Who is Lucy?
Lucy is a 15-year-old girl from Mperrishi – a very remote Masai settlement, which politically belongs to the Oltepesi municipality. In Mperrishi, time has stood still and the people there live completely isolated from modern civilization, i.e. they have no access to running water or to a toilet, there is no electricity and no medical care.
Lucy has rarely attended school in the last two years because she was in constant pain. She broke her foot about two years ago and this fracture was not treated medically and was only supported with branches according to Masai technique. This led to a faulty closure of the fracture on the one hand and to a chronic inflammation of the wound on the foot on the other hand.
How did we meet Lucy?
When Lucy turned to us, she was wearing two different shoes because her left foot only fit into one open shoe due to the severe swelling.
Lucy’s mother passed away a few years ago and Lucy lives with her grandmother. When Lucy’s badly inflamed foot developed a pungent and foul smell over time, the villagers wanted nothing to do with her, saying Lucy smelled like death and would soon die.
Saving Lucy’s foot
Our local contact, Agnes Gitonga, organized the transport of Lucy to a hospital in Nairobi, where the doctor was at first not sure if it was cancer or not. After an anxious week, the findings were available and a severe chronic inflammation with benign ulceration was diagnosed. However, the doctor immediately made it clear that it would be impossible for Lucy to return to her village with the open wound, as the necessary hygiene for changing the dressing was not in place there.
Agnes therefore put Lucy up with a woman she knew and provided her with the bare necessities: Lucy was given clothes and food.
Culture shock for Lucy
Apart from the fact that Lucy now finally has a glimmer of hope for a pain-free future and will definitely not lose her foot, there were a lot of things for Lucy this month that she experienced or saw for the first time:
- Visit to Nairobi.
- Stay in a hospital.
- Use of a toilet, although at first she did not know how to use it.
- Light that can be switched on and off – the first encounter with electric current.
- Eating sausage and chips for the first time, although she was very skeptical at first, especially about the sausage. Its appearance did not correspond to her idea of meat.
In summary, it is no exaggeration to say that Lucy has had a real culture shock. Agnes will now also provide her with school books so that she can use the time wisely. In addition, Agnes will talk to her grandmother and try to convince her that Lucy can be sent to the Nasaru Masai Girls Learning Center to help her catch up on the school material she has missed and, most importantly, to protect her from FGM.
What’s next for Lucy?
Saving Lucy’s foot has cost approximately 2,000 SFR so far. This is interesting in that even in the Western world, the question of the value of a human life has arisen again and again in recent years. What is the value of a foot?
Lucy’s foot is better, but she will remain in Nairobi until the wound is fully healed.
We will continue to support Lucy in any case, but we need your help. We are urgently looking for a sponsor for Lucy.
If you are interested, please contact us at:
hello@wecare-association.com
We would like to point out once again that 100% of donations to the WeCare Association go to the recipients. All expenses for administration and marketing are fully covered by us personally and privately!
For donations to the WeCare-Association please use the following account numbers:
WeCare-Association
Credit Suisse AG
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IBAN: CH92 0483 5212 0106 4100 0 (donations in CHF)
Swift Code: CRESCHZZ80A
IBAN: CH58 0483 5212 0106 4200 0 (donations in EURO)
Swift Code: CRESCHZZ80A
THANK YOU!
