 |
| Hope and development on the one hand versus poverty and death on the other! |
Osman Kamara, student of Magbeni, died yesterday. A bright young mind who was to join the exam
class next year, he died on Saturday probably of malaria although no-one really
knows exactly.
It has been over a year since we last lost a student but if
we needed another reminder of why we fight the fight we fight, here it is.
In the UK if a school child dies, the whole school comes to
a standstill. The family does not know
how to cope. In Sierra Leone, it is
regarded as sad but commonplace. People
die daily of nothing and everything without the doctors and medical
practitioners being able to intervene meaningfully. For the privileged in this country of course
there are enormous differences. If you
are ill, you go to the best hospitals or as likely as not, out of the country
for your treatment and you may well live into old age. Amongst the poor, the elderly are significant
rareties! The president’s mother died at
a ripe old age last week and is buried today with the whole country in
attendance with great pomp and circumstance.
This in stark contrast to Osman who was buried under a tree wrapped in a
cloth, having not made it out of his teens.
May we never tire of fighting for the education of the poor
so we know how to maintain our own health better, so we know what to ask of the
doctors and how to hold them to account and so that we can earn a living and
afford decent nutrition and medical care.
Our condolences go to Osman’s family and friends in the
Magbeni community.
If you are interested
in knowing more about EducAid’s work with vulnerable young Sierra Leoneans,
please go to www.educaid.org.uk and www.sierraleonegirls.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment