Ariong Moses is my good friend from Uganda. He is global health leader and potential leader for Uganda who would like to change global health dimensions of Uganda in positive ways!! Here is his article which he shared with me last week.
The Ebola Epidemic has claimed over 4,500 deaths since it began around January 2014. Most of its victims are allegedly the women who have endured the suffering of their loved ones as they writhe and die painfully. Heroes are being made every day in the worst hit countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia as medical workers – local and foreign, struggle to contain a ‘war’ that, if not well fought within the shortest time possible, might explode in to a 4th World War of sorts. The spread however continues at alarming rates with WHO warning that over 10,000 new infections per week will be recorded if greater efforts are not put in place within the next 2 months.
Several reasons have been alluded to the failure to contain the virus by the affected countries. It is a known fact that health systems in Africa have a lot to be desired especially in countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone. It would be unwise to ask of them to handle a crisis of this nature to its logical conclusion knowing that any failures will be felt by the rest of the world.
Support has been obtained from USA, UK, China and many other nations to combat Ebola. We should however note that West Africa does not simply need some support, the people of West Africa and the rest of the world need Ebola to be dealt with to its logical conclusion. This Crisis has instilled fear among the people around the world as much as Terrorism has. Infact, a Student from sierra Leone was denied accommodation in Newcastle by three Landlords due to the fear of Ebola – I call it Ebophobia. Being black itself is now associated with Ebola in some parts of the world with the thinking that one might be coming from the hotspots of Ebola, Africa.
The mind boggling question though is that terrorism is being fought world over for a similar reason- to avoid deaths and fear that it brings to the innocent people around the world. A lot of resources are usually committed for this cause and countries are willing to unite and find the terrorists wherever they are. It is the reason my country Uganda contributed troops to fight in Somalia and recently South Sudan so as to stem any terrorist acts around the world. It is clear that Ebola is among these categories, claiming over 2000 lives within 06 months at an alarming death rate of 70%. Why is the world not doing enough to unite against Ebola? Several reports by WHO and other organisations on the ground indicate that the response has been slow as compared to the situation on the ground.
Well, one may be tempted to think that the world does not care much about those in this predicament. These are the sort of thoughts that run through a desperate mind. These are the thoughts that are running through thousands of people living in quarantined areas, faced with looming food shortages that could cost lives.
If the world is truly a Global Village, we should view the plight of the people of West Africa as our own. Let’s not give opportunity to those who need an excuse to humiliate black people around the world in the name of Ebola. Joyous will that day be when the mothers of West Africa stop crying for the loss of their children. I believe it is time to act and end Ebola!
Why Growing Old is admirable no more in many parts of the world.
The word ‘old’ used to be synonymous with the words; respect, wisdom, intelligence, experience, seniority, blessings, leadership as well as being a preserve of those blessed by God – a belief among those who acknowledge presence of a supreme being. Old persons (The elderly) were seen as a source of inspiration and were responsible for nurturing future generations based on their long life experiences with the notion “Experience is the best teacher” being widely accepted.
My father once told me of how his Grandfather handed over a special gift of his to his Son (My Grandfather), a gift that he had attained through several years of learning and practice. He took his Son to a place with many trees and shrubs and pointed at them. He asked, “Do you see all those Cattle and property all over this place?. There was obviously no wealth visible among this shrubs and bushes. My Great Grandfather was a medicine man just like many other persons at the time who had discovered medicinal properties of the elements of nature, the special gift that God had given to them. To him (The Great Grand), these were the ‘cattle’ and property that he was passing on to his Son, my Grandfather. Through practicing traditional medicine, he was able to raise his family and educate some of his children.
The African greats like Nelson Mandela (RIP), Desmond Tutu, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Mzee Arap Moi of Kenya, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Tata Awayo Mary of Uganda among others, have continued to inspire the current and the future generations in ways that I cannot explain due to the magnitude of its effect.
By now, I guess you (the reader) is asking yourself why you have not heard about the so called great Tata Awayo of Uganda. Awayo is a deaf and dumb neighbor of mind in the Town of Soroti, Eastern Uganda. She is about 75 years old and leaves alone in a grass thatched mud and wattle house. Awayo did not learn the sign language from any special needs training centre due to the challenges in Uganda’s education system that we ought to know by now.
With a smile on her face, Amojong Awayo waves me good bye almost every morning as I go to work but as well welcomes be back from the long day’s work. Awayo has been neglected by her own children and family members who fear to shoulder the burden of taking care of the now old and needy Awayo. Because the world has turned its back on her, she has to wake up very early in the mornings to show her love to everyone passing around (especially me) as she begs for; a daily meal to keep her precious life going, support for medical care to mitigate the now chronic illnesses that she has, emergency roofing of her hut that leaks now and then when it rains heavily, for Love and companionship when she is lonely and needs to be heard just like any other human being and the list goes on and on.
On the day the Hybrid Solar Eclipse caught the attention of almost every individual in Awayos’ vicinity, she was left wondering why it was not shining as it was supposed to be – I learnt this through the crude sign language interactions that I held with her. I tried to explain to her that the moon was passing below the sun and covering its rays from reaching earth, it was a hard one to explain but I made my point by showing her the eclipse using a film strip. Awayo had a hearty laugh and pated me on the back as she was expressing her deep appreciation of my intervention to address the ‘mystery’.
Awayo Mary and several other old persons are being abandoned by us, the able and productive group in the society. I learnt that even in developed countries, the elderly are treated like Animals and are dumped in care centres. Why the hell would I dump my mother or my father or any of my close relatives that brought me up and natured me, to a care centre? And to make it worse, some relatives never bother to check on them and give them the Love and company that every human being inherently deserves. I recently read an article where robots are being developed to care for the elderly, to feed them, to move them around and to “give them some Love”. This killed me internally and made me wonder where the human race is heading to.
As I blog about this, I am shedding invisible tears because of the old men and women that I have seen rotting away with Jiggers and several other treatable illnesses in my own home country, Uganda. They are given names like ‘the father of jiggers’, ‘a cursed old man or woman’, beggars among others. The health service providers have as well focused their attention on mothers and children leaving the elderly to be ‘hosts’ to several diseases as they die and disappear slowly from the face of the earth.
Who will mentor us? Who will bridge the past and the present future for the good of the current generation and the future? Who will inspire us with those lovely old age stories and remind us of the struggle that our forefathers went through to achieve what we are enjoying today?
President Obama, while eulogizing Tata Madiba (Nelson Mandela), said that we will never see a person like Mandela again. It’s true that Madiba has passed on with all his brilliance and courage, but we still have a role to play to emulate his works, to fight for Justice for all, to respect and adore humanity and to preserve the unique brains that we have among our elderly persons. Let’s give ourselves a reason to live long and inspire the world without fear that our very own will abandon us in time to come.
By ARIONG MOSES
GLOBAL HEALTH CORPS FELLOW (2012-2013)
UGANDA
