A Visit To "Blind Town"A Visit To "Blind Town"
Our little team snaked through the narrow alleyway between mud brick houses, carefully stepping over the small gutter where a trickle of dirty water ran. We were just entering a large, poor neighborhood of Kano, a neighborhood where many of the blind beggars live. Nearly 100% are Muslim. A hundred yards further along we came to a bend in the alley, and the entrance to a hut. I wondered where our team would set up to see patients. In a public building, or the chief’s living room? We waited a few minutes while someone went in and talked to the people inside. Children gathered around and smiled, stared, or tried to greet us in English. This was the first day of our two-day medical outreach to the "blind towns" of Kano.
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After a bit our leader emerged and said we should pass on through what turned out to be the entrance hut for the community. Inside the hut two old, blind men greeted us. Out the other side, we entered another alley, with small, dilapidated huts on either side. Just fifty feet inside the entrance, we milled around, and then were told that this is where we would stay to see patients. Right here, in the middle of the dirt alley, in the sun? Yes, that seemed to be what was available. |
| Dr. Tracy Goen greets one of the community leaders (right) |
My job was to see the kids, while my companion, Ty, saw the adults and an eye nurse saw those with eye problems. A young Nigerian volunteer, Yakubu, and Ty’s wife, Joy, would help me arrange and pass out medicines. I found a shady spot between a couple of huts, squatted down, and helped Yakubu get the medicines ready. The first few moms were allowed past the crowd-control line, and I got started.
One year old, fever, no other problem, needs chloroquine syrup. We have one two-liter
bottle of it. Any small bottles for
patients? No. "OK, mama, go and
fetch a bottle for the medicine." Off she went.
Five year old, stomach pains, no fever, looks healthy. Needs vitamin A capsule and worm medicine, which may or may not help his symptoms. I remind the helpers that all the kids above one year can have the vitamin A capsule and worm medicine, though we’re not doing a formal mass treatment campaign. The older kids seem to like the clear, orange vitamin capsules. For the younger ones who won’t swallow them, I poke a hole with my pocket knife and squirt the oily liquid into their mouths.
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Two years old, cough, fever, ear discharge. Needs
antibiotic, and we only have one suitable one available. But we only have the tablets, not
the syrup. No problem, the mom will crush the tablet and give it to the girl twice a day. We’ve made this trip to Kano to support the work of Gidan Bege (House of Hope), a newly forming SIM ministry that helps street children, blind and lame beggars, and others at the bottom of the social structure. Mama Choji, a Nigerian nurse working with Gidan Bege, has been visiting the neighborhoods regularly giving health advice and simple medicines. |
| Dr. Goen dresses the foot wounds of a leper |
The first mom comes back, bringing an old, glass
medicine bottle with no cap. From our large bottle I draw up the right amount of
chloroquine syrup using a syringe, but the sticky stuff also dribbles onto my hands. Yuck.
This is one of our first such outreaches, 
and I can see some things we can improve.
For example, we could bring small bottles of medicine, just as the team has already packed
the tablets into small plastic bags, the right number of tablets for one individual. We
also need to bring some water for washing hands. Some tablets for treating ringworm.
So it goes for the next three or four hours. Behind us, in the waiting crowd, another Gidan Bege volunteer is telling stories from the Bible. When there are no more children to see, I start seeing the remaining older women. None are really ill, but they want their blood pressure checked, and want pain relievers for their aches and pains. Joints wear out quickly in women who carry heavy loads their whole lives.
As we
pack to leave, I reflect on what we’ve accomplished. We’ve treated few really
sick people. And the ones who are truly sick, we’ve had to refer to hospitals for
more treatment. I’m sure we’ve helped some of the children. Even though their
illnesses seem mundane, they can be serious and potentially fatal. Perhaps a life has been
saved. More importantly, though, we’ve made a statement: "we care about
you." In the midst of rising religious tensions and polarization in the country, in
an atmosphere of us-versus-them, that message needs to be heard clearly from the church.
Thanks for your prayers for that outreach to Kano. Though I’m not involved often, the team tries to visit similar areas in Jos every week. There are also a residential "discipleship center" training ex-street kids, a vocational training program, and other ministries.
The pictures on this page are from our Blind Town Outreach in Jos; Kano is very similar.