Rosh Pinah
Ten-year-old Ruusa Nyeyapo Paloma Nghidengwa has only started in Grade 1. She dreamt of becoming a pilot one day, but this is now seems impossible after she was recently diagnosed with TB Meningitis.
Once a normal and very active child, her life suddenly changed irreversibly as she is now bedridden, unable to speak, walk or even sit – her dreams shattered forever.
Unable to attend school or play with other children, she is stuck in bed all day. Because she cannot make use of the toilet on her own she now has to wear a disposable diaper.
Her mother, Miriam Nedi, says it is a difficult experience for them to cope with. She said it is not easy as a mother to see your child stuck in bed all the time, especially when she had been running around and is used to playing with other children.
She adds that it is very painful and disheartening for a mother to see her child in that condition, further saying that Nghidengwa was a child full of life and was brilliant in school. As a mother she was quite certain that he child would one day become an important part of her family and the community at large.
“She is very small, but she had big dreams and it’s very difficult to see her like this,” the mother said as she looked at her child lying helplessly on a sofa. The mother of seven says it is not easy to take care of her child, because she needs attention all the time and this she is unable to do as she has to work to secure an income.
An emotional Nedi said she does not have anyone who she trust to take care of her child while she goes to work and this forces her to leave her alone at home and only check up on her at lunchtime.
“I usually had someone help me look after her, but after they got paid they disappeared, so now I have no one and I just leave her alone,” she said.
She further says in the knowledge that leaving her child at home alone could be considered child abuse by the State, she approached the local police to explain her situation to them and they understood her situation.
Nedi narrates that when Nghidengwa first got sick the doctors could not establish what was wrong with her and after spending almost a year in and out of hospital she was told that her daughter had TB Meningitis. Over the past year her condition has only gotten worse.
Nedi is also disappointed that her child does not get a disability grant, considering that she made several attempts to register her with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare at Rosh Pinah, but officials at the office refused, telling her that her salary is enough to sustain her and the child.
She says this made her approach the office in Oshana Region, where officials were willing to assist her. She is now waiting for her application to be processed. The single mother currently works as a cleaner. She has worked at Rosh Pinah for various companies since 2000.
Tuberculosis bacteria that invade the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord cause TB Meningitis. Symptoms include loss of appetite, persistent headaches and stiffness in the neck.