Story and photos by Marie Bettings, World Vision Ethiopia
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Fekadu’s family is unable to afford a visit to the health clinic, although he suffers from an ear infection that can potentially cause him to lose his hearing. |
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Fekadu’s grandmother believes he has been going deaf since he is a baby. In their small, two-bedroom home in rural Ethiopia, the quiet ten-year-old boy sits at his grandmother’s feet straining to hear her speak. Once every few minutes, he feels the itch and fiddles with his ears.
“I don’t know the exact reason why this is happening to him but I feel very sorry for him,” Fekadu’s grandmother Tenagne Tesema says. “Every once in a while, mucous will drip from his ears. It hurts him and he has a hard time hearing; sometimes we have to touch him in order to get his attention.”
Ever since he can remember, Fekadu’s ears have caused him pain. On good days he’s able to hear at least some of what people say to him. On bad days, the liquid dripping down his ears forces him to play on his own.
“His classmates tease him and insult him because he can’t hear well when his ear is running,” says Tenagne, as she tenderly strokes her grandson’s head. “He just separates himself and keeps to himself but he doesn’t tell me, I find out from some of his friends.”
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With the help of World Vision, Fekadu is able to receive treatment for the inflammation of the middle ear. |
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No one in Fekadu’s family has ever been able to afford a visit to a health clinic before. The cause of his mother’s death five years ago is still unknown because they lack the money to send for a doctor. As a result, Fekadu’s illness has been undiagnosed and untreated for most of his life. For years, the family’s only option is to rely on a local, traditional healer who will sprinkle water around Fekadu’s head and into his ears – a procedure that World Vision’s Community Development Worker, Sisay Mamo, explains, makes it worse by clogging the ear.
“When I first saw Fekadu, I felt sorry for him because of the pain and how he was treated by others. He was really depressed when we went to the clinic because the ear was very bad,” says Sisay.
Fekadu is recently enrolled in World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Programme. Sponsored children receive school supplies to make sure they do not drop out of school due to a family’s lack of income, and they are also monitored closely for any health-related issues.
After meeting with Fekadu’s family, World Vision decides to take him to the nearest health clinic where he is diagnosed with Otitis Media, an inflammation of the middle ear that if not treated, can compromise his hearing for the rest of his life.
Most families in this community would have a hard time accessing such services but as part of World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Programme, Fekadu’s medical visit fees and medication were all paid for. In Fekadu’s community, children face immense health challenges in an area that has only one small health centre, no hospital and a handful of health extension workers who are overwhelmed by the needs. Pneumonia, diarrhoea, intestinal parasites, influenza and eye problems continuously stalk children as the most common ailments.
“The need is overwhelming sometimes but I believe in a bright future,” says Dereje Regassa, World Vision’s Area Development Programme Coordinator in the area. World Vision plans on increasing its support of health services in the year to come, working closely with the local government to increase the coverage of health services and creating awareness about the importance of health issues in the community.
As Fekadu gets up to bring his eardrops to his grandmother, he struggles to find his balance and limps towards the family’s only cupboard in the home. He tries to hide the pain but the soreness caused by the daily antibiotics injection he receives is flaring up. Fekadu returns slowly to his grandmother’s feet and tilts his head quietly.
“I have no money to get him treated. I have no one to borrow from so this is a good opportunity from World Vision,” says Tenagne, smiling for the first time in the last twenty minutes. “I want to see his ear cured. I want to see him finish his education. I want him to grow up to be a great man.”
Fekadu shyly retreats behind his grandmother. He doesn’t talk much these days but his smile reveals a boy with a great spirit. His teachers have learned to take the time to write things on the board for him and he’s doing much better in school now. With only a few more weeks in treatment, Fekadu looks forward to joining his friends again.
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