FGM – The aftermath (6)

By CLIFFORD OLUOCH
Published Aug. 17, 2010

Monday morning saw the children of 7P arrive at the school some with their parents others with their guardians. They wanted to make sure that Jioni was not in school, and if she was, they were going to take matters into their hands and kick her out of school if necessary.

Jioni had not yet come, that is if she was going to, and for the first time in a week the students looked settled and peaceful. But, there were still some worries, especially from the parents and guardians. More and more children were coming down with the red spots accompanied by high fevers and sweating nights. Parents were still convinced that it was Jioni’s AIDS that was haunting the class.

One of the parents, a lay preacher at the local church, offered prayers and cleansing session for the class. The rest readily agreed and this took a whole hour to complete. By this time most of the whole class had reported, some looking very sick, feverish and shivering throughout the prayer session.

After the prayers, the sick were still looking sicker than before and it was at this juncture that another parent offered to bring in a traditional healer to cleanse the class further and dispel the evil spirits that were still aboard the class. This ignited a heated debate in the class and there were sharp divisions amongst the parents with most of them favouring prayers

The arguments went back and forth, the children watching as their parents wondered what to do with them. It was at this point that the headteacher came up to the class and talked to the parents about some pre-arranged visits to schools by Ministry of Health officials.

The District Medical Officer was in the school compound with a team of doctors and nurses to give assistance in health related cases.

The doctors and nurses split up and went to different classes to talk to the children and their teachers. Dr. Kio, the District Medical Officer, was the one assigned to 7P. She seemed delighted that there were a few parents and guardians, thus making her work easier.

Dr. Kio was tall, and unlike what many believed about doctors, she did not wear spectacles. She had a stethoscope slung round her neck and wore a white lab coat. The students could not believe that it was possible for a woman to be a doctor. They looked at her admiringly, most of them aspiring to be doctors just because of her.

She had a strong powerful voice that carried the audience as she spoke. “There is an outbreak of chicken pox in the district and from the few spots that I can see in this class, it means that it has reached this class and school.” The doctor then went on to explain at great length the signs and symptoms of the disease, the management and drugs to be taken.

Some parents were not totally convinced that it was only chicken pox afflicting their children. Menjo’s mum was one of them. “How do we know that it is not AIDS?” she asked the doctor.

The doctor then went to explain the symptoms of AIDS and how it was transmitted. It was while explaining the differences between AIDS and chicken pox that it occurred to the doctor that may be there was more to it than just plain chicken pox.

“Who has AIDS?” the good humoured doctor asked the group. People looked at each other before the acting class teacher, Miss Mutura, volunteered all the available information on the Jioni saga. The doctor was sad to hear the story and in her heart promised to visit the girl at her house.

After a lengthier question and answer session that never seemed to end, the children were given a thorough physical check by the doctor and a few other nurses and then referred to the District Hospital for laboratory tests and medication.

The parents went home a happier lot, some taking their children to the hospital. Everyone in the room was happy that it was not AIDS that the children had contracted. The only person who looked lost in thought was Dr. Kio. She had to get that girl Jioni.

(c) oluochcliff@yahoo.co.uk