The grandmother from Yowando that we met yesterday brought the abandoned baby to the Child Center this morning. If you remember, the wife had been accused of harming the man and causing his death. We found out a little bit more about the situation this morning. The grandmother of the baby and the mother of the man who died is the one who is taking care of the baby. The lady told us that her son had been complaining of abdominal pain off and on for a little while. On the night that his pain became so serious and his fever was very high, everyone in his family was trying to figure out what to do so his mother decided to give him a hot water enema and to boil water and use hot rags to massage his body and stomach. She said that she could not even touch his stomach without him crying out in pain. Both of those treatments made the fever worse. Meanwhile his wife was in labor. In the morning the family finally decided that they had to take him to the hospital, probably in the back of a motor king (3-wheeled motorcycle with a small truck bed). He was so seriously ill by this time that he died on the way to the hospital about the same time that his wife had a baby boy. At the hospital the doctors did a scan and said that they believed his appendix had ruptured, evidently, he died from sepsis and shock. The family did not believe the doctor. They do not believe that anyone just dies but that someone caused the death. At the funeral the family paid for a soothsayer to come to the village to determine who caused the death. The family had to pay the soothsayer 400 Cedis (about 40 dollars) and give him a fowl of his choice. The lady said that the soothsayer used his soothsaying stick; walked around chanting and hitting the ground. He stopped, took the fowl, and slapped it on the ground to kill it. He then put the fowl in between the thatch on the roof of the house. He continued chanting and knocking the ground until he finally stopped and he declared that the man’s wife was the one who caused the death of the man. The man’s senior brother went to the house where the lady was with her new baby and point blank told her that the soothsayer said the fault was from her and that she had to confess as to what she had done to the man to cause his death. She said that once when she was pregnant, they had an argument and they struggled and she hurt him. That was all the proof that they needed. They had their confession. The woman ran from the village because she was afraid that if she stayed, they would kill her or poison her. She left the baby and an older child when she ran. It is so sad that they believe a traditional soothsayer over a medical doctor. Steve spent a long time with them trying to explain that the wife really had nothing to do with the ruptured appendix but we are sometimes fighting an uphill battle.
Meri said that she had to get up at 3:00 this morning to start the fire so she could get breakfast for her family done before daylight. If she is late getting up the family will not get anything to eat until the sun goes down. I am tired for her and we are only a few days into Ramadan.
Take care, please keep us in your prayers.
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
Daddy got me in trouble today and put me in time-out; I usually do not mess with him too much; so it really hurt my feeling when he was shouting on me! After a short stint in time-out I was good for the rest of the day!
I got worm medicine today; I got the good stuff! I like the liquid albendazole. Only problem is that I never get enough. The syringe always runs out before I am satisfied! Today, Mom decided to rinse the syringe out with a little water; that was yucky! Really, she can’t fool me! I also don’t understand why I can’t have the syringe after I take the medicine; I love to chew on anything plastic; I know I could totally destroy the end of that syringe and it would never work again.
It was so hot today! I thought I was going to expire! The high temperature was 110 degrees. Can you imagine trying to play outside in 110-degree weather wearing a fur coat? Mom brought me in the house this afternoon because it too hot outside! The air conditioning felt good and me and Dad took a nap together.
Drink more water!
Love, Skeeter
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