Angela - 14yrs, Untreated Meningitis

The story of Angela’s sickness begins from the day she was born. Her mother says when she was born, she did not cry and has not been like other children. She grew up in the village and didn’t have friends. She could rarely speak. They registered her in school and she didn’t do well. She didn’t understand the classes. Her mother says she is a devout Anglican and she does not believe in witchcraft but the husband’s family does. So, they have spent the past 14 years going from one witch doctor to the other trying to understand and get medication for the problem that Angela is facing. Then they heard about Inuka and her parents decided to bring Angela to the hospital. While she could not speak or walk, Angela had a huge wound on one of her feet when she arrived at Inuka. For the past month, we have dressed the wound and she has improved. The doctor says Angela was also hit by meningitis at some point and didn’t receive any medical attention. From that point she lost speech and could not walk. For 14 years Angela has not received any medical attention until she came to Inuka.

Her family is very poor and for a long time they have spent the money on witch doctors. Angela’s father came to the hospital and promised to go back and work to help her daughter heal. But what he gets by working on people’s farms is so small that it can’t even feed Angela and the mother while at the hospital. Malnutrition is another challenge Angela is going through. Angela’s mother is an example committed and loving mother. Funds provided by Hope for Tanzania have been used to help address their hospital costs and needs. Angela’s mother tells INUKA and Hope for Tanzania “Asante” which is a Swahili word for “thank you.”