The Children of Mfumbi

Last Sunday, I attended church at a small village located about 15 minutes from Chimala.  As we entered Mfumbi, it was very apparent that this village was very poor.  The houses were all mud and sticks.  The children we saw as we drove in were noteably dirty and under nurished.  I expected the number present at church to be small and it was.  I believe there were 10 adults and 24 children.

The preacher of this small congregation led the singing and I was very surprised at the enthusiasm with which he sang.  As I listened to this small group of people sing, I decided they wanted God to hear their praises loud and clear inspite of their small numbers.  The singing was wonderful.  Everyone sang out with "a joyful noise" unto the Lord.

There is a special way in which all the churches conclude their services in this area and Mfumbi was no different.  At end of the service, as each person exits he/she greets all the those who exited  before him  and then joins the line and greets all those who exit after.  As everyone leaves the building, we are left with a circle of family who have greeted everyone who is there.  This is so great! 

The children always catch my eye in a special way.  They look so innocent and dependant with big eyes and smiles, and dirty faces and clothes.  These children were no different.  Some have never seen a white person before and you can see both their curiousity and fear.  They will timidly reach out, but then quickly retreat.  One girl in particular on this Sunday was both curious and yet afraid.  When she first sat down in front of me, she was continuously turned so she could keep an eye on me.  She just wasn't sure what I might do.  She watched me curiously and occasionally she would slowly reach her hand out toward my foot or leg....a couple of times she quickly brushed my toe or knee.  One of the other girls from our group sat next to her.  The little girl slowly inched a little closer to her......her hand on the seat beside her....then touching her skirt....slowly touching her lap and then by then end of services she had reached out and touched her hand.  She looked up at the white face with a bit of a surprised look on her face, as if to say "Wow, you feel the same as me".

As I watched all these children, it was impossible not to notice that many of them had "tineas capitis" (head fungas, ringworm).  Some of these also had secondary skin infections.  As we left the village, I knew I would have to come back.  Over the last week, I purchased anti-fungal shampoos and medications along with a few antibiotics.  I spoke with one of the Medical Officers at the Chimala Hospital and "volunteered" him to go with me to the village this morning. 

So early this morning, I headed to Mfumbi with a Tanzanian driver and "doctor" to treat what I thought would be about 10 or so children.  Ten was just a small scratch on a BIG problem.  Within about 1.5 hours, we had seen close to 30 patients who had either "tineas capitis", skin infections or both.  We had enough meds with us to treat about 15 for tineas capitis and 3 for skin infections.  Because these people are so poor, traveling the 15 minutes by car to the hospital and getting treatment is not possible.  So we made a deal with about 10 of the worst cases.  If they will find a way to get to the hospital, we would treat them for free.  I am praying they all come on Monday.

Some of these cases were so much worse than what I had seen last Sunday.  It was overwhelming for the 3 of us.  At one point, I noticed the driver standing off to himself looking out a window and wiping tears from his eyes.  This is the work I want to do.  I want to travel daily to these types of villages and help those who cannot afford to seek treatment.  Over the last several weeks as I have spent time at the Chimala hospital, I have seen one recurrent theme......the patients do not come to the hospital until it is often too late.  That is why people here believe the hospital is where you go to die.  We need to reach out to those in need, provide them with early treatment and teach them how to care for themselves when possible.

The trio of us who went to this village today will return there again in two weeks to check on their progress and provide more treatment.  Many of them will have to receive treatment for 6 to 8 weeks.  I will be leaving Chimala after that next visit.  I am praying God will send me back to Chimala in the near future to continue an outreach mobile medical clinic in this area.