilepsy. This has been our highest turnout yet. We have been talking to the hospital about the possibility of starting an epilepsy clinic, and at the very least, Wum will be added to the list of places CODEF visits each month. We were told that even more people have epilepsy in the area and would have attended had it not been for poor roads and expensive transport costs. We are thinking of expanding in the area and traveling to some of the more remote villages near Wum. As always, everyone was very appreciative. As for myself, I could not be more thankful for the team of volunteers who helped out and made it all possible!

Witchcraft

In Mahole, a town so small, the children had never seen a white person before,* there are over 17 people living with epilepsy. Earlier this month a woman gave a child some peanuts, and the child had a seizure. That woman was immediately accused of witchcraft. She was beaten almost until death and was charged for her crime. Her case is being dealt with by the regional counsel. They consulted with a doctor who, through our initiatives, has worked with CODEF. He was able to advise the counsel that witchcraft is not a scientifically proven cause of epilepsy, and directed them to speak with CODEF further. When I met with the village, I gave lessons about the causes of epilepsy and how to react to a seizure. Over 20 people attended, all of them fervently asking questions and taking notes. One man raised his hand. He was the father of a teenage boy living with epilepsy. He stated, “We always thought it was witchcraft. We thought he had been cursed. Now I am realizing that a head injury can cause epilepsy. When my son was younger, he was working under a coconut tree, and one fell on his head. He got very hurt, and shortly after that he started falling [the term used for epileptic seizures in village].”

Witchcraft has been a very hard obstacle to overcome. It is ingrained in the culture and is part of most people’s belief system. Their belief in its role in epilepsy is the leading barrier to the reduction of stigma. Peace Corps Volunteers in conjunction with CODEF have been trying to educate communities on the proven causes of epilepsy (of which witchcraft is not one) in order to reduce stigma and promote proper care. In fact, one of our strongest arguments is that America does not have witchcraft (a fact Cameroonians strictly believe), but that America still has epilepsy.

After giving one such lecture, the hosts served us a meal and drinks. The hosts began talking about the witchcraft subject. “Africans are always using witchcraft for evil. They spend all this time only to create bad things, like epilepsy. But whiteman witchcraft is used for good! Look at the whitemen, they sit around thinking about how to create good witchcraft! Like…look at this bottle! [Holds up her soda bottle] This is whiteman witchcraft! This is good witchcraft! The whiteman has also made airplanes…record players…and…the telephone! Those are good witchcrafts! But here in Africa, we only have evil witchcraft. Africans can be just as smart, it is only that they are concerned with evil things. They need to create good witchcraft.”

* I know the children of Mahole had never seen a white person before because after my lecture a father told his daughter, “Now, when they ask you in school, ‘Who has ever seen a white lady before?’ You can raise your hand and say, ‘I have seen a white lady!!’” Then he turned to me and said, “They have never seen someone like you before!” Peace Corps: improving lives. 

The Sad Reality of Epilepsy

In one remote village, an old Pa shared his experience. His first born daughter had epilepsy. She was a mother of twin girls. One afternoon she went to the stream behind their house to wash clothes. It was during the dry season, so the stream was very low with only a few inches of water. She had finished the laundry and had it folded in a basket on the rocks when she had a seizure. She fell into the water in such a way that both her mouth and nose were covered. 

Her daughters began crying. Eventualy their cries drew a villager to investigate, but it was too late. She had already drowned. Her two young girls are now motherless. They are about to enter nursery school. They are shy, and sat on a bench quietly playing with each other during my meeting with the Pa. Their mother was my age. If she were alive today, she would be 23 years old.

Later that same year, the Pa’s second daughter had an epileptic seizure while cooking. In Cameroon, woman cook in outdoor kitchens over open fires. She was alone. She fell into the fire and suffered terrible burns. The Pa showed us the tattered rags that were left of the dress his daughter had been wearing that day. She was transported to the hospital, but died the next morning. She also left behind a young child.

The Pa additionally has one son living with epilepsy. He prays every day that his son will not be taken from him the way his daughters were.

The hardest part about confronting these deaths is that they are so unnecessary and senseless. If these women had had access to medicine, it is likely they would not have had seizures those days. If there had been basic education, if the women knew the safety precautions they could have taken, if the community knew how to react to a seizure, if villagers had accompanied them—countless ifs—those children would likely still have mothers today. Epilepsy is having dramatic consequences in Cameroon which can be prevented. CODEF and Peace Corps Volunteers are working hard to create awareness, distribute medication, and bring basic education to rural communities to fight against results like these.