She's much better

18.08.2010

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

For almost two years I have been in St Thomas Parish, Badin, Sindh, in the southern part of Pakistan. Many families there 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 being Angelina who was a little more than a year old.

One day, Maria, Angelina’s mother, came to the house. She was crying and her face was anxious 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 farm work.

I felt her helplessness and anxiety as her child was getting weaker. I insisted we take the baby to the doctor 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 Angelina. When I asked if she had given the medicine as instructed by the doctor she looked at me with a blank stare that made me feel 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 a lay missionary working in Pakistan.

Read more articles from The Far East, August 2010.