There is hope for change, small bits of progress that are making dreams that felt previously unrealistic, tangible. The pediatricians who stood up and offered their help after the seeing the news story are helping in ways that this community never dreamt of. De-worming treatments, vitamins and supplements are being given. Last week alone, a young boy who got a laceration on his head received proper stitching. A little girl who was sick for three weeks, got a free examination, Xray and antibiotic treatment. Her mother (who is younger than me) also received an exam/Xray and was, unfortunately, diagnosed with tuberculosis. There is no telling how long she has been suffering from it but we do know it is a miracle that her daughter has not caught it yet. Tuberculosis is tough, there is a set treatment but it requires six months of daily medication and three different medications at that. That treatment was previously unobtainable for her, let alone that if left to treat herself non-compliance is a guarantee. So we are formulating a plan and trying to get the medicine donated month by month from pharmaceutical companies. Even if that is not possible, the medicine will be purchased for her via donations from Deb or anyone that is willing. (Update: I just got news that the first month has been donated, and I will have to figure out the next five months as they come) Once we get started, I will meet her every day to administer her dose and give her a protein shake and in six months, hopefully we will have a TB free momma. Despite the diagnosis she was smiling ear to ear, thanking us for the care.
Then comes the dream of education. This has been keeping me up at nights, as my coworker who has her master's in public health would say: the key to breaking the cycle of poverty is food, shoes and education. Education. Education. Education... this is a barrier that is extremely difficult to overcome for reasons which maybe I will explain in another entry. I have tossed and turned and wondered what to do. I found a school near the train station who eventually pointed me to another school down the road. There at this Don Boscoe school, they offer night classes for street children. The ones who have never gone to school can receive literacy training, the others who do attend another school can receive tutoring and at the end of the day they get dinner. The school will prepare them for exams to enter regular schools and as I sat there talking to this principle I dreamt of the cycle weakening, to the point of cracking. Could some of my babies learn a trade, get a job beyond picking trash for recycling, not live in the slum someday? If just one, right? If just one breaks through. I well-up with tears over these hopes, they are so heavy in my heart. I feel like with the goal of education, I had been grasping at straws when someone came along and put the ground back under my feet. There is a lot of planning to do before the new school year starts in August. I was told they can wear anything but based on previous talks with some of the kids, one big reason they don't attend school is because they don't have the proper clothing. So uniforms and shoes for each child whose families will allow them to attend the classes are a necessity. It will not be an easy road, or an instantaneous change but, friends, there is a very real dream becoming reality in Lakhtokia.
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