Refugees do not live a life of luxury

REFUGEES DO NOT LIVE A LIFE OF LUXURY

On the 18th of May, 2016, we left the World Vision Kakuma Area Development Program (ADP) at around 10:00 am. I was heading to Kakuma refugee camp zone four to gather stories from the refugees living within the camp. As we passed by a primary school located inside the camp, a group of about eight or ten young girls were in a semi circle carrying something suspicious.

 As a child focused organisation staff from World Vision Kenya, we alighted from the vehicle, to find out what exactly was going on among the children. In between the circle, the girls were carrying one of their own from school, we inquired why? and they informed us that she had fainted in school.

 We asked, where are you taking her? home. That was the destination for a girl who looked soo weak as our eyes and feelings could tell and see. We used what we had learnt in our first AID lessons and carried her inside the car and immediately, drove off as we took her to the nearest health center called clinic seven one of the largest in kakuma refugee camp. As we were driving in a rush inside the clinic, we inquired from the girls what happened to their friend. They informed us it was not the first time that nyamal, her first name, had fainted in school.

I left the vehicle, to inform the doctor of an emergency case of a girl who was not in a good condition and needed urgent medical attention. My colleague World Vision Kenya staff based in kakuma elizabeth, chairman zone four Angelou assisted the girl who had fainted with the help of three of her friends immediately inside the emergency room. We told them not to leave until she was checked by the doctor incharge, but we will come back later and confirm her condition. Before alerting the doctor to look after the young girl.

I had to gather resources, that is stories and photos from the field, so we departed a few minutes later. My first stop, was a visit to a south sudaness refugee family living in Kakuma camp.

We meet Nyaween, a 25 year old mother of two children, nyantual aged 6 years old and tatjor 9 years old. She came to Kakuma refugee camp through malakal via juba, traveling in a bus where each family member had to contribute some cash in order to board the bus in December 2014, one of the latest arrivals at the camp. The fighting and insecurity in their country forced her to flee and look for the safety of her children as a refugee in a different country.

Nyaween says “we are her in kakuma we do not know where to go and if we go somewhere, where do we go”. She adds that kakuma is good and bad, getting firewood and food is a major problem among families.

With other community members they travel for two kilometres away from the camp, a one hour, walk to fetch firewood to cook for her children. She gets food rations for her family, but as usual she says they are never enough to cater for the whole month.

Her six year old daughters eyes, looked yellow, her forehead was sweating and the drips covered her face. Her footsteps as she walked outside to go and take some drinking water showed she will never manage to stand for a longtime, too weak to even walk for a distance of 2 minutes. The mother confirmed “we took her to clinic seven, located in kakuma refugee camp four, it was indicated by the check up doctor in the hospital admission book that she had diarrhoea, vomiting, headache and stomach ache.

She alleges that “they prescribed paracetamol tablets and flaggy.” says Nyaween.

It has been two days since the symptoms of the child health condition was  revealed to the mother. The problem here is the fact is that the mother and the daughter sleep outside due to the constant hot climatic condition inside their house made of the steel roofing tiles and soil was used as the main wall to construct the house.

Kakuma camp is a place where mosquitoes breed and thrive, personally from my own experience I have noticed and felt the mosquito bites. Nyaween has no mosquito net to cover her sick child, the only way she prevents mosquito bites is by using a big heavy blue blanket, in search a hot climatic condition in kakuma camp.

 “We registered to get a new mosquito net in August 2015, but until now we have not been informed where and when to pick up the mosquito nets” says nyaween. The last mosquito net she says she received was in 2014.

 Despite that the child had diarrhoea symptoms, and they inform me that the water they fetch is clean. Then how did the child get diarrhoea? that is the question that begs answers.

 Nyaween says, she does not have the desire to return back to south sudan due to the constant and persistent fighting between leaders and rebels. She notes that “where I am going there is no peace why should I go back to that country.”

 Living in the same compound is nyaweens cousin, nyawech. She has a three old daughter. They sometimes have to sleep outside from their house due to the persistent heat in the house. The daughter was, taken to the hospital on 14th May 2016. The doctors examination revealed similar symptoms to her cousin condition. She was given paracetamol tablets. The mother is yet to confirm whether the child is suffering from malaria or not.

“ I wish I could get a mosquito net, but I do not know where to get one.” says nyawech.

 After getting the details of the sick children, malaria concern and the refugee mothers sentiments. We go back to the hospital to confirm whether the girl was getting the right medical attention or not. We manage to ask Dr. Hassan, at the reception if the girl we left is fine or not. He directs us to a female ward. We arrive at the ward and ask the team incharge at the main entrance we would like to see a young girl brought into the hospital in a critical condition.

 They direct us to her bed. Nyamal was lying on the hospital bed weak with no bed sheets and no drip put in her body that is what I observed. However we were informed she had been given an injection and  diagnosed as suffering from malaria.

I thought, very interesting that refugees lack simple basic needs like access to mosquito nets and might get sick often. Lack of transport can make them either succumb to illness that are equally preventable.

 According to a malaria biomed central journal published in June 2011, malaria is a major health concern for displaced persons occupying refugee camps in sub-saharan africa, yet there is little information on the incidence of infection and nature of transmission in these settings. Kakuma refugee camp is located in a dry area of north-western Kenya, has hosted 60,000 to 90,000 refugees since 1992, primarily from sudan and somalia.

 The purpose of the study was to investigate malaria prevalence and attack rate and sources of Anopheles vectors in Kakuma refugee camp, in 2005 to 2006, after a malaria epidemic was observed by staff at the camp clinics. In june to august, 2005, the Kakuma refugee camp and its environs experienced a malaria epidemic associated with the annual rainy season.

In early july, the number of patients presenting to the clinics with clinically-diagnosed malaria increased substantially, with approximately 11,000 cases seen, corresponding to a 12.2% attack rate . The case fatality rate was not determined,  but 13 deaths associated with malaria clinical diagnosis were observed by a staff physician.