She's much better

We take for granted so much of our knowledge and education.

I have been in St Thomas Parish, Badin, Sindh in the southern part of Pakistan for almost two years where many families live with the challenge of day to day survival. The basic aspects of life  such as water, food, clothing, shelter, education and health are elusive for many people in the area.

I live with another lay missionary and have Hindu and Muslim families as neighbours. One family had five small children; the youngest Angelina who was a little more than a year old.
    
One day, Maria, the mother of Angelina came to the house. She was crying and her face was filled with anxiety so I asked her what had happened? She said that her baby had a fever for the past few days and her husband was out in the village doing some work on a farm.

I felt her helplessness and anxiety as her child was getting weaker. I insisted we take the baby to the doctor right who diagnosed Angelina with malaria and a chest infection.

We purchased medication and returned home. I knew that the dosage and timing instructions would be a problem as Maria had never had the opportunity of a basic education and was unable to read and write. I tried to explain about the time intervals for administering the medicine as prescribed by the doctor. It took some time before I felt confident that she would get it right and requested the eldest boy, who more or less understood the clock, assist his mother.

My room was just beside their mud house and I could hear the baby crying during the night. I waited until morning to see them and when I came in, the mother was busy preparing breakfast and the older boy was looking after little Angelina.  When I asked if she had given the medicine as instructed by the doctor she simply looked at me with a blank stare that made me feel more worried.

Finally, she said she wasn't sure; every time she touched her baby and felt the high temperature she gave her the medicine regardless of what time it was. Maria was unaware of the risk she had taken with the medication and smiled and said, “ She is much better, baji.” (baji in their language means ‘sister’). I gave a sigh with a prayer in my heart that things would be okay and indeed the baby was improving.

In many cases parents do not get the chance to take their child to a doctor. They  would simply say it's God's will if the child dies. It could be a simple, ordinary disease at the beginning but gets complicated due to lack of knowledge and access to medical care.

Angelina’s episode is just one among many that we come across as we live  with the locals.

Annie Budiongan is currently working in Pakistan as a Columban Lay Missionary.

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