Impunity and the Siamese twins
on 12 Months in Kenya (Kenya), 17/Dec/2009 16:42, 34 days ago
The headlines of the Daily Nation today read:"How corruptofficialsstole free primary school cash"Several senior officers at the Ministry of Education were suspended for misappropriating 37 million shillings (370,000 euro). The money was donated by DFID (UK international Devleopment fund) for free primary education for 100, 00o children. The report states that payments were effected through 44 payment vouchers, involving 29 senior officials. The funds were embezzled through fraudulent accounting used supposedly in workshops and training.DFIDhas since withheld 1.2 billion for Free Primary Educationuntillaudit queries are addressed, culprits charged and cash recovered.Donors are pulling out due tothe corruption. Thousands of innocent children will be affected and may not be able to go to school next year because of greedy officials who were employed to act in their best interests.ImpunityThis is what it means in Kenya: embezzlement, corruption, lying, stealing, and openly to as if people are not accountable for breaking the law if they caughtToday, I received a referral from an OT aboutSiamesetwins joined at the stomach, sharing a liver and other vital organs. Their parents have abandoned them, leavingthem at KenyattaNational Hospital, to be cared for by the nursing team, who do their best to look after them.Their abandonment has caused a few issues.Firstly, the parents have not signed consent for surgery so the twins may face many years of being bedridden, rather than having an actual chance at livingSecondly, due to the lack of stimulation, the childrenhaven'tlearnedtospeak yet.They are 1 year 3 months and are spoken to in severaldifferentlanguagesdepending on whichnurseattends to them: Kikuya, Kiswahili, and Englishby their IrishSpeech& Language Therapist; Somali, their mother tongue by their parents who occasionally come to visit.I met them today for the first time. They are learning to stand with the help of the dedicated Occupational Therapist. They reached for me today and one of them actually pulled a rib of my hair out from the root...painful!!They have been abandoned because the parents live far away on the coast and don't know what to do with them. Disability is a major stigma here and brings shame on the family. I'm guessing this is part of the problem but I can't be sure as Ihaven'tmet the family. There is also the risk that one of them may die as they share vital organs. The parents may fear they will loose one or both of them.Nevertheless, the father has given up hope and isn't involved in their careDoctors have consulted a surgeon in China who has performed a similar surgery with success.We are waiting to hear. Its in the hands of the therapists now to improve their quality of lifeSo I'm on the management team.My first case ofSiamesetwins with language delayI am looking forward toseeing them again in Jan. Today, I just did a briefconsultationwithadvicefor the nursing team.Apart from work, I'm heading to Zanzibar to begin my Christmas holidays. Not that you would know Christmas is coming. All the annoying stuff is omitted. No Christmas carols, or crazy shoppers or christmas parties. Just people awaiting time off work to be spent with their family upcountry.No gifts or special food. Just another day off with no fussThats the way I like it. This year, no fuss. Rather, sunshine, swimming, spice tours, going out to new places on a tropical island, snorkeling, not worrying about what I wear.Flip flops and a syrong, vest top too. No makeupSimple and easy and fun. Zero stressCan't waitHappy Christmas to all at homeI'll text on Christams day